Dementia and Alzheimers’ Disease – How Can It Be Treated?
The Latin word “De-mentia”, literally means, the removal of a person from their own mind. It stands for a significant decrease in brain function, including memory, goal-directed thinking, orientation in space and time, and language ability.
Most dementias are progressive. They cannot be cured and will gradually cause more severe problems for the patient, and for the patient’s caretakers. As the population ages, Alzheimer’s disease is on its way to becoming the third most common fatal disease.
Prescription medications on the market starting in the 1990s to treat dementia have been a disappointment to patients and doctors alike.
The frustration caused by this situation prompted me to make the development of an anti-dementia treatment protocol a major focus of my clinical work.
As always, we start with a thorough neuropsychiatric assessment, looking for potentially reversible causes of cognitive decline such as a thyroid condition, vitamin deficiency, a sleep disorder, elevated blood sugar and diabetes. Importantly, untreated depression and chronic high stress and anxiety levels are associated with a higher risk for dementia. Most of the time, psychotherapy is a far better alternative to the all-too-common multiple prescription drugs.
The protocol uses a number of carefully evaluated novel interventions and components based on sound neuroscientific principles, sourced from both functional medicine and traditional medical systems, such as Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine.
The protocol stabilizes many of my patients, and improves their functioning and quality of life. It has shown promising results not only for dementia, but also for traumatic brain injury. Continue reading
Living near major traffic linked to higher risk of dementia This type of air pollution is now emerging as a major risk factor. Possibly related to brain deposits of magnetite microspheres? People who live close to high-traffic roadways face a … Continue reading
Update on the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease – from the International Conference of Parkinson Disease & Movement Disorders/MDS Developing World Education Program (DWEP). Shanghai First People’s Hospital, Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, PRC. September 30, 2016 Continue reading
Key clinical point: People with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes have more white matter hyperintensities and lower white matter volume than do those with healthy glucose metabolism.
Major finding: Healthy subjects carried about 0.75 mL of white matter hyperintensities, while prediabetic subjects carried about 1.25 mL, and those with diabetes, about 2.0 mL.
Data source: The subset of the Maastricht Study comprised 2,251 subjects.
Disclosures: Dr. van Agtmaal had no financial disclosures. Continue reading
Multimodal randomized Functional MR imaging of the effects of Methylene Blue in the human Brain A new treatment for short-term memory loss? Or radiological gadgetry? Purpose To investigate the sustained-attention and memory-enhancing neural correlates of the oral administration of methylene … Continue reading
Maurice Preter, MD is a European and U.S. educated psychiatrist, psychotherapist, psychopharmacologist, neurologist, and medical-legal expert in private practice in Manhattan. He is also the principal of Fifth Avenue Concierge Medicine, PLLC, a medical concierge service and health advisory for select individuals and families.
Maurice Preter, MD is a European and U.S. educated psychiatrist, psychotherapist, psychopharmacologist, neurologist, and medical-legal expert in private practice in Manhattan. He is also the principal of Fifth Avenue Concierge Medicine, PLLC, a medical concierge service and health advisory for select individuals and families.