Category Archives: Alzheimer’s

What Type of Alzheimer’s Disease Might You Develop?

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Diagnosing Alzheimer’s Disease is not easy.  The symptoms (forgetfulness, fuzzy thinking, confusion, changes in behaviour or personality) are common to other conditions – including other forms of dementia, stroke, sleep problems, hormonal changes, complications of the aging process and reactions to certain medications.

We do know that there is an association with amyloid plaques and the tau protein in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.  It is an association, however, and not causation.  99% of the drugs targeting the amyloid plaques have failed i.e., are useless in managing or reversing the disease.

A 2011 review in Lancet Neurology indicated that there are many possible “drivers” that may contribute to the development of the disease – chronic stress, lack of exercise, lack of restorative sleep, insulin resistance and diabetes, low kidney function, high blood pressure, inflammations from infections and environmental toxins, poor nutrition, small strokes, CVD, concussions, genetics (having the ApoE4 gene), lack of social connection and lack of mental stimulation.   Scientist Leroy Hood says that Alzheimer’s is “a really complex disease that has been utterly intractable” and that taking a systems approach “reflects my own conviction that these complex diseases almost never respond to a single drug”

Professor of Neurology at UCLA, Dr. Dale Bredesen, believes that Alzheimer’s is Preventing Alzheimer's Disease“triggered by a broad range of factors that upset the body’s natural process of cell turnover and renewal.”  After nearly 30 years of research he has identified more than three dozen mechanisms that amplify the biological processes that drive the disease.  These factors are not enough by themselves but in combination, have a cumulative effect resulting in the destruction of neurons and a disruption in the signaling between neurons.  “Normally, synapse-forming and synapse-destroying activities are in dynamic equilibrium” says Dr. Bredesen.

Dr. Bredesen also believes that Alzheimer’s Disease has three subtypes – each driven by different biological processes with each subtype requiring a customized treatment program.

So What Type of Alzheimer’s might you get?

Subtype No. 1 is associated with systemic Inflammation.  As you probably know, chronic systemic inflammation is persistent, low-grade inflammation that is ongoing.  Chronic inflammation is considered a precursor to accelerated aging and disease and has been linked to memory loss and cognitive decline.  It stands to reason that – if you have raised systemic inflammatory markers in your blood – that you may have the tendency to this particular subtype.  Three of the markers for systemic inflammation are hsCRP, Ferritin and RDW (Red Blood Cell Width)  If any of these markers are chronically raised in the blood, there is a good chance that you have systemic inflammation and may have an increased chance of getting Alzheimer’s subtype No.1.

Alzheimer’s Subtype No. 2 appears to be related to the body’s handling of glucose.  It is characterized by Insulin Resistance and extremely low levels of certain vitamins and minerals, and hormones.  Blood values that may be important to be aware of include Fasting Blood Glucose, HbA1c and Serum Insulin (Serum Insulin is a marker for Insulin Resistance or may indicate a tendency towards chronic inflammation if the FBG and HbA1c are normal).  If combined with abdominal obesity, abnormal lipid levels and high blood pressure, the possibility of Type 2 Alzheimer’s later in life increases i.e., if you have Metabolic Syndrome.

Type 3 Alzheimer’s appears to be related to chronic exposure to environmental toxins like metals and moulds.  It is generally categorized by a specific type of brain atrophy seen on MRI.  It often occurs in younger individuals with no family history of Alzheimer’s.

Dr. Bredesen has created his “Bredesen Protocol” designed to reverse chronic inflammation, decrease insulin resistance and avoid brain atrophy.  The salient points are as follows:

  • Eat a mostly plant-based diet – including broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts and leafy greens like kale and spinach;
  • Restrict or avoid simple carbohydrates from the diet i.e., bread, pasta, cookies, cakes, candy and sodas.  Eliminate gluten and added sugar;
  • Avoid high mercury fish like tuna, shark and swordfish;
  • Practice at least 12 hours a day of intermittent fasting i.e., eat within a twelve-hour window and fast for the other twelve;
  • Optimize your sleep patterns and get at least eight hours per night;
  • Hydrate your body with water;
  • Do Aerobic exercise for 30 to 60 minutes five times per week;
  • Meditate and do yoga to relieve stress;
  • Do brain training exercises for 30 minutes three times-per-week.

