Dementia Archives - Mindshift Care

Episode 26: My medical opinion won the first-ever VA Service Connection for Agent Orange Dementia.

This is a big win for the entire cause of the Vietnam-era homefront. My previously published Independent Medical Opinion letter won a veteran 100% Service-Connection. This means the veteran will receive a pension and access to VA-covered healthcare. Download and Share the Historic IMO Letter for Agent Orange Dementia.

https://vimeo.com/1135271851

Download & share the Ambassador Slides HANDOUT.

Historic VA Rating Decision:

Translation: Agent Orange causes Dementia, which causes Depression.

First VA Service-Connection for Agent Orange DementiaDownload

Episode 22: The chemical trails behind air planes contain high levels of free aluminum. It is blanketing the earth, collecting in remote areas, soaking into our environment - and it's in our brains.

[edited on 7/31/2026 with the addition of the Kristen Meghan video below.]

Heroes and Politicians: Another Puppet Show?

World hero Dane Wigington from GeoEngineering Watch did an an interview with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., while he was a Presidential Candidate (watch and see how much of a politician he really is).

The aluminum in the rain went from 7 ppb to 334 ppb over 18 months at his home.

He lost 80% of the solar power he could absorb from the sun with his solar panels.

David Keith is a featured climate engineer discussing how we are already so vulnerable that a rogue country could hack the entire world's climate and bring it down as shown in this YouTube video:

https://youtu.be/bqSkbHKSnjI

Kristen Meghan

Air Force industrial hygienist blew the whistle on toxic chemicals used to spray the skies.

How to Destroy a Planet

Spray Sulfuric Acid overhead to stop the planet from warming up.

Watch the documentary The Dimming to see what the prophets have predicted for thousands of years.10-13

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf78rEAJvhY

What are the contents of Chem Trails? Neurotoxins.

Aluminum1

Barium 2

Strontium3

Metalicized paper

Metal Mylar polyethylene terephthalate (PET). PET is synthesized from two primary organic compounds: dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) and ethylene glycol4, 5

Manganese6

Plastic Polymer fibers7

Graphene8

Surfactants9

Ocean Iron Fertilization is the approach in the oceans which also contain polymer fibers. Employees of Lockheed Martin are packing the whales with aluminum. UVC waves are now making it all the way through to the surface, with plankton decimation up to 90%.

The Effect of GeoEngineering on Mental Health

This explains why we don't feel well. It is an overwhelming topic and we need to awaken ancient healing practices and to study how to detox from all of these substances. All of this is enough to cause a panic attack and has sure been a somewhat frequent course of conversation in my Functional Psychiatry Clinic.

https://vimeo.com/1133039714

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Another Prophecy Being Fulfilled?

There are still a few patients, say less than 5%, that know about the ancient prophecies about the sky and the oceans.10-13 There are some whose education was so mainstream that it was shaped by evil empires; empires that would go on to douse the sky with toxins that kill plankton, human brains, solar power, the ozone layer and our defense against powerful solar radiation. Sounds like a conspiracy, right?

Conspiracy Therapy

As more and more conspiracies are coming true, it became evident that I needed a way to help my patients take care of themselves no matter what. Here's what I say to them now: "Assuming the conspiracy is true, what do you think you should be doing to prepare yourself and your family?"

The Disney Illusion Example

One example comes from Disney who owns Fox News. Why did Disney supposedly pay $60,000,000 to have the appearance of chem trails added to all of their old movies? To program the subconscious of the next generation. Parents already deliver the absolute best mind-control programming, so why not slip in a little more to their children and bypass parental influence altogether (almost). If the subconscious is programmed to normalize chem trails, then logical arguments of the conscious mind won't cause behavior change. Even though the science has spoken, you can't talk them out of it. That's why.

Conspiracy Therapy would suggest that rather than worry about all of this, I might be better served to think about what I can do to prepare myself. Not trusting fact-checkers would be a good place to start.

In my studies, I kept running across people from many different types of churches and religions that were in some way tied to the Dead Sea Scrolls. In case you don't know, many ancient scriptures were found in the Dead Sea dating back thousands of years verifying the translations and historical authenticity to hundreds of prophecies. Hundreds of the prophecies are already fulfilled and some pretty terrible ones remain. One of the prophecies involves blotting out the sky and turning the oceans red and rendering them unable to produce fish.

