Reversal at Last in early AD
Finally, a system wide health protocol used in early dementia that worked to reverse cognitive decline in a small UCLA study. This reference gives all the study details in scientific language. Below is simple summary for case one:
- eliminating all simple carbohydrates, gluten and processed food from her diet, and eating more vegetables, fruits and non-farmed fish
- meditating twice a day and beginning yoga to reduce stress
- sleeping seven to eight hours per night, up from four to five
- taking melatonin, methylcobalamin, vitamin D3, fish oil and coenzyme Q10 each day
- optimizing oral hygiene using an electric flosser and electric toothbrush
- reinstating hormone replacement therapy, which had previously been discontinued
- fasting for a minimum of 12 hours between dinner and breakfast, and for a minimum of three hours between dinner and bedtime
- exercising for a minimum of 30 minutes, four to six days per week
The following chart gives more of the complex basis for the rationale of this protocol.
Table 1. Therapeutic System 1.0
Goal | Approach | Rationale and References |
Optimize diet: minimize simple CHO, minimize inflammation. | Patients given choice of several low glycemic, low inflammatory, low grain diets. | Minimize inflammation, minimize insulin resistance. |
Enhance autophagy, ketogenesis | Fast 12 hr each night, including 3 hr prior to bedtime. | Reduce insulin levels, reduce Aβ. |
Reduce stress | Personalized—yoga or meditation or music, etc. | Reduction of cortisol, CRF, stress axis. |
Optimize sleep | 8 hr sleep per night; melatonin 0.5mg po qhs; Trp 500mg po 3x/wk if awakening. Exclude sleep apnea. | [36] |
Exercise | 30-60' per day, 4-6 days/wk | [37, 38] |
Brain stimulation | Posit or related | [39] |
Homocysteine <7 | Me-B12, MTHF, P5P; TMG if necessary | [40] |
Serum B12 >500 | Me-B12 | [41] |
CRP <1.0; A/G >1.5 | Anti-inflammatory diet; curcumin; DHA/EPA; optimize hygiene | Critical role of inflammation in AD |
Fasting insulin <7; HgbA1c <5.5 | Diet as above | Type II diabetes-AD relationship |
Hormone balance | Optimize fT3, fT4, E2, T, progesterone, pregnenolone, cortisol | [5, 42] |
GI health | Repair if needed; prebiotics and probiotics | Avoid inflammation, autoimmunity |
Reduction of Aβ | Curcumin, Ashwagandha | [43-45] |
Cognitive enhancement | Bacopa monniera, MgT | [46, 47] |
25OH-D3 = 50-100ng/ml | Vitamins D3, K2 | [48] |
Increase NGF | H. erinaceus or ALCAR | [49, 50] |
Provide synaptic structural components | Citicoline, DHA | [51]. |
Optimize antioxidants | **Mixed tocopherols and tocotrienols, Se, blueberries, NAC, ascorbate, α-lipoic acid | [52] |
Optimize Zn:fCu ratio | Depends on values obtained | [53] |
Ensure nocturnal oxygenation | Exclude or treat sleep apnea | [54] |
Optimize mitochondrial function | CoQ or ubiquinol, α-lipoic acid, PQQ, NAC, ALCAR, Se, Zn, resveratrol, ascorbate, thiamine | [55] |
Increase focus | Pantothenic acid | Acetylcholine synthesis requirement |
Increase SirT1 function | Resveratrol | [32] |
Exclude heavy metal toxicity | Evaluate Hg, Pb, Cd; chelate if indicated | CNS effects of heavy metals |
MCT effects | Coconut oil or Axona | [56] |
CHO, carbohydrates; Hg, mercury; Pb, lead; Cd, cadmium; MCT, medium chain triglycerides; PQQ, polyquinoline quinone; NAC, N-acetyl cysteine; CoQ, coenzyme Q; ALCAR, acetyl-L-carnitine; DHA, docosahexaenoic acid; MgT, magnesium threonate; fT3, free triiodothyronine; fT4, free thyroxine; E2, estradiol; T, testosterone; Me-B12, methylcobalamin; MTHF, methyltetrahydrofolate; P5P, pyridoxal-5-phosphate; TMG, trimethylglycine; Trp, tryptophan
SIDEBAR: Note that some of the nutrients were given in slightly higher amounts than recommended in the new vitamin criteria. These are therapeutic amounts for a recognized progressive dementia condition. For maintaining health before dementia, the amounts in the new vitamin criteria should prove protective and safe. Many of the recommended lifestyle and dietary changes are quite similar. The side effects of this protocol are simply greater health overall.
**See this article on vitamin E family levels in AD.
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