Dementia Prevention

There is a lot of misunderstanding about the term dementia. For many, if not most people, it’s synonymous with Alzheimer’s Disease. But whereas Alzheimer’s is a disease, dementia is not. It is often caused by a disease, but it’s more the result of such. Dementia is “a significant loss in 2 or more functional abilities [like short term memory, math, or empathy] that result in a reduced quality of life, or reduced ability to perform common activities of daily living.” Such as reading, writing, following instructions, making meals, conversing with others, etc, 

There are many different causes of dementia or this loss of cognitive function. But identifying those underlying contributing factors is the first order of business and real key to preventing dementia, or more serious decline. 

Click here to see an authoritative review of the most common of these contributors by Dr. Dale Bredesen, the top dementia/Alzheimer’s expert in the world.  In this video he covers 6 categorical causes of dementia/Alzheimer’s in the first 15 minutes, but you likely will want to continue listening to discover how he went about reversing the decline, from these various causes. 

Note he refers to these as causes of “Alzheimer’s” or Alzheimer’s “types” rather than using the term Dementia (even though these factors are broader than a classic Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis might encompass).  He evidently does this because he understands and defines the underlying mechanisms and commonalities better than most. And the public is more familiar with, and may pay better attention to the term “Alzheimer’s” than dementia, perhaps because it has scarier connotations. 

However, because there are legal, psychological and insurance implications that come with that label, that may not facilitate recovery; and it’s hard to see root causes in a live person, the American Brain Council has opted to use less pejorative terms like mild or serious cognitive impairment or decline. And in more serious cases. more traditional terms based on causes, like Vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, Karsakoff’s syndrome, cognitive decline or dementia due to molds, Lymes disease, lead or mercury poisoning etc., rather than Alzheimer’s. 

Other exception would be when a person has the ApoE4 gene, as well as major impairment due to pathologies known to cause amyloid plaques and tangles in the brain, such as inflammation or marked by high homocysteine, or repeated brain injuries.  

Nevertheless, Dr. Bredesen's categories are very helpful to enable individuals to identify a variety of major contributors to dementia, with implications for how each might be treated. Essentially these break down into 6 general categories, which he has put under the label of potential causes of “Alzheimer’s” or serious cognitive decline. These include:

Type 1. Due to Inflammation in the brain – leading to a mismatch between supply and demand, i.e. the brain is not getting all that it needs to heal itself. Changes in our oral biome, gingivitis, or sinus biome, Leaky gut or inadequate microbiome, homocysteine (from a lack of B-vitamins), or systemic inflammation, or herpes simplex virus. 

Type 1.5  Poor glucose control or diabetes – from excess sugar in the diet, inadequate insulin or insulin resistance or glycotoxins (sweets), a high carb or low fiber diet, a high glycemic load, glycation (damage) of proteins due to high glucose/sugar in our blood.

Type 2.  A lack of “trophic” (growth) factors – low hormones, poor thyroid, low estrogen, testosterone, melatonin, or vitamin D, lack of oxygen or sleep due to sleep apnea, overweight, air resistance problem, a lack of nutrients, or low energy.

Type 3.  Other Toxins to the brain – mycotoxins from molds, lead, mercury, air pollutants, pesticides, herbicides, trans fats, some processed foods, contaminated water supply, etc.  

Type 4.  Vascular or circulation issues – any type of Cardiovascular issue like atherosclerosis, or leakage, as might be characterized by high blood pressure, TIA’s, or any other types of strokes or vascular compromise.  

Type 5. Traumatic head injuries -  Any damage to the head or brain, especially where the person is dazed or knocked unconscious, such as with TBI’s (traumatic brain injuries), or repeated blows to the head, as in football.

Other Qualified Doctor’s Weigh In 

For two other authoritative reviews of possible causes of dementia and how to avoid them we recommend watching the following:

So Where Does One Start?

From the 5 categories noted above Dr. Bredesen has identified at least 39 possible contributors to Dementia, and the other 3 doctors identified a few more. However, Drs Bredesen, Hyman and others have also found that even if a person has a dozen risk factors, if they and their doctor can zero in on a half dozen or so of the key issues for each individual, like high homocysteine, high blood sugar, high blood pressure, sub optimal nutrition, removing any neuro toxins, and getting enough sleep, the body will begin to respond, abandon its draw down, and begin to do better! 

So if a person is experiencing some cognitive difficulties and wants to learn how to reduce those, to prevent or reverse early stage dementia, then he or she needs to first identify which of all these various factors may be causing or contributing to their particular decline.  This is needed in order to know what to stop, avoid doing, start doing, or compensate for. (See the Intro to the Personal Assessment tool) Otherwise they could waste a lot of time and money pursuing remedies that are not relevant for them, and missing the things that they really ought to be focusing on.  

That's why we would encourage you to take the Personal Assessment  advertised above, and complete the questionnaire, which addresses more than 45 risk factors, like those noted in the videos.  You will then receive a personalized report directing you to the info most relevant to you, in order to begin addressing your particular contributing factors.  

We would also encourage you to share your report and the related recommendations from this site with your personal physician, as soon as possible. As Drs Sabbagh, Hyman and Bredesen noted, when it comes to dementia prevention, the sooner one gets started addressing their issues, the higher their probability of success, and the less it will cost them. As cognitive decline almost always goes from bad to worse, if the right steps aren’t aggressively pursued, and the consequences can be devastating. 

Blood Tests and Biomarkers to Consider

Of additional help in identifying underlying contributors or risk factors for dementia, are blood tests. There are many such tests, some insurance will usually pay for, others they may not, but blood tests can provide some valuable insights into what's really happening inside our body. Here are a few of the most common and most helpful. 

hs-CRP - a measure of systemic inflammation 
Homocysteine - a measure of inflammation in the brain 
Fasting insulin, Fasting glucose - measures related to blood sugar levels and diabetes
Hemoglobin A1C - Blood sugar levels over time (the last few months)
Vitamins B-6, 9 & 12 -  These are critical vitamins for brain health, and mental energy
HDL cholesterol  - "good" cholesterol
Triglycerides 
Small dense LDL  -  "bad" cholesterol
Omega 3 levels
RBC Magnesium
TSH  -  This and the next 4 are measures of Thyroid health 
Free T3 and Free T4 - The 
Reverse T3
Free T3 to Reverse T3
C4a - a measure of inflammation suggesting heavy metal presence
BUN & creatinine - measures of kidney health 
AST ALT - measures of liver health 
Urinary mycotoxins - do identify if you have high levels of mold
Vitamin D
Estradiol (women) or Testosterone (men)
Body mass index - help determine if you are carrying too much adipose (fat) tissue.   

For a more extensive list of biochemical and Physiological tests related to dementia, see  The End of Alzheimer's Program, pages 21-24. 

Go here to find a good physician in your area who likely understands these principles and can prescribe these tests and explain the results. 

In lieu of the Personal Assessment and blood tests you can simply study all of the 52 articles under the Brain Essentials tab, as well as Memory Improvement, and Anxiety Reduction under our home page and our monthly blogs and then do everything suggested. (But it may be easier and quicker to do the assessment, and follow the links to the info most relevant to your needs.) 

Major Dementia Risk Factors & Fixes 

Here again are some of the most common risk factors for dementia, and some things you can begin to do now, to reduce these.