Encouraging study on Alzheimer's!

ALZ is my worst fear.....my mother had it and it is such a terrible disease!

The long "Good-bye"!

The beloved face is as it always was (allowing for slow deterioration) ...

... but the brain function is slowly, irreversibly ebbing away.

o j

I've seen it up close and personal.. I don't want to go out like that.

I spend a few hours each day visiting my 93 year old FIL who resides in a Alzheimer's/Dementia care facility. A new resident arrived last week who is only 55 years old. Her symptoms began at age 52. She has 3 kids in college. It is extremely difficult seeing someone so young with the disease.

Fish seems to be expensive everywhere. Find a pond and buy a pole.

That poor woman--and her family. So hard on them.

I'm surprised this thread hasn't had more of a response. I picked up the link on another forum, where it didn't get much attention either. In fact, I haven't seen the study reported in the national media, although it may have been.

I think it would get more attention if it were a pill that they developed. :)

Fact is, these tips for treatment and prevention are what we *should* be doing anyway, and the vast majority of the population isn't willing to do - mainly cutting simple carbs, avoiding processed foods and getting regular exercise and other stress-reducing techniques.

I think it's great that research is finally showing how strong the link is between lifestyle and disease.

Indeed, it's very encouraging, but for now it was only one very small study. You can bet many more are in progress.

Fish has long been called "brain food", maybe in time they'll find it's true. I clicked through to the study and learned that the fish being eaten was described as "non-farmed". Since this study was done in Los Angeles, you can assume what was eaten was wild caught ocean fish. Enjoy your pond, Old Fixer, but buy your fish at the store.

As far as links between lifestyle and diseases, that's nothing new. There are many conditions like heart disease, stroke, and diabetes that those in the medical world refer to as lifestyle diseases. There's a stretch of the country that runs down the Appalachians and then turns east and west through many southern states, where it is believed that excessive consumption of fried food and obesity are responsible for among the highest rates of these diseases in the US.

Edit to add

the subsequent post reminded me that higher than average levels of smoking in this same region are also thought to contribute to the poor health stats.

This post was edited by snidely on Fri, Oct 10, 14 at 20:37

Chi83!! Good to see you back. When you get a chance, I hope you'll post the details of your wedding and honeymoon (the trip part). ;-)

Thanks Susan :) I will try!

As for lifestyle and diseases, I know it's nothing new, and it's basic common sense. I meant more that it's not always emphasized in the medical community (I have had more doctors offer me pills instead of lifestyle-changing advice than I care to mention) as well as observed a disturbingly high amount of people who blame their health issues on genetics and continue the self-destructive eating habits, smoking, etc.

Obviously there are some diseases and health issues that aren't completely lifestyle related, but I would wager most are at least influenced by lifestyle. The correlation has been far too ignored in my opinion as it's easier to pop a pill. Fortunately I do think the whole idea is gaining momentum, from more focus on food sourcing to attention to dangerous household chemicals and other toxic pollutants that surround us every day. There's still a lot of work to do but it's a start.

Well said, Chi. I'd like to find out more about the study, especially dosages of the supplements they used.

If you want more information, there's a link at the end of the article alisande referenced that has the details.

Just so no one goes running for the doors to try to follow what was done, the article disqualifies itself from being mistakenly viewed as a report of true findings by saying that the outcome described is only anecdotal (meaning what was done did not meet the requirements of a formal study).

The "program" included a dozen steps, including an insistence that some patients get at least 8 hours sleep and brush their teeth well. Maybe these were the two important factors, good oral hygiene and getting enough sleep? There's no way to know yet. The legitimate scientists who were involved cautioned about not reading more into their report that is warranted at this point.

Just so no one goes running for the doors to try to follow what was done,

And what if they do? I hope your cautionary tone is focused on what might happen if they get their hopes up too high, not on what might happen if they try this program. It can't hurt.

The case histories are interesting!

I'm editing to say on the whole and for most people, the recommendations in the program can't hurt. I noticed they mention coconut oil, which I can't take, and I'd have to be pretty desperate to start taking HRT. But they mention that not every participant followed every one of the recommendations, and in the cited cases even limited adherence resulted in a dramatic improvement.

