Evolving Past Alzheimer's

Halloween is here and the other holidays are just around the corner, so we need to discuss sugar. I share about a conversation I had with Dr. Dale Bredesen about the importance of eating right when trying to prevent cognitive impairment. It has been a long time where food and wellness was not included in the treatment plan for patients with Alzheimer's and Dementia, but it's such a crucial part of preventing and slowing the progression of cognitive decline.

Nikki Gould, a registered dietician at Kemper Cognitive Wellness is also joining us today to talk about what sugar can do to your brain and your overall health and how we can navigate the holidays with this information in mind.

6:39 - Is there a healthy amount of sugar?

11:05 - How sugar is hidden in the American diet

15:38 - Taking the first steps towards sustainable change

20:30 - Keeping sugar intake at a reasonable level during the holidays

25:04 - Supporting family members during the holidays if they are struggling with their health

Untreated and unresolved trauma is now considered to be a risk factor and contributor to Alzheimer's dementia.

Trauma can be defined as any event that alters how we process, react to, and recall memories, by overwhelming the individual's central nervous system. Additionally, trauma is defined as any event in which a person feels helpless and unsafe. It is not only an occurrence that happened in the past; instead, trauma is an event that leaves an imprint upon the body and the brain which persists to the present day.

Our guest for this episode, Dr. Ilene Naomi Rusk completed her PhD in Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology in the UK , and Fellowships in Neuropsychology. She has dedicated her career to studying novel treatment strategies for Alzheimer's Disease and sees trauma as a root cause of many illnesses. She is the author of several peer reviewed articles. Dr Rusk co-founded the Brain and Behavior Clinic over 25 years ago and currently directs the Healthy Brain Program in Colorado.

4:20 - Defining trauma through reflecting on a patient story

7:26 - How trauma influences more than just the brain

16:06 - A trauma informed approach to treating neuro degeneration

21:50 - Identifying cognitive decline symptoms in patients who struggle with other mental illnesses or trauma

33:24 - Classic signs of unresolved trauma in the older generations

42:44 - How to deal with unresolved trauma in someone before it becomes cognitive decline

56:12 - How long does it take to see improvement when working with trauma-informed techniques?

Strategies to improve the brain and nervous system:

• traditional talk therapy (eg with a psychologist)
• Simple deep breathing
• dance and movement
• waling
• Qi Gong, Tai Chi, Yoga
• other coregulatory exercises

DisasterShock.com is a resource for people struggling with the stressors and traumas. It includes:

• opportunities for social connection/coregulation (including on-line)
• craft projects
• walking

For more many more tools and strategies visit Ilenenaomirusk.com

To learn more about the BrainFit program at Kemper Cognitive Wellness visit kemperwellness.com

Dr. Nate Bergman quickly summarizes the story up the FDA's recent "accelerated approval" of Biogen's - Aducanumab (brand named, Aduhelm). He ends off with surprise about why he is excited about the approval...and it's probably not what you think! A quick, but useful listen.

In this episode we talk about…

• The terms of the approval of the drug
• What Aducanumab was able to accomplish in Alzheimer's patients
• The circumstances that led to Aducanumab being approved
• Some of the problems that arise with Aducanumab
• Why I am excited about Aducanumab

In this episode, we talk with Lisa, a woman in her early 70s living with Alzheimer's. Lisa is a patient of Dr. Bergman at Kemper Cognitive Wellness. Lisa is joined in this conversation by her daughters, Stacy and Natalie. We discuss the successes and challenges they have had as a family living with Alzheimer's disease. Lisa shares her thoughts about being diagnosed as well as the hope and results they have had since starting on a journey of living well with Alzheimer's.

This episode is an important listen for anyone with doubts, reservations, or skepticism around a precision, functional medicine approach to the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Note: names/identities were changed to preserve anonymity.

