Blog article

I recently attended a webinar on this difficult topic and thought I would pass on some interesting information on the features of Alzheimer's disease, disease drivers and how as a herbalist I can help at the early intervention stage and inhibition of progression of the disease.

Features of aging and Alzheimer's

1. Normal ageing is minor lapses in memory, misplacing items but then find them! You can plan and problem solve, with just a few errors. 
2. In Alzheimer's - Memory loss especially for recently learned information. Repeating yourself.Forgetting important dates and appointments. Forgetting where items are placed and unable to retrace them. Difficulty following a plan such as a recipe, or paying bills.

Historical prevalence

1in10 people get dementia after 65 years. 4 in 10 get dementia after 85 years. The rate is higher in women.Bearing in mind Alzheimer's comes under the umbrella of dementia.

Risk factors to develop dementia

Modifiable

• Cardiovascular disease
• High blood pressure
• Metabolic syndrome
• Overweight
• Smoking
• Depression
• Insomnia

Non-modifiable risk factors

• Age
• Family history - If one parent had the disease you have a 10-30% chance of getting it, whereas if both parents had dementia you have 30 to 90% chance of getting dementia.

Major disease drivers

• Inflammatory factors going on in the brain
• This causes ameloid plaques to form plus neurofibrillary tangles.
• Genetics with dominant genes for AD on the chromosomes.

Use of complimentary medicines to help reduce inflammation

• A new substance called Plasmalogens or PEA for short has had great success in reducing inflammation in chronic diseases such as Parkinson's disease, osteoarthritis  and now Alzheimer's disease. 
• NAC a precurser to glutathioine  an anti oxidant showed poromise on Alzheimers after 6 months.
• Vit E supplementation induced positive cognitive changes in patients with mild to moderate AD.
• It is suggested that selenium, Vit C and beta carotene are also taken as supplements as they are low in the blood.
• Aluminium, mercury and cadnium are higher in patients with AD. To remove from the body take Silicon, Selenium and Cucurmin( Turmeric).
• Ginkgo a herb has been shown to improve blood flow to the brain and thus is helpful for mild cognitive impairement and dementia. 
• Nutrients to help prevent Alzheimer's are the B vitamins, Glutathione, zinc, Vit D and magnesium. 
• And The Mediterranean diet is the best diet to be at least risk of cognitive decline.

Join the discussion