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In December I attended a two-day course designed to teach doctors and other healthcare providers how to help patients prevent and reverse cognitive decline. The course was taught by several experts, foremost of whom was Dr. Dale Bredesen, author of The End of Alzheimer’s. Dr. Bredesen, a neurologist, has been studying Alzheimer’s disease for over 30 years, and has developed a protocol that looks at Alzheimer’s as several types, with different approaches for each. He published a preliminary study in 2014 that showed improvement in 9 out of 10 patients, the only failure being a patient in an advanced stage of Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Bredesen sees the causes of Alzheimer’s as analogous to 36 possible holes in your roof — you must plug the ones that are leaking. How you plug them will involve some combination of nutrition, exercise, supplementation, detox and medication.
What I Learned
In those two days, I learned a lot, and have immersed myself in the speaker tapes and follow-up town halls and chat rooms of those who are using Dr. Bredesen’s protocol to help patients. I have some exciting information to impart, and am ready to offer some guidance to patients, family and friends looking to face this dreaded condition head on. One of the really gratifying takeaways was seeing how insulin resistance, high homocysteine, low vitamin D and low Omega 3 levels contribute to cognitive decline. These were not new concepts for me, but I appreciated seeing them echoed by those working in this field.
How the Program Works
If you want to consult with me about this issue, you can let me know when you schedule your next appointment. I am a trained practitioner with MPI Cognition and am receiving referrals from them. I will be adding additional intake forms to my website to help get more information to make our visit as productive as possible. I may order additional blood tests, administer a mental status exam at our visit, and/or order a special kind of MRI called a NeuroQuant to see how well your brain is working.
I may also refer you directly to Dr. Bredesen’s company, MPI Cognition, to take advantage of their proprietary software, which will help you (and me) develop the best and most effective approach.
Much more to come…
Hi Dr. Goodman – I work at the Hearth at Glastonbury and we are an Independent and Assisted Living Community with a memory care community Keepsake Village. I am working together with to nurses form Right at Home to start an Alzheimer’s Support Group that will be meeting here at the Hearth on the 3rd Friday of each month at 1:00. We would love to have you present at one of our meetings or alternately an evening if that works best with your schedule . I would love to speak with you about any opportunities that would provide information to our residents and their families as well as any members of our support group.