1:50 - what it was like to get diagnosed with Alzheimer's and how the family responded

12:13 - living with Alzheimer's during the events of 2020

14:33 - beginning treatment at Kempler Cognitive Wellness

19:05 - how patients can navigate the healthcare system to find the best treatment plan for their diagnosis

24:58 - implementing your treatment plan and navigating the necessary lifestyle changes

36:34 - results that this family has seen from this treatment plan

45:33 - maintaining motivation in a world where we don't see a lot of people who are living their lives with Alzheimer's

53:48 - processing the permanent lifestyle changes that are involved with Alzheimer's treatment plans

55:44 - what "success" looks like with Alzheimer's treatment

In this episode, we hear the argument in favor of the new Alzheimer's drug, Aducanumab (Aduhelm). Dr. Marwan Sabbagh is a clinical and research leader at the Cleveland Clinic's Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. He was a doctor that saw patients in one of the trials that led to the FDA's Accelerated (provisional) Approval.

Note: Dr. Sabbagh notes his disclosure as an advisor to Biogen, the maker of Aducanumab.

We discuss what Dr. Sabbagh noted in his own patients involved in the recent Phase 3 clinical trial of Aducanumab.

Controversy over the FDA's decision and why Dr. Sabbagh's 25+ years of diagnosing and treating Alzheimer's makes him optimistic about this drug.

Dr. Sabbagh talks through who he thinks might be a good candidate for Aducanumab, the drug's known practical side effects, and how people might get access to the medication in the near future.

Ultimately, Dr. Sabbagh sees people in the near future living with Alzheimer's like a chronic disease much like HIV or diabetes, or even cancer.

This episode presents a slightly different perspective than many of our listeners are used to. We hope you find it useful.

2:33 - what is this new drug and how does it actually treat Alzheimer's

5:28 - Why Dr. Sabbagh is optimistic about this new drug

11:43 - Reasons for some of the skepticism around the study

14:11 - Dr. Sabbagh's observations of the people who have taken the drug

21:10 - What are the risks of taking the drug?

27:08 - Responding to the criticism of the drug

32:30 - Other promising drugs that may be available in the future for Alzheimer's patients

37:18 - How do people get access to this new drug?

This week we will do almost a Part 2 from the last episode with Drs Dale Bredesen and Kat Toups. In that episode, we featured recently released results data on MedArchive from a clinical trial in which 84% of 25 patients with early Alzheimer's Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment improved with a Precision Medicine approach.

With that in mind, we want to get another perspective from the other 2 physicians who led this ground-breaking clinical trial. This week we are joined by Doctors Ann Hathaway and Deborah Gordon.

We dive deeper into the details of testing, treatment, and people involved in this trial.

The study results (not yet available in a peer-reviewed journal) were released here

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.05.10.21256982v1.full.pdf

Precision Medicine Approach to Alzheimer's Disease: Successful Proof-of-Concept Trial

5:07 - how the care for the patients in the study is different from the normal protocol

8:40 - getting the study group to work with the technology required for the study

19:07 - some of the reasons patients were not able to be successful

25:23 - how they helped their patients create sustainable lifestyle improvement

34:48 - viral infections that contribute to Alzheimer's and how they approached treating that

44:52 - why is hormone replacement so important for cognitive recovery?

51:15 - bacterial infections that can lead to cognitive decline

1:11:15 - criticisms they will apply to future studies

Our guests today are Drs Kat Toups & Dale Bredesen.

Link to the study results just released online:

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.05.10.21256982v1.full.pdf

Important to note, this has not yet been peer-reviewed yet.

25 participants in this group, underwent a 9-month trial.

21 people improved, 1 person no real changes and 3 people got worse to some degree.

2:32 - what is MedArchive and have these study results been peer-reviewed yet?

5:05 - the results of the study and what they learned about cognitive impairment

10:23 - how they determined the cutoff for the participants in the study

17:15 - lessons Dale brought into the study from his previous trial

23:53 - how they proved that environmental factors were leading to cognitive decline

31:03 - key attributes to people who are successful in improving during the study

35:07 - main factors that lead to exposure to toxicity

44:34 - the decision to study genetic factors of Alzheimer's and cognitive decline

50:26 - responding to criticisms of the trial

58:58 - plans for a follow-up trial

Deborah Kan is a former executive producer with the Wall Street Journal. In 2017 she founded the website BeingPatient.com, a comprehensive website dedicated to Alzheimer's news, stories, and support.