My take on this very naturopathic protocol is:

  • Reduce inflammation that begins in the gut e.g., wheat/gluten triggers inflammation;
  • Increase anti-oxidant consumption through the diet and add anti-oxidant supplements to reduce oxidative stress;
  • Control your blood sugar to reduce your risk of Type 2 Diabetes through diet and increasing your chromium, manganese and molybdenum intake;
  • Exercise your body and your brain;

Listen in on my recent Facebook Live:

Until next time…

Dr. G

Use It Or Lose It

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No.  I am not talking about sex (although this may be true).  Brain cells need stimulation in order to “stay sharp”.  Regular brain exercise is as necessary as regular general bodily exercise.  Research from Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association looked at 800 older Americans over 4.5 years.  The individuals who challenged their brains several times per week had a 33% lower risk of Alzheimer’s than people who participated in brain-stimulating activities just several times a month.  Although I didn’t see bingo on the list, other activities included reading, doing puzzles, playing cards, doing crosswords and visiting museums.  Use them (brain cells) or lose them – does apply here.

Until next time…

Dr. Gatis

Diagnosing Parkinson’s With The Voice

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When doctors ask you to say “ahhhh”, it is usually to look at the condition of your throat. Doctor examining throat Dr. Max Little, Chairman of the Parkinson’s Voice Initiative, has developed Speech Recognition software which compares a patient’s voice to a database of vocal recordings of Parkinson’s patients and those who do not have the disease.  Early testing of the technology have demonstrated it to be 99% accurate, and the project is currently amassing 10,000 further recordings to further assess the software’s ability to detect Parkinson’s.  Apparently, those individuals with Parkinson’s show specific vocal patterns e.g., tremors.

Parkinson’s is the second most common neurodegenerative disease behind Alzheimer’s disease and affects one million people in the USA.  There is no lab test specific for the disease.   Parkinson’s has the best outcomes when identified early – as the disease has no cure – but the progression of the disease can be slowed by pharmaceutical therapy. The diagnosis, up until now, has relied on clinical assessments of stress, muscle reflexes, gait, brain scans and so on.  The use of this voice recognition technology is showing great promise.  Calling your doctor may soon take on a whole new meaning.

Until next time…

Dr. Gatis

Why Should You Work Out In The Morning?

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Testosterone burns fat, builds muscle and increases sex drive in men and women.  Testosterone, like most steroid hormones, has a daily rhythm – highest in the morning and decreasing over the day.  It has been suggested that our ability to perform follows the same trend i.e., testosterone levels can predict our physical performance over the day.  A team at Swansea University, lead by Professor Kilduff,  evaluated the effect of training in the morning on testosterone response throughout the day.

Using testosterone levels derived from saliva sampling, 18 semi-professional rugby Morning exercise and black clockplayers were divided into three groups:  the control or resting group; the sprint group (5 x 40 meters) and weight-training (bench press and squat) group.  A follow-up saliva sample was taken before the players completed a performance test (back squat and bench press, 40m sprint and jump test).

The results showed the circadian decline in testosterone levels was negated by morning training.  In other words, working out (especially with weight training) in the morning  keeps the testosterone levels from dropping during the day and increases performance in power sports at least six hours after the initial workout.

If you recall in a previous blogs (2 and 3), I mentioned the reasons why maintaining testosterone levels is extremely important for men and women.  Here is a short list:  Increases bone density, decreases cholesterol, helps to prevent Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, prevents and treats depression, protects against cardiovascular disease, hypertension, excess body fat and arthritis, enhances memory and cognition, and protects against Diabetes, Insulin Resistance and Metabolic Syndrome.   Perhaps changing how and when we exercise may reduce our tendency to certain health conditions by maintaining optimal steroid hormone levels.

Until next time……

Dr. Gatis

Jealousy Can Increase Your Risk of Alzheimer’s

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Negative emotions can and do have an effect on our physiology.  The Chinese have known for centuries  that anger can affect the liver, grief can affect the lungs, the kidneys can be affected by fear and so on.  Now mainstream medical science has confirming data – at least when it comes to emotions like jealousy, fear and anger.  Having jealous or insecure thoughts has weird effects on the brain – in particular, the amygdala – the part of the brain that is involved in our perception of fear, anger and disgust.  The amygdala releases the hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline as part of your stress response.  The stress response is useful and necessary when it is short-lived but chronic stress andHuman Emotion the long-term release of these hormones affects the immune system and the cardiovascular system in deleterious ways.

Having chronic or obsessive thoughts of your partner being unfaithful or with another lover, or competition (real or imagined) with another in the workplace, for example, activates the amygdala and the release of stress hormones that can raise blood pressure – and blood pressure spikes when under stress have been linked to some forms of dementia.  A study out of Kyoto University in Japan, of 800 women over 38 years-of-age who felt most stressed or anxious, were at increased risk of Alzheimer’s and long-term distress.  The bottom line is that if you are feeling “out or your mind” with jealousy or insecurity, the result,  on a physical level, may just be literally “losing your mind”. Could it be that a high self-esteem and self-concept can protect us in some way from these mind-related diseases? Food for thought.

Until next time,

Dr. Gatis