Everything I've read in the mainstream is a mix of depressing currently and hopeful in the future. Generally, prevailing "wisdom" is that once you're diagnosed you're doomed. You are going to progress.
I happen to be of a mindset that there are ways to stop the progression and reverse it in many cases, but not all cases (see above for links to stories, books, doctors, etc.). However, I see case after case where even at the later stages people have calmed, have improved, using things other than current medications and/or in addition to current medications.
One story that stuck with me was about a military gentleman with diagnosed Alzheimer's Disease, was being treated via mainstream docs, who was always agitated, yelling, mad. His family started him on one of the prevailing "alternative" treatments (diet and supplements) and he calmed down, became a happy soul. It didn't change much of anything else, aside from better physical status, but he was in a better place mentally. That alone is worth the effort!
Doctors are also notoriously prickly about "Google Doctors" as they call people like me. I walk a fine line and defer to their wisdom. But I still firmly believe that I have to double-check, do my own research.
(I guess that's another blog --- all my personal and friend's experiences with an incorrect diagnosis or being given a drug to treat something without ever being told how to fix it with diet or actions (ala Type 2 Diabetes and cholesterol). Personally, I use doctors to diagnose. Not that I have any problem with taking a prescribed medication if needed. We have amazing doctors, scientists, researchers and I'm blessed to live in a time where so much is available.)
When combatting cognitive issues you start early, you look at the entire body and lifestyle and then do the best you can to correct all the issues. Sadly, as I've said over and over, by the time we're willing to start addressing brain issues we're often well on the path. For some the issues start 20 years before 'symptoms" happen.
Through it all she is still "there" most of the time. She can enjoy times with family. She knows what is going on and cries about the future. She has great days where she's going to fight this, where she will overcome and give God the glory, where she understands that using what God has provided via doctors and foods, etc., is a good thing. She knows when she is being treated like a child. She gets mad when treated like she doesn't know what's going on. Her main caretaker is great --- he involves her every step of the way.
Side note on current drug treatments for dementia: Most of the current drugs given for cognitive issues have some ugly side-effects. This individual won't take anything without reading the pamphlets. When I looked at all the drugs and saw the potential side-effects I thought "oh no, constipation..." that's all it will take...
OK, this is another blog post where I'll have to come back to it...am cooking some cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, and mushrooms so sliding over here in-between steps :-). So much on my mind after my last visit to see my parents...and every day the long list of alerts and news re: AD, cognition, dementia and health gets my little pea-brain zipping all over the place!!!
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This one is interesting.
Scientists to test drug meant to stop or slow Alzheimer’s before symptoms appear
https://www.columbian.com/news/2020/feb/08/scientists-to-test-drug-meant-to-stop-or-slow-alzheimers-before-symptoms-appear/
My thoughts? Much of the current prevailing wisdom seems to be that the amyloid plaques are protective responses. I've heard them likened to ambulances and police that swarm to a wreck. Yes, they get tangled but they are there in response not as the cause. They seem, at least from what I'm reading, to be initially protective. Then if you don't correct the underlying issue they increase, get tangled, and start causing problems.
Clearing them up after they're tangled can be beneficial. It seems that it's short-lived though if the underlying reason for them isn't addressed. Which is why most of our mainstream drugs rarely work for long. They clear them out, there is a temporary improvement or a temporary "stay" in progression, then wham things are back and often worse than before the drug. Not always given that some find or correct the problem.Also, they've found that many people have the plaques but never develop Alzheimer's Disease or any type of dementia. Just like many people are diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease who have other issues ranging from Lyme disease to mold toxin issues to...oh, shoot, the list is soooo long.
That's an interesting thing, too. When they first started diagnosing Alzheimer's Disease they (the wise ones of the day :-)) came up with a list of SUGGESTED criteria to consider. Somehow that became the definitive criteria. It was initially supposed to be a tool, a possibility, not a "they have it" list. Will have to see if I can find the various articles and podcasts where I heard that one...
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A few of the articles, research, and studies that caught my attention:
Is This Under-the-Radar Stock Set to Succeed in Alzheimer's Disease?
A promising new approach could potentially yield a new drug providing hope for millions of Alzheimer's patients worldwide.https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/02/07/is-this-under-the-radar-stock-set-to-succeed-in-al.aspx
In recent years, scientific evidence forged a link between P. gingivalis infection, more commonly known as gingivitis, and Alzheimer's disease. The scientific thesis for Cortexyme's approach focuses on the discovery that the P. gingivalis bacteria can enter the bloodstream and make its way to the brain, particularly in older individuals and those with a genetic predisposition. Once inside brain cells, also called neurons, the bacteria release a toxic substance called gingipains. The gingipains digest neuronal proteins leading to the death of the brain cell..
Loss of BIN1 protein in Alzheimer’s disease promotes synaptic accumulation of phosphorylated tau and disrupts tau release: Tau-directed effects of BIN1 loss in AD
https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/loss-of-bin1-protein-in-alzheimers-disease-promotes-synaptic-accumulation-of-phosphorylated-tau-and-disrupts-tau-release(c8017124-cc51-4c71-a39d-9f2a985aeec3).html
Polymorphisms associated with BIN1 confer the second greatest risk for developing late onset Alzheimer’s disease. The biological consequences of this genetic variation are not fully understood, however BIN1 is a binding partner for tau. Tau is normally a highly soluble cytoplasmic protein, but in Alzheimer’s disease tau is abnormally phosphorylated and accumulates at synapses to exert synaptotoxicity. The purpose of this study was to determine if alterations to BIN1 and tau in Alzheimer’s disease promote the damaging redistribution of tau to synapses, as a mechanism by which BIN1 polymorphisms may increase risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. We show that BIN1 is lost from the cytoplasmic fraction of Alzheimer’s disease cortex, and this is accompanied by the progressive mislocalization of phosphorylated tau to synapses. We confirmed proline 216 in tau as critical for tau interaction with the BIN1-SH3 domain and show that phosphorylation of tau disrupts this binding, suggesting that tau phosphorylation in Alzheimer’s disease disrupts tau-BIN1 associations...
Alzheimer's treatments: What's on the horizon?
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-disease/in-depth/alzheimers-treatments/art-20047780
PET Tracer Detects Synapse Loss Across Alzheimer’s Brain
https://www.alzforum.org/news/conference-coverage/pet-tracer-detects-synapse-loss-across-alzheimers-brain
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