What fascinated and surprised me most is that the worldview was irrelevant for ancient healing. The techniques shared by the healers throughout the ages all followed the same 9 steps. This explains why my feeble attempts to dabble with energy healing modalities and to pray have yielded such fantastic rewards in my life. I hope you can find some encouragement in this article. I can tell you what I do: I focus on the Great Comforter and the canon of scripture confirmed in the Dead Sea Scrolls. There were non-canon scriptures among the Dead Sea Scrolls with healing techniques that also work, but that will be covered in Episode 25: Biblical Psychiatry from all of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Conspiracy Therapy would suggest one might consider reading the Dead Sea Scrolls for oneself.

References

1.         Skalny AV, Aschner M, Jiang Y, et al. Molecular mechanisms of aluminum neurotoxicity: Update on adverse effects and therapeutic strategies. Adv Neurotoxicol. 2021;5:1-34. doi:10.1016/bs.ant.2020.12.001

2.         Bhoelan BS, Stevering CH, van der Boog AT, van der Heyden MA. Barium toxicity and the role of the potassium inward rectifier current. Clin Toxicol (Phila). Jul 2014;52(6):584-93. doi:10.3109/15563650.2014.923903

3.         Wang S, Zeng F, Ma Y, et al. Strontium Attenuates Hippocampal Damage via Suppressing Neuroinflammation in High-Fat Diet-Induced NAFLD Mice. Int J Mol Sci. Jun 16 2023;24(12)doi:10.3390/ijms241210248

4.         Moore MM, Kanekar SG, Dhamija R. Ethylene Glycol Toxicity: Chemistry, Pathogenesis, and Imaging. Radiology Case Reports. 2008/01/01/ 2008;3(1):122. doi:https://doi.org/10.2484/rcr.v3i1.122

5.         Cheng X, Dong S, Chen D, et al. Potential of esterase DmtH in transforming plastic additive dimethyl terephthalate to less toxic mono-methyl terephthalate. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. 2020/01/15/ 2020;187:109848. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.109848

6.         Dobson AW, Erikson KM, Aschner M. Manganese neurotoxicity. Ann N Y Acad Sci. Mar 2004;1012:115-28. doi:10.1196/annals.1306.009

7.         Prüst M, Meijer J, Westerink RHS. The plastic brain: neurotoxicity of micro- and nanoplastics. Part Fibre Toxicol. Jun 8 2020;17(1):24. doi:10.1186/s12989-020-00358-y

8.         Kim M, Eom H-J, Choi I, Hong J, Choi J. Graphene oxide-induced neurotoxicity on neurotransmitters, AFD neurons and locomotive behavior in Caenorhabditis elegans. NeuroToxicology. 2020/03/01/ 2020;77:30-39. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuro.2019.12.011

9.         Al-Asmakh M, Majdalawieh AF, Abdullah AM, et al. AEO-7 surfactant is “super toxic” and induces severe cardiac, liver and locomotion damage in zebrafish embryos. Environmental Sciences Europe. 2020/11/11 2020;32(1):149. doi:10.1186/s12302-020-00429-z

10.       Publishing SQ, Whittingham W. The Geneva Bible 1560 with Apocraphya. Goodman C. Sacred Quill Publishing; 2024.

11.       Wycliffe J. The Wycliffe Bible: John Wycliffe's Translation of the Holy Scriptures from the Latin Vulgate. Wycliffe J. LAMP PoST; 2009:800.

12.       Coogan MD. The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha. 5 ed. Oxford University Press; 2018:2416.

13.       Tyndale W, Coverdale M. The Matthew's Bible: 1537 Edition. Rogers J. 1537 ed. Hendrickson; 2009:1116.

Episode 19. Have your "senior moments" assessed on an objective scale, while they are still mild. Don't put up with it or minimize it. Many causes are reversible. Don't wait! Each memory is a neuron connection.

You have been exposed to thousands of toxins unless you’ve filtered your water and prepared your own food your entire life.

A 20-minute screening test from Canada, the home of modern Functional Medicine, has a good base of scientific evidence in detecting and monitoring subtle changes in memory loss or gain.1 I got certified in the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) because the company behind it has really done their due diligence to get all of the feedback you would ever want from the scientific community.2

Book A MoCA Test now

Book your appointment today. Your cognitive decline may be recoverable and will be an important part of your customized Mindshift Plan. The customization part of your Mindshift Plan can not be overemphasized here because the MoCA test has been validated in psychosis, mood disorders with electroconvulsive therapy, late-life Bipolar Disorder and Geriatric Psychiatry.3-6 Folks, these disorders are made much worse with memory loss, often culminating into a clinical picture involving extreme emotional experiences because of their lifelong accumulation of quantum drag leading to a simultaneous Accumulation Stress Injury.

https://vimeo.com/1132870234

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Glymphatic System Washes Your Brain if you Sleep

