Therapies

Nutritional Therapies

relative to Brain Aging and Medicinal Applications for

Alzheimer’s Disease

Recent revelations pertinent to Nutritional Therapies for Alzheimer’s Disease (Medicinal) treatment suggest delay or even prevention of the disease are distinct possibilities.

 

 


THERAPIES

DISCLAIMER: This information is offered purely as a prompt suggesting the reader take whatever appropriate steps he or she deems necessary in order to acquire more complete education pertinent to Alzheimer’s Disease. To the best of my knowledge, any and all statements throughout this website have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, the AMA or any medical professional other than the author of the piece you might read or watch. Any suggestions made or product identified on this website are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

 

 

Article Furnished by… www.worldhealth.net

 

Literature Review 2009

Nutritional Therapies for Prevention and Intervention

 

Compiled by Dr. Ronald Klatz, M.D., D.O., President, and Dr. Robert Goldman, M.D., Ph.D., D.O., FAASP, Chairman – The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) As a Public Information Service

 

 

Two Glasses of Milk Daily May Protect Against Alzheimer’s

In that Vitamin B-12 acts as a counteragent against homocysteine, elevated levels of which are associated with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), David Smith, from the University of Oxford (United Kingdom), and colleagues studied whether foods rich in Vitamin B-12 might be preventive against AD. They monitored 5,937 subjects in two age groups (47-49 years, and 71-74 years) participating in the Hordaland Homocysteine Study in Norway, surveying them for their daily food intake patterns. The team observed that those subjects with low B-12 levels suffered twice as much brain shrinkage as compared to those study participants with higher blood levels of the vitamin. They found that “dietary intake of dairy products and fish are significant contributors to plasma vitamin B-12 and may improve plasma vitamin B12 status.” Further, the researchers suggest that such because “Vitamin B-12 appears to be more bioavailable from dairy products,” two glasses of skim milk daily may help ward off Alzheimer’s
Disease.

[Anna Vogiatzoglou, A David Smith, Eha Nurk, Paula Berstad, Christian A Drevon, Per M Ueland, Stein E Vollset, Grethe S Tell, and Helga Refsum. “Dietary sources of vitamin B-12 and their association with plasma vitamin B-12 concentrations in the general population: the Hordaland Homocysteine Study,” Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, first published on Feb 3, 2009 as doi: doi:10.3945/ajcn.2008.26598.]

 

Mediterranean Diet May Benefit Brain As Well As Heart

The Mediterranean Diet is characterized by high daily intakes of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, a restricted consumption of red meat, low to moderate intakes of dairy products, fish, and poultry, and liberal use of use of olive oil. Nikolaos Scarmeas, from Columbia University Medical Center (New York, USA), and colleagues studied a multiethnic group of 1,875 men and women residing in metropolitan New York City. The team determined that those study subjects who adhered closely to a Mediterranean diet reduced the risk of developing MCI by 28% (compared to those who did not follow such a diet). Additionally, those with MCI at the start of the study were at 48% less risk of being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) over the study’s 4.5-year period if they adhered to the Mediterranean diet. The researchers observe that: “Higher adherence to the [Mediterranean diet] is associated with a trend for reduced risk of developing MCI and with reduced risk of MCI conversion to AD.”

[Scarmeas N, Stern Y, Mayeux R, Manly JJ, Schupf N, Luchsinger JA. “Mediterranean Diet and Mild Cognitive Impairment.” Arch Neurol. 2009 Feb;66(2):216-225.]

 

Coffee Slashes Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease

A growing body of science suggests that coffee consumption may improve mental function. A previous study found that coffee consumption may significantly reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease. Miia Kivipelto, from the University of Kuopio (Finland), and colleagues completed a 21-year long study involving 1,409 men and women, ages 65 to 79 at the study’s concluding point. The team found that those study subjects who drank 3 to 5 cups of coffee a day at midlife lowered their risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease by 65%, as compared to those who drank no or a little coffee. Interestingly, midlife tea consumption was not found to affect the risk of dementia or AD later in life.

[Marjo H. Eskelinen, Tiia Ngandu, Jaakko Tuomilehto, Hilkka Soininen, Miia Kivipelto (2009). Midlife Coffee and Tea Drinking and the Risk of Late-Life Dementia: A Population-based CAIDE Study. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease 16(1), in-press.]