This post was edited by alisande on Sat, Oct 11, 14 at 11:27

My 93 year old FIL was diagnosed with Dementia 7 years ago. His Neurologist prescribed the same supplements mentioned in the article. He has always led a very healthy lifestyle and an athelete up until the age of 85, playing 3 sets of tennis everyday. I know that dementia and Alzheimer's are two different diseases, but maybe the same approach might be helpful.

"I hope your cautionary tone is focused on what might happen if they get their hopes up too high, not on what might happen if they try this program."

Yes.

But recognize, there's no "program" to really follow. They threw several handfuls of mud against the wall to see if any would stick. Since the study was so small, there's no way to know if or which elements of the test were the cause of the observed benefits. Maybe it was all a coincidence or freak result of circumstances. They're experts and that's what they're saying. For someone less qualified to think otherwise is silly.

The advice to "lead a healthy lifestyle, watch what you eat, lose weight, and exercise" is good for everyone.

Mention was made that no doubt there'd be more studies to investigate this.

Probably not very many, as the approach is dealing substantially with lifestyle ...

... as many/most? of the current studies are financed by drug companies.

Not nearly as many underwritten by governmental sponsorship as in earlier times ... unfortunately, in my opinion: more likely to produce unbiased results.

As for "farmed" fish ... I think that there's a difference between the industry producing tons of fish from commercially large-scale farming on the shore of the ocean and my neighbours and I pulling a few fish from a pond on my farm.

My old uncle had a pond on top of a hill: spring-fed, so only minimally fed by run-off from the land. There's another pond on the farm, as well, but it's on the level ... (as am I) ... so partly fed at least by runoff from the surrounding cultivated land.

ole joyful

Thank you, alisande, who started this thread. My older sister (64 yr. old) starts having dementia, and the classic symptom of Alzheimer's (constantly accusing people) ... Your info. gave me hope.

Here's an excerpt from alisande's link: http://abc7news.com/health/non-drug-treatment-may-reverse-alzheimers/336963/

"Ten memory-loss patients, some with brain-scan-confirmed patterns of Alzheimer's, participated in a small UCLA trial called MEND (Metabolic Enhancement for NeuroDegeneration).

In the UCLA protocol, patients made dramatic lifestyle changes. They avoided simple carbs, gluten and processed foods. They increased their fish intake, took yoga and meditated. They were instructed to take melatonin, get adequate sleep, incorporate vitamin B-12, vitamin D-3 and fish oil.

Within six months, nine patients saw a noticeable improvement in memory. One patient, who was in the late stages of Alzheimer's, did not show improvement."

**** From StrawChicago: fish-oil is best absorbed in liquid form. We used to take fish-oil capsule ... but after reading someone saw fish-oil capsules floating INTACT in the toilet bowl .. I tested it: I soaked fish-oil-capsule in vinegar (same pH as stomach acid) .. and it took hours to dissolve !! We use NOW fish-oil liquid since it's cheapest on Amazon. The liquid is from Norwegian fish (cleaner water) ... The liquid-form of fish oil is often the freshest since they can't disguise the taste with enteric-coated capsule (takes even longer to dissolve), and these often pass through if one doesn't have enough stomach acid.

Another one of my favorite fish oil is Barlean's Omega-swirl, it tastes yummy like a sorbet. My teenager daughter likes that taste & it helps to weather her puberty. I tried Barlean's at my local health-food store: tasted good & like orange sorbet, zero fish-taste. I also tasted the LIME flavor, and the orange cream flavor. My ranking: 1) citrus sorbet 2) Lime 3) Orange cream. Very impressive Omega-3 profile: 910 EPA, 590 DHA, and 370 other Omega-3 .... for a total of 1,500 mg of Omega-3 per Tablespoon. I bought the Citrus Sorbet, only one left in the store's refrigerated section. I prefer buying fish-oil at local store's REFRIGERATED section, it's fresher that way. Also saw Barlean's swirl at Sam's club, but not sure about its freshness.

I have been reading about HRT and studies from Princeton during the last 20 years sounds promising....they are partnering with Nerium to start getting this on the market. I took ingredients list to my druggist and was told it would like be safe for me to take for my memory fog, if I decide to try it for 30 days. My DIL and her mom are going to start, but I have not committed to it yet.