Our brains have a washing cycle at night. Once per minute, a small amount of adrenaline causes a small arteriole squeeze all the way through the brain.7 This creates a small amount of space around the vessels for interstitial fluid to be moved and absorbed by the cranial veins. If the Glymphatic System is interfered with that we get a build-up of amyloid proteins that are toxic to the brain – and associated with Alzheimer’s Dementia. It appears that some anti-histamines are anti-cholinergic and these mechanisms stop the Glymphatic System. The over-the-counter shelves are full of antihistamines.8

Too bad sleep medications shut it down…

Some anti-histamines are anti-cholinergic also, but no one is really studying which of all these anti-histamines are ultimately neurotoxic. It would take decades and thousands or lab rats for us to catch up to this threat. From allergy pills to sleeping age, the entire world is consuming this stuff and no one realizes the risk. Do you want to research this question? Join me on a Research Mastermind Group.

Our brains collect lots of exogenous toxins (outside the body) that we absorb from our environment and consume in food and water. We lack the laboratory and animal model studies to show causality, but all of these toxins act the same on humans: estrogenic, neurotoxic, carcinogenic, and anti-fertility. Here are some cutting-edge research ideas for those that would like to go to graduate school on these topics:

BPA plastic in the brain is associated with a 10-fold risk in dementia.9

Tramadol is a weak opioid pain-killer associated with dementia.10

More than 2,500 medications are associated with dementia.11

Dementia MedicationsDownload

The prevalence of pollution, autism, ADHD, depression and cognitive slowing has garnered more attention in recent years. My experience in Springfield, MO opened my eyes to see the connection between contaminated water and a flood of ADHD patients with high cholesterol, low vitamin D, and a lot more thyroid disease than should have been expected. It turns out the PFAS epidemic has thousands of locations.

Toxic Exposures Hasten Dementia

It turns out that if people actually study it, there's laboratory evidence showing dementia in rats with toxic exposures. Episode 14 Proof Agent Orange Causes Dementia discusses the fact that it took from 1961 until 2024 for researchers to actually study it. Is this a lack of science? Or a lack of will to ask tough questions? I never lacked the will to ask tough questions.

Fortunately, I started asking original questions and demonstrated that neurotoxins that kill brain cells are expelled from the body during ionic foot baths and wrote a protocol for everyone, called the Firefighter's Detox.

I decided to become certified in the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) for two reasons. First, so that I could use the dementia screening test with veterans disability evaluations. Second, the research has continued to explode supporting it's helpfulness in recent years. View the MoCA Clinic data and you'll be impressed too. Their videos are worth the time if you really want to delve deeper in preventing and reversing dementia.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0735216215?psc=1&language=en_US

You can be located anywhere in the world. You will need to take the results to your own physician for interpretation. This appointment type is not for diagnoses or medications.

It only takes 20 minutes and it could change your life.

References

1.         Corral S, Gaspar PA, Castillo-Passi RI, et al. Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) as a screening tool for cognitive impairment in early stages of psychosis. Schizophr Res Cogn. Jun 2024;36:100302. doi:10.1016/j.scog.2024.100302

2.         Dautzenberg G, Lijmer J, Beekman A. Clinical value of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in patients suspected of cognitive impairment in old age psychiatry. Using the MoCA for triaging to a memory clinic. Cogn Neuropsychiatry. Jan 2021;26(1):1-17. doi:10.1080/13546805.2020.1850434

3.         Gil-Berrozpe GJ, Sánchez-Torres AM, García de Jalón E, et al. Utility of the MoCA for cognitive impairment screening in long-term psychosis patients. Schizophr Res. Feb 2020;216:429-434. doi:10.1016/j.schres.2019.10.054

4.         Hebbrecht K, Giltay EJ, Birkenhäger TK, et al. Cognitive change after electroconvulsive therapy in mood disorders measured with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. Acta Psychiatr Scand. Nov 2020;142(5):413-422. doi:10.1111/acps.13231

5.         Belvederi Murri M, Respino M, Proietti L, et al. Cognitive impairment in late life bipolar disorder: Risk factors and clinical outcomes. J Affect Disord. Oct 1 2019;257:166-172. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2019.07.052

6.         Gierus J, Mosiołek A, Koweszko T, Wnukiewicz P, Kozyra O, Szulc A. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment as a preliminary assessment tool in general psychiatry: Validity of MoCA in psychiatric patients. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. Sep-Oct 2015;37(5):476-80. doi:10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2015.05.011

7.         Buccellato FR, D'Anca M, Serpente M, Arighi A, Galimberti D. The Role of Glymphatic System in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease Pathogenesis. Biomedicines. Sep 13 2022;10(9)doi:10.3390/biomedicines10092261

