Really?
Until this past year, a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) was considered a death sentence, as well as a grim and tragic forecast of the future. But this past May 2017, a landmark book was published representing 30 years of research into brain health and Alzheimer’s, with the daring title: The End of Alzheimer’s, The First Program to Prevent and Reverse Cognitive Decline. As this book hit the public airwaves, Dr. Dale Bredesen, MD, became a rock star in the world of brain health.
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The “End of Alzheimer’s” has long been a slogan of dementia research efforts, but the realization of that possibility had become increasingly remote as scores of drug trials ended in failure or worse. Researchers report that 99.6% of all research into AD cures and treatments have failed. Most of these studies have targeted amyloid plaque, the sticky and deadly goo that builds up between neurons, blocking memory and other executive functions, ultimately causing cell death along with the characteristic malformation and shrinkage of the brain.
Five years ago, a reorganization of the approach to AD took place with a study that focused on the prevention of AD. This prompted a shift in the national focus to an “earlier, more person-centered” approach vs. the “post-diagnosis, pharmaceutical” approach. (Dr. Bredesen had already logged many years working in the prevention direction.) It had become clear that the magic bullet in a pill or injection form was not on the horizon. It was recognized that the global damage to the brain tissue was too vast to be undone. The intervention had to come much earlier. It was also determined that the damage caused by the buildup of the amyloid plaque was happening at a much earlier age and, alarmingly, that we all are subject to these potential ravages due to our lifestyles and environmental assaults.
Alzheimer’s is now the third leading cause of death in the U.S. And these staggering statistics are sobering:
- People at 65 years of age, one in ten people have AD or another form of dementia.*
- At 75 years of age, one in five people has AD or another form of dementia.
- At 85 years of age, one in two people has AD or another form of dementia.
This reflects a doubling every five years of one’s chances of developing this most dreaded of age-related diseases. One in two at age 85 have some form of dementia, and the “85 and older” demographic is the fastest growing demographic in America!
So, all right already! Enough of the bad news! Where is the good news?
The great news is that the protocol recommended by Dr. Bredesen has had a 90% success rate in patients with early diagnoses of Alzheimer’s. To suggest that this is world-changing is not an overstatement. His peers characterize his efforts as “revolutionary,” “groundbreaking,” a “new beginning in medicine,” and “some of the most exciting work…that tackles the most important health issue of our time.” His overall success rate with all levels of AD is better than 50%, but herein lays a very important clue to its success! One must intervene early enough to prevent the profound destruction that comes with the later stages. And significantly, there has to be enough cognitive function to follow a multi-modal protocol, involving lifestyle changes, in addition to the medical interventions that are prescribed.
Dr. Bredesen originally identified 36 markers for a decline, including quality of sleep; blood levels of several significant nutritional factors; hormone levels; blood sugar and insulin levels; toxic load – meaning the presence of heavy metals; molds, or other infective agents; and the presence of Lyme Disease and its relatives. He refers to these as “holes in the roof.” If we really want a good experience, we have to fix all of the holes in the roof, starting with the most egregious violations of our gray matter!
Dr. Bredesen entered medicine with the standard approach to medical research – isolate a single variable, research it and treat it with a single variable treatment. He found this approach to be impossible with AD because that are so many potential aggressors, including our Standard American Diet (the SAD Diet); drugs including statins, benzodiazepines & anesthesia; heavy metal toxins in food and environment; mold and STRESS!
So if this is increasing your stress as you read it, take a deep breath and know that the fact that you are reading this is a sign that you have the capacity to PREVENT Alzheimer’s; or if you already suspect some decline, REVERSE it!
One key thought to take with you… the amyloid plaque that has been attacked with such diligence as the offender in the story, appears to actually be a protectant! It engulfs toxins, metals, infection, and other true malefactors in our craniums! A healthy brain with all of the resources – nutrients, optimal blood balance, etc. will actually clear this sticky mess out every night as we enter deep dreamless sleep! But without the proper players in place, it accumulates and devastation occurs slowly and insidiously! It is all within us to let the good guys win! We just have to provide the right resources to these marvelous mentation mechanisms!
I strongly recommend his book, The End of Alzheimer’s, The First Program to Prevent and Reverse Cognitive Decline. And there are many articles, summaries and YouTube videos online. He recommends seeking out a functional medicine physician, as they treat in a more global and holistic manner, and they are more likely to be tuned into this approach. Traditional medicine operates with a disease model, functional medicine uses an optimization model.
A few quotes from Dr. Bredesen:
“I always tell patients, ‘We’re going to treat you now like a competitive athlete’ … We want to optimize these things. When you do that, the effects are absolutely striking. I’ve seen people go back to work. One person said, ‘I’ve allowed myself to talk to my grandchildren, once again, about the future, because I had to stop doing that.’
One person went from the third percentile to the 84th percentile on his cognitive testing. Another person increased hippocampal volume dramatically. These are unprecedented effects because we are addressing the specific items that are actually causing the cognitive decline.”
* Dementia is the umbrella term for the chronic disorders of the brain that include memory loss as a primary symptom. Alzheimer’s is the most common form (estimated at 60 – 80%) of dementia, which is why the terms are often used interchangeably.
Some resources from Dr. Bredesen:
Health and wellness coaches:
http://www.findahealthcoach.com
Functional medicine practitioners:
https://www.functionalmedicine.org/practitioner_search.aspx?id=117
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Core Treatment Strategies
Bredesen recommends mild ketosis and a mostly plant-based diet for all his patients. The specific diet recommended in this protocol is called KetoFlex 12/3, which involves a daily fasting period of 12 hours. For ApoE4-positive patients, 14 to 16 hours of fasting instead of the minimum 12 is recommended.