 

Omega-3 Fatty Acids Beneficial for Cognitive Decline

Following on two studies published in April 2007 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that reported that regular consumption of foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids was effective in preventing age-related cognitive decline, Chih-Chiang Chiu, from Taipei City Hospital (Taiwan), and colleagues find that omega-3s actually provide therapeutic benefits for the condition. The team studied 23 people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease and 23 people with mild cognitive decline; a segment of each group received 1.8 grams of omega-3 per day for 24 weeks. They found that: “Omega-3 fatty acids may improve general clinical function in patients with mild or moderate Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment.”

[C-C. Chiu, K.-P. Su, T.-C. Cheng, H.-C. Liu, C.-J. Chang, M.E. Dewey, R. Stewart, S.-Y. Huang. "The effects of omega-3 fatty acids monotherapy in Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment: A preliminary randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study." Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, August 2008, Volume 32, Issue 6, Pages 1538-1544.]

 

Green Tea Protects Against Plaques Causing Alzheimer’s Disease

The plaques that result from the build-up of beta-amyloid protein in the brain, suspected to cause Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), are linked to brain cell damage and cell death due to oxidative stress. Abdul Haque, from Shimane University Faculty of Medicine (Japan), and colleagues found that catechins, one of green tea’s antioxidant compounds, inhibits the loss of reference and working memory otherwise linked to plaque formations in the brain. The team reports that: “Long-term administration of [green tea] prevents cognitive deficits caused by oxidative stress, induced by beta-amyloids and otherwise, by facilitating antioxidative defenses.”

[Abdul M. Haque, Michio Hashimoto, Masanori Katakuraa, Yukihiko Harab and Osamu Shido. “Green tea catechins prevent cognitive deficits caused by Aß1–40 in rats.” Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, 15 February 2008, doi:10.1016/j.jnutbio.2007.08.008.]

 

Vitamin E Improves Longevity of Alzheimer’s Patients

In people with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), Valory Pavlik, from Baylor College of Medicine (Texas USA), and colleagues found that regular Vitamin E supplementation significantly reduced mortality. The team followed 847 men and women with AD, average age 73.5, for an average of 4.9 years. The study participants were supervised on a high-dose Vitamin supplementation regimen, which was found to reduce their odds of dying by 26%.

[Pavlik, V. et al. Presented at the 60th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, April 18, 2008.]

 

Wine May Protect Women Against Dementia

Wine may contain compounds that protect women against dementia. Lauren Lissner, from the Sahlgrenska Academy at Göteborg University (Sweden), and colleagues conducted a study involving 1,458 Swedish women (ages of 38-60 years at the start of the study) for a 34-year period. At the end of the study’s duration, the women with the lowest rate of dementia were those who reported that the only alcohol they drank was wine. No correlation between dementia and the regular consumption of beer or other liquor was found.

[Mehlig K, Skoog I, Guo X, Schütze M, Gustafson D, Waern M, Ostling S, Björkelund C, Lissner L. “Alcoholic beverages and incidence of dementia: 34-year follow-up of the prospective population study of women in Goteborg.” Am J Epidemiol. 2008 Mar 15;167(6):684-91. Epub 2008 Jan 24.]

 

Daily Ginkgo Reduces Memory Difficulties

Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE), derived from the leaves of the ginkgo tree, has been used for thousands of years in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). In a new randomized clinical trial (RCT) conducted by Hiroko Dodge, from Oregon State University (USA), and colleagues, 118 men and women, age 85+, with no memory problems, received either a ginkgo biloba extract (240 mg daily) or placebo for 3 years. In those participants who took the supplement every day as stipulated, the team found a 68% lower risk of the development of memory problems during the study period. Ginkgo contains potent antioxidants called flavoglycosides that have been shown to have neuroprotective effects.

[H. H. Dodge PhD*, T. Zitzelberger MPH, B. S. Oken MD, D. Howieson PhD, ABPP, and J. Kaye MD. “A randomized placebo-controlled trial of ginkgo biloba for the prevention of cognitive decline.” Neurology 2008, 12/01.wnl.0000303814.13509.db; Published online before print February 27, 2008.]

 

 

 

Provided below is an offering of a few topics you may wish to review.