8.         Hsieh M-L, Lu Y-T, Lin C-C, Lee C-P. Comparison of the target-controlled infusion and the manual infusion of propofol anesthesia during electroconvulsive therapy: an open-label randomized controlled trial. BMC psychiatry. 2021/02/04 2021;21(1):71. doi:10.1186/s12888-021-03069-6

9.         Gecegelen E, Ucdal M, Dogu BB. A novel risk factor for dementia: chronic microplastic exposure. Front Neurol. 2025;16:1581109. doi:10.3389/fneur.2025.1581109

10.       Oh SN, Kim HJ, Shim JY, et al. Tramadol use and incident dementia in older adults with musculoskeletal pain: a population-based retrospective cohort study. Scientific Reports. 2024/10/11 2024;14(1):23850. doi:10.1038/s41598-024-74817-3

11.       Wilkinson T, Schnier C, Bush K, et al. Drug prescriptions and dementia incidence: a medication-wide association study of 17000 dementia cases among half a million participants. J Epidemiol Community Health. Mar 2022;76(3):223-229. doi:10.1136/jech-2021-217090

Episode 14: Download the first Independent Medical Opinion letter that got a Vietnam Veteran VA Service-Connection for Agent Orange causing Dementia.

UPDATE 11/10/2025: We were successful! The VA Awarded 100% Service-Connection for Agent Orange Causing Dementia for the first time in history.

Make a VA Disability Claim

Application Tracker (one-page)

I recently had the experience of doing an evaluation on a Vietnam veteran who had been exposed to Agent Orange. Since 1993, the VA Secretary has declared that there is no link between Agent Orange and the subsequent development of dementia. In the past two years, all that has changed.

https://vimeo.com/1128135250?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

Download and Share the Ambassador Slides HANDOUT.

I just have to say, Thank a Vietnam Veteran TODAY

The entire world owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to our Vietnam Veterans, not only for suffering the way the did and continue to, but for advancing mental health care with the advent of the PTSD diagnosis in 1980. My family got involved because my father brought Vietnam home with him too. I like to say my little brother and I were Sons of Rambo, but my life experience led me to a completely different way to look at the whole problem. Flashbacks are electromagnetic waves in the body. Dozens of ancient, and several modern, techniques address the EMF wave without talking about trauma or pain at all. I believe energy healing returns us to our ancestral roots and God, in His infinite grace and lovingkindness, has provided a way for all peoples to find relief through different forms of medicine and healing. That's why Mindshift Care blends modern PTSD care with the much more effective ancient techniques that are Complementary and Alternative Medicine options for self-care. So, now I can help you, pray for you, and watch you release the residue from the body that is the real problem-magnifier. // MAJ (fmr) Daniel M. Williams, M.D., P.A.

The toxic shame-culture still abounds at every step and every layer of the Matrix.

So when you do VA Disability Evaluations, sometimes you get push-back on your reports. It's usually a previously written rebuttal paragraph, like this one. Notice how they address a board-certified psychiatrist of 10 years that believes neurotoxins kill brain cells - they said my report had "deficiencies". What I really wanted to say, instead of this IMO letter below, is "You're copy/pasting a 'deficiency' reply into the official VA disability claim from a veteran who was drafted, had nerve agent dumped on top of him from American aircraft, and was spit upon when he returned home to a country with several cities burning in protest fires. No, my report did not have deficiencies. You're part of a corrupt system that has been denying these claims since Agent Orange's first test spray in Vietnam on August 10, 1961. Signed, MAJ (fmr) Daniel. M. Williams, M.D., P.A., former 36th Infantry Division Psychiatrist."

Here's what the VA said when I concluded Agent Orange caused Dementia

"Please have the previous examiner address the deficiencies with the examination he or she conducted on the Veteran. Neurobehavioral disorders (cognitive and neuropsychiatric) have been determined by the Secretary, based on cumulative scientific data reported by the National Academies of Science since 1993, to have no positive association with herbicide exposure. Dementia is classified as a neurobehavioral disorder, encompassing both cognitive and neuropsychiatric components. You indicated that "the rationale is the veteran was exposed to Herbicide Agent TCDD while the Veteran served in Vietnam. This has been associated with the subsequent development of dementia." However, this rationale is not sufficient in this case. The rationale must: 1. Cite any general medical principles used to support the opinion. 2. Identify pertinent medical evidence and case-specific information relied on to support the opinion. 3. Demonstrate how the opinion was formulated. 4. Include supportive arguments for any opinions rendered or conclusions reached, with an analysis that can be considered when weighing contradictory or conflicting opinions. 5. Provide clear conclusions based upon supporting data and analysis, including a reasoned medical explanation connecting the two. Please clarify how, as a specific and individual matter, the Veteran’s dementia is associated with herbicide exposure, given that the National Academies of Science since 1993 have found no positive association involving neurobehavioral disorders with herbicide exposure as a general matter. Provide a specific, individualized rationale consistent with the five points above, to substantiate and support the opinion rendered."