He also recommends exercise, to increase BDNF; stress reduction; optimizing your sleep, which is critical for cognitive function, and nutritional support. Important nutrients include animal-based omega-3, magnesium, vitamin D, and fiber. All of these nutrients need to be optimized.
“I always tell patients, ‘We’re going to treat you now like a competitive athlete’ … We want to optimize these things. When you do that, the effects are absolutely striking. I’ve seen people go back to work. One person said, ‘I’ve allowed myself to talk to my grandchildren, once again, about the future, because I had to stop doing that.’
One person went from the third percentile to the 84th percentile on his cognitive testing. Another person increased hippocampal volume dramatically. These are unprecedented effects because we are addressing the specific items that are actually causing the cognitive decline.”
He’s also following Michael Hamblin’s work on photobiomodulation, which uses near-infrared light and red light between 660 and 830 nanometers for the treatment of Alzheimer’s. Dr. Lew Lim has developed a device called the Vielight, which employs light emitting diodes at these frequencies. Alzheimer’s patients using the device for 20 minutes a day report remarkably positive results.
Bredesen also agrees that electromagnetic exposures from wireless technologies are a crucial component that needs to be addressed, as this type of radiation activates the voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) in your cells, and the greatest density of VGCCs are in your brain, the pacemaker of your heart and male testes. It is my belief that excessive microwave exposure and glyphosate, which disrupts the blood-brain barrier, are two of the most significant factors contributing to Alzheimer’s.
More Information
To learn more, be sure to pick up a copy of “The End of Alzheimer’s: The First Program to Prevent and Reverse Cognitive Decline,” which details all the different evaluations recommended in his ReCODE Protocol. As noted by Bredesen:
“The hope is that when we all work together, we can make a major impact and reduce [Alzheimer’s prevalence]. As I said, it should be a rare illness. That is the truth. It should be a rare illness if we do the right things … We are in the middle of a revolution. This is a major change in medicine. We are now looking at how the human organism actually works. We are now able, for the first time, to do essentially what Jonathan Wright calls human biochemistry.
Drugs may or may not turn out to have their place. But the bottom line is we need to understand what’s causing the problem … We are now dying of complex illnesses, like cardiovascular disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. This is a real revolution in the way that we think.
My fervent hope is that we will see more of this in medical schools and in our universities — starting to look at what is actually driving these illnesses, instead of the old-fashioned approach of ‘Let’s write them a prescription.'”
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/08/27/reverse-cognitive-decline.aspx
ReCODE: The Reversal of Cognitive Decline – Dr. Mercola
Aug 27, 2017 – Dr. Dale Bredesen’s ReCODE protocol evaluates 150 factors known to contribute to Alzheimer’s disease. This identifies your disease ….. While ReCODE looks at all of the contributing factors, restoring mitochondrial function is a cornerstone of successful Alzheimer’s treatment. One of the most powerful ways…
Reversing Cognitive Decline: Not Beyond Our … – Dr. Kara Fitzgerald
Jun 15, 2017 – Dr. Bredesen’s team of researchers have identified distinct metabolic and toxic imbalances that define six subgroups. … Successful treatment plans, such as Breseden’s 36 point ReCODE protocol, essentially a full Functional Medicine approach, rely on a multi-modal, personalized approach to address…
The End of Alzheimer’s by Dr. Dale Bredesen: A Book Review
Sep 5, 2017 – Since then, I have taken Dr. Bredesen’s 3-day training for health care providers who want to apply the Bredesen protocol (now called “ReCODE”, for “reversal of cognitive decline”). I have also been seeing several patients for a few months and noticing some encouraging early results. A few patients are just …
Memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s reversed for the first time | UCLA
Oct 2, 2014 – The study was conducted Dr. Dale Bredesen of the UCLA Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research and the Buck Institute for … trials have been conducted for Alzheimer’s, without success, at an aggregate cost of over $1 billion,” said Bredesen, who also is a professor at the Buck Institute.
A few updates on the Bredesen protocol – Living Beyond Dementia™
Jun 21, 2017 – The inventor and developer of the original MEND protocol (metabolic enhancement for neurodegeneration), Dr. Dale Bredesen, has developed a more advanced and effective protocol, dubbed ReCODE™ for Reversal of Cognitive Decline. The MEND protocol was the first to result in the reversal of …
Information and answers to frequently asked questions about the Amos Institute. Learn more about the pricing and the science of our services.
Bredesen Protocol – ApoE4.Info Wiki
Dec 8, 2017 – Dr. Dale Bredesen, of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and UCLA’s Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research, is a scientist who has … Dr. Mercola Interviews Dr. Bredesen About ReCODE Protocol; Dr. Perlmutter, author of “The Grain Brain” interviewed Dr. Bredesen on Dec 4, 2017.
The Bredesen Protocol for Alzheimer’s and Dementia | Banks Nutrition …
One of them has been Dr. Bredesen who has developed a comprehensive treatment program that has produced strikingly different results. … Practitioners using the protocol have access to a comprehensive software analysis of the collected data developed by Dr. Bredesen and his research team called “ ReCode” which will …
Professor Dale Bredesen’s Alzheimer’s treatment now on offer in New …
Aug 30, 2016 – Bredesen is overseeing 112 patients who have been diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s or its precursors, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or subjective cognitive impairment. He is reporting a 90%success rate. He has published 19 case studies in the journal Aging.
Alzheimer’s Research | End Alzheimer’s
Professor Dale Bredesen of the Buck Institute in California, after 30 years of research, has developed protocols restoring memory loss and other cognitive functions in over 100 cases of early Alzheimer’s and its precursors of Mild and Subjective Cognitive Decline. This represents a 90% success rate and is an …