I haven’t written about Alzheimer’s in a while. However, research on the topic (as well as other forms of cognitive impairment) has been ongoing and voluminous. So, I figured it is time for an update, to bring us all up-to-speed regarding the condition that creates fear in more of my patients than virtually any other malady.

I want to recap a couple of recent studies, all of which lead me to the same conclusion.

TODAY'S PHARMACEUTICAL APPROACH

I will start with a concept that has become popular in the pharmaceutical approach to the problem. Several research studies have demonstrated the concept to be false. I mentioned this in an article on the subject of Alzheimer's several years ago. The studies were trying to determine if removing beta-amyloid plaques from the brain would stop the progression--or even reverse--the cognitive impairment of Alzheimer’s. Literally billions of dollars were spent on this process in multiple research studies over the years. However, the outcomes were not what had been expected. 

Not only did conditions not improve with the removal of plaques, some studies showed the memory loss of the subjects actually worsened as the plaques were erased. It was then hypothesized that the reason may have been that, instead of the plaques being pathological (i.e, the disease), they were the body’s way stopping the disease progression.

Once again it appears that we were perhaps attempting to treat the symptom of the condition instead of the cause. By doing so we actually interfered with the body’s own method of “healing” if you will and made things worse.

THE LATEST RESEARCH ON ALZHEIMER'S AND COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT

Additional research has taught us something else. Researchers have discovered that we each have a network of fluid-filled structures that serve as a “waste disposal system” for our brains. These structures transport what is called cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). This fluid baths our brain and spinal cord. It is thought that these portals may serve to carry away toxic materials from the brain. These materials may include amyloid and tau. These are the two substances that are involved in forming plaques in the brain that interfere with neural signals and lead to cognitive impairment and ultimately Alzheimer’s.

This research revealed that these fluid-filled structures transmit the outflow of these materials. They run along the arteries and veins. These structures had previously been identified in other animals, but this is the first time that researchers have identified them in humans.

It appears that, for the first time, we have identified the “circulatory system” for cerebrospinal fluid in the brain and spinal cord. Prior to this discovery we didn’t truly understand where the CSF came from or how it was transported. The term that researchers are using to describe these CSF circulatory pathways is “perivascular pathways.”

NON-PHARMACEAUTICAL APPROACH

Remember, as I have previously said in my articles and lectures--perhaps to a nauseating point--the body doesn’t do anything wrong. Everything that the body/mind does is like a choreographed ballet. Every system in the body works with every other in synchrony in order to balance the assaults that we throw at it. That balance may, over time, end up in what we recognize as a pathology, because the body becomes overwhelmed and exhausted in its compensating methods and can no longer grapple with the assaults.

As I have repeated many times before, it is my opinion that, just like cancer, Alzheimer’s is not simply due to one distinct cause. Multiple different assaults, if you will, end in the devastating result of progressive cognitive decline. Still, there is likely one common thread between all of these assaults, and that is our lifestyle. Arguably, unhealthy lifestyle choices cause systemic inflammatory processes that ultimately cause serious problems.

What we see, not only Alzheimer’s but in numerous other conditions, is inflammation. Inflammation accelerates the degradation of the circulatory system, particularly the smaller vessels. This includes those minute capillary beds that we find in the brain. These changes can be visualized in MRI studies and are often noted as age-related changes.

One researcher in this field, Chris Schaffer, states that, “What we’ve done is identify the cellular mechanism that causes reduced brain blood flow in Alzheimer’s disease models, which is neutrophils (white blood cells) sticking to capillaries.”

Applicable to this is a lifestyle consideration that we speak about in our updated Crave Clinic. It's the body’s daily process of detoxification, which reduces systemic toxicity, and as a result, inflammation. This process occurs primarily while we sleep.

The key here, which I emphasize in our Crave Clinic, is that quality sleep--specifically sufficient duration (7 to 8 hours) and sufficient deep sleep--is thought to allow the body to flush waste proteins out of the brain.

LIFESTYLE IS THE KEY

Improving lifestyle is just another component of what we need to consider, not necessarily in “treating” Alzheimer’s and cognitive decline but in preventing the onset. Lifestyle improvements include not only better quality and quantity of sleep, but also better nutrition (including consuming fewer inflammatory foods) as well as taking supplementation that can both decrease systemic inflammation and improve circulation.

To learn more about how you can incorporate these changes into YOUR lifestyle, I implore you to take the first step and join us for our upcoming Spring Crave Clinic Overview Program. You can also take a quick look at how the Crave Clinic changed Jason’s life. 

I trust that this information will be helpful to many of you in your quest to improve your overall health and wellness.

Dr. Pfeiffer