I have to admit that when I first saw this reply, it was news to me. I had the feeling I made a mistake, but I had to fight this one. If you've read about my personal struggle with detoxing from the PFAS Forever Chemicals, you'd know I'm intimately familiar with how neurotoxins kill brain cells. I decided to dig my feet in and write an essay on how Agent Orange causes dementia. Besides, I had to because there was no way to resubmit the document I had already filled out. I didn't know the research when I made that decision.

Make a VA Disability Claim

Application Tracker (one-page)

2026 Nominee for the Mindshift Care Every Day Hero Award

I invited Dr. Suzanne de la Monte, MD MPH to appear on the Gluten-Free Psychiatry Podcast. She is the researcher that provided both missing links between Agent Orange and dementia. Contact me to submit questions you'd like me to ask prior to that podcast. My plan is to emphasize her as a role model for future researchers' footsteps to follow.

Download and share the full IMO letter with citation at the bottom of this page. Be sure to leave the PDF unchanged and cite properly.

My Proof That Agent Orange Causes Dementia: Response to the VA

[The most current version of the letter will be at the bottom of the page.]

"Recent evidence suggests that Agent Orange exposures may predispose to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s Disease.1 There are now biological breakthroughs in science demonstrating what has been missing since in establishing causality of Agent Orange leading to neurocognitive decline and dementia. This contradicts the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs long held position that there is no causality (see Appendix A). It is well accepted that amyloid plaque collects in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.2  More recent evidence suggest that medications with anti-histamine properties, like over-the-counter sleep aids and allergy pills, shut down the glymphatic system’s nightly brain wash-out of these amyloid plaques. Higher plasma Aβ oligomer levels were found in the blood of Alzheimer’s Disease patients that had been exposed to Agent Orange than those who had not.3 This landmark finding is a missing biological link to elevated amyloid plaques that build up (See Figure 1).

Figure 1. Peer-reviewed, scientific studies now demonstrate causality of Agent Orange and neurocognitive damage, including the mechanism of action of dementia.

The Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2008 publication was written by the Committee to Review the Health Effects in Vietnam Veterans of Exposure to Herbicides (Seventh Biennial Update) at the Institutes of Medicine.4 In the 2008 Update, they write “Neurologic disorders due to toxicant exposure may result in either immediate or delayed dysfunction of any component of the nervous system; immediate effects of toxicants may involve all aspects of the nervous system, whereas delayed effects are likely to produce more focal problems.” They ruled against Agent Orange causing neurobehavioral effects, while simultaneously writing that Alzheimer’s Dementia, Parkinson’s Disease, Spinocerebellar degeneration, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis “all may be triggered by aspects of the environment, including toxicant exposure.” I opine that the reason there is not enough data to show causality is because it would be unethical to arrange a research study to prove it. The closest we can come is to recreate the conditions in a lab. Fortunately, researchers at Rhode Island Hospital, Lifespan Academic Institutions, and the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island have made progress demonstrating the mechanism of action in cell cultures and in rat models.

In 2023, Suzanne de la Monte et al. published their landmark finding under laboratory conditions, citing “Exposures to Agent Orange herbicidal chemicals rapidly damage CNS neurons, initiating a path toward AD-type neurodegeneration. Additional research is needed to understand the permanency of these neuropathologic processes and the added risks of developing AD in Agent Orange-exposed aging Vietnam Veterans.5 This study supports previously denied claims that the two main constituents in Agent Orange, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T), which independently and synergistically damage the central nervous system.5 Both compounds impair mitochondrial function and reduce cell viability in neuronal models, with 2,4,5-T demonstrating greater potency in causing cell death and mitochondrial dysfunction.”5         

In 2024, Suzanne de la Monte and Ming Tong published their findings in live rat models.6 The rats were injected with Agent Orange and developed brain damage that clearly mimics dementia in humans.6 They concluded “Exposures to AO herbicidal chemicals damage frontal lobe brain tissue with molecular and biochemical abnormalities that mimic pathologies associated with early-stage AD-type neurodegeneration.”6

Translating this laboratory research into an attribution claim for a Vietnam veteran that was soaking wet in Agent Orange is difficult....