Advances in this field (and I don't mean Leqembi) have absolutely exploded since I first put this site together. It might sound like a slogan, but Dr. Dale Bredesen's refrain, "Alzheimer's is now optional" is really beginning to be proved true.* (Although pre-emptive-- and well-informed-- action is kind of key. We're not talking Sudoku here!)

I do want to qualify his initial reported successes, though, if I may. After following (and studying with) him for over a decade now, I only belatedly came to realize that his half dozen or so "poster child" success stories (link to August 2022 Facebook Live virtual reunion here with four of the first ReCoders) all seemed to have two things in common: they were all quite young for dementia (in their 50s and 60s); and they appear to have had unique contributors that responded pretty quickly to this type of intelligent assessment & intervention:

 

1. Julie G had been exposed to Lyme and missed some of the lingering co-infections. (More on Julie G at this link.) She was also a "4-4" ApoE genetic type, theoretically putting her at an additional 8-12 fold risk of developing the disease, at least as science currently understands things).

2. Sally (see search results page for Sally here) had been living in a moldy house. She did the disruptive & expensive but apparently necessary remediation, very candidly reports that the ReCode program was "the most difficult thing" she has ever done in her life, and also shares that she has "never felt better" in her entire life.

3. Frank (who wrote a book, "Defeating Dementia," about his experience-- after having lost his business and relocating to Mexico with his wife because they were out of money) appears to have needed only some B12 support-- and probably some DHEA or pregnenolone.
    

This in no way is meant to discount in any way what they and Dr. Bredesen and his growing network of collaborators have achieved: only to note that these were comparatively young & incredibly motivated folks.

Yet a fourth (female in her late 60's), we're calling her "Mary," had an undiagnosed fungal overgrowth in her GI tract, the metabolites of which enter systemic circulation and can cause all kinds of neurologic. Ditto with bacterial overgrowths. Call it dysbiosis or, as in this case, call it SIFO; the exact details are being written up for publication. (A couple of parasites also showed up on her GI Effects stool test.)

A botanical anti-microbial protocol and some gut healing products appear to have "cleared the fog" and other ailments (insomnia) she had been experiencing-- so successfully that she ended up canceling her assisting living move and has reclaimed her previously independent and active life. "Her entire life transformed," as the Marama clinical director noted. (Fast-forward to 34:00 at this video to hear San Diego-based naturopath Heather Sandison relate her story. It is quite powerful.)

Read more about GI Effects and the power of functional medicine stool testing (56 second overview video:) here and (kind of advanced case study:) here.

The most recent proof arrived just last month in the form of a Journal of Alzheimer's Disease paper by San Diego-based naturopath, Dr. Heather Sandison, along with some of the Apollo Health luminaries. I have written extensively about this, so please utilize the various links provided (or contact me) if this topic grabs you as it does me. I really need to try to interview her one on one, or at least see if she's done any additional interviews since these that I know of.

​

If you're a spreadsheet or quant type, below are links to the nitty gritty details of what they are doing at Marama and Solcere. I expect to do separate blog posts-- or who knows, maybe break into audio or video!-- for each of these as summer ebbs & cold weather arrives.

​

1. The (extensive) baseline (functional medicine type) testing performed (Table 1)

2. The various interventions (specific products) & dosages (Table 2)

3. Who (and %) of the 23 were discovered to have what (Table 3)

​

• Nutrient Deficiency, 100%

• Chemical pollutants, 91%

• GI Impairment, 91%

• Hormonal deficiency, 91%

• Biotoxins (mold, Lyme & co-infections), 87%

• Heavy Metals, 74%

• Poor sleep, 70%

 

4. The number (and %) of participants judged to require each intervention (Table 4)

​

• 90-100% required:
  supplemental vitamin D
  supplemental omega-3 fatty acids
  liver-gallbladder "detox" support
  change in eating habits (to teach the body-brain to use fatty acids for fuel)
  alcohol elimination
  nootropic supplements
  binding agents (to help remove metals, plastics, bacterial endotoxins)
  gut immune support (e.g., colostrum, Humavir)

​

• 74-87% required:
  hormone support
  sauna therapy
  sleep support

It is now understood that the processes leading to dementia (and other neurodegenerative illnesses, for that matter) begin at least 10 more likely 20 years prior to the onset of the first noticeable signs and symptoms. So it pays to be aware of and to act upon even the most minor deficits as early as possible. Do not dismiss these things as part of the normal process of aging; they are not!
 
As elfin Dr. Daniel Amen is fond of saying on those day-long PBS fund-drive marathons, "You either have bad habits or you've been exposed to something." It's often both.

And because Dr. Bredesen's program asks so much of its participants (giving up most bread/crackers/ chips, most grains, most alcohol and sweets) intermittent fasting, eating loads and loads of plants, but also some meat, eggs, (mercury-free) fish and healthy fats (nuts, seeds, olive oil, etc.); exercising 5-6 days a week, and engaging in meditation or another type of mindfulness practice), unless you can afford or otherwise have access to a support team that includes a nutritionist, a health coach, a personal trainer or fitness coach, and of course the MD or ND or NP coordinating all of this, it's much easier when you catch this and implement these changes as early as possible; that is to say, in the subjective cognitive impairment ("SCI") or mild cognitive impairment ("MCI") phase. Or better yet, as informed prevention!

Dr. Kat Toups, from the San Francisco Bay Area, presented results from a similar (but not quite as seismic) study at the IFM's annual meeting in Orlando, FL in April 2023. I will post a bulleted summary of her talk, but until then here is a pretty watchable (and inspiring) conversation with her speaking to MindBodyGreen founder/co-CEO Jason Wachob.

 

We really all need to make a road trip to Vista, CA (Marama) or Encinitas (Solcere) or Booth Bay, ME (Boothbay Region Health Center) or Wichita, KS (Avita at Rolling Hills) to see first-hand what these pioneering folks are achieving with Dr. Bredesen's approach. And to see both a) how we might more deftly apply it as well as b) who seems to respond the most and least successfully and why.

 

And I understand there are, every day it seems, more and more centers-- even academic medical centers, at Weill Cornell, at Washington & Lee)-- implementing this "whole body," systems approach to not just dementia but other neurodegenerative diseases. All I can say is "hooray, hooray" but also, "What took you so long?"

*see also, an interview with Dr. Dale Bredesen and Hong Kong-based Feisal Alibhai, of Qineticare Integrative Health & Wellbeing