This interview covers how Deborah sees the current world of Alzheimer's research and trends in brain health and wellness.

5:42 - Being Patient and how it serves people who are taking care of loved ones with Alzheimer's

8:35 - Early signs of Alzheimer's that are often overlooked

17:17 - How the dementia space is evolving with the rise in early diagnosis

20:25 - Why there are more women diagnosed with Alzheimer's than men

26:09 - The importance of prevention over curing

31:04 - Functional medicine in Alzheimer's treatment for the people who can't wait for the science

37:10 - Education and prevention for Alzheimer's that everyone needs

This is a really unique and important episode. We are witnessing a sea change in dementia. More people are being diagnosed, earlier and younger. And people are figuring out how to actually fight back against the disease and taking ownership of their condition. My guest this week on the Evolving Past Alzheimer's podcast, Chrissy Thelker, was diagnosed with Vascular dementia at age 57 and nearly 5 years later is still living on her own, driving, and living a life of incredible purpose... her story inspires, but she also gives useful information for anyone out there working through the early stages of the disease. This is one you're crazy not to listen to....an amazing episode!

• 2:00 - What it was like to receive a dementia diagnosis
• 6:22 - Why a dementia specialist refused to take Chrissy on as a patient
• 9:44 - How Chrissy followed the Bredesen protocol to slow her dementia symptoms and almost completely prevent herself from getting worse
• 14:56 - What it's like to live with dementia
• 19:22 - How to balance fighting against the dementia with tending to your new needs living with the disease
• 21:22 - "You have to monitor yourself, and if we all learned from a younger age that it's ok to rest, we would all be doing better in our health."
• 23:37 - What does it mean to live with purpose after a dementia diagnosis?
• 29:45 - What it feels like to hear "you don't look like you have dementia"
• 37:31 - How Chrissy thinks about the future
• 43:54 - Some major conversations happening in the DAI community and people living with dementia - the connection between sleep and brain health
• 48:33 - "Dementia is like a spider web. We need treatments to help manage the different aspects and symptoms rather than a cure."
• 52:40 - Why organizations working towards treatments and cures need more people suffering from the disease at the table
• 1:00:00 - "Have those conversations early in receiving your diagnosis about your driving and other aspects of your independence."
• 1:06:16 - How has COVID impacted her function as someone living with dementia

Resources Mentioned

Chrissy's Book - For This I'm Grateful

Chrissy's Blog

Dementia Alliance International

Some listeners have requested more personal stories of people improving and how they are doing it. In this episode, we want to introduce you to an amazing couple, Betsy and George Muller. George suffered a major brain injury as a result of his heart stopping about 4 years ago. Fortunately, he has successfully recovered from the brain injury and this is the story of how the Mullers did it!

If you're interested in more details of the Muller's journey, check out Betsy's book - The Comeback - An Energy Makeover Love Story (available on Amazon and Audible).

9:24 - What George and Betsy have learned about brain health and brain resilience from their experience

14:41 - How meditation can help anyone who is suffering from a cognitive issue or their caregiver

17:33 - Tapping into the power of routine to help someone recover cognitive function

18:44 - The connection between heart health and brain health

21:43 - How to deal with some of the challenges of navigating a loved one who needs a caregiver

26:59 - How to keep your brain as healthy as possible

Several Resources were mentioned that are relevant to folks with Alzheimer's and other dementias. Among them:

AlzU.org - comprehensive website for evidence-based, Alzheimer's education led by previous guest Richard Isaacson MD.

Lumosity Brain Training

Donna Eden Energy Medicine - Betsy recommends do this with your partner of someone with dementia you are caregiving for. It takes only about 6-7 minutes.