Reducing dementia risk

[daylatedollarshort]

Some of Bredesen's ideas may be right but you can't tell which.

One of the things that struck me from his book was that most people he tests are short on zinc. He said that seems to be a common deficiency in developed countries. He thought it might have to do with copper pipes. Perhaps not coincidentally, zinc deficiency in research studies has been found to play a role in diabetes, Alzheimer's, obesity and even cancer.

Interesting studies:
Zinc can halt the growth of cancer cells

Zinc Deficiency and Zinc Therapy Efficiency with Reduction of Serum Free Copper in Alzheimer's Disease
"...we have shown that AD patients are zinc deficient compared to age matched controls. Zinc is important in neuronal protection. We carried out a 6-month small double blind trial of a new zinc formulation on AD patients. We found that in patients 70 years old and older, zinc therapy protected against cognition decline compared to placebo controls."

 

[Katsmeow]

Reasonable advice, but I have to laugh at "prevent head injury". I mean, who would have thought of that on their own?

Not sure why that is so funny. I certainly try to avoid head injuries.

I am adopted. A few years ago I found my deceased birth father through DNA. If he had prevented his own head injury I wonder if he would have been alive when I found him.

He apparently lived a healthy life and would seemingly be low risk. He was thin, healthy and regularly used his brain (one of the amazing things I found was that not only was he an attorney, but he had graduated from the same law school I graduated from many years later).

Anyway, one day he was doing yard work of some type at home and I believe his head was injured from a tree branch. He almost died (lots of bleeding in the brain) but was saved through surgery. However, he ultimately developed dementia and died from it when he was about 70.

Anyway, the head injury put him at much higher risk of dementia. I researched it myself and the research was clear even to me. So, yes, I make an effort to avoid head injury. Just like I make an effort to avoid any type of fall. I have osteoporosis so I think it is prudent to avoid falls. This is why I have no area rugs in my house and during our recent remodeling I avoided putting in any stepdowns that would be trip hazard (so we have a gentle slope in the shower instead of a curb).

But, yes, people should think of these things.

 

[Amethyst]

Wow, katsmeow, that's an amazing story about your birth father!

Head injuries are no joke, it's true. I've always feared them, since I think they can even start brain tumors growing, and we've all read about football players getting CTE from being hit. Mr. A. and I agreed long ago that if we had a son (we didn't) we would not allow him to play football.

I believe braumeister was thinking in terms of how most people don't set out to have a head injury, and none of us can tell if an accidental one is in their future. Car crashes, that sort of thing. Probably best to avoid riding motorcycles, or being a professional pugilist...

Not sure why that is so funny. I certainly try to avoid head injuries.

I am adopted. A few years ago I found my deceased birth father through DNA. If he had prevented his own head injury I wonder if he would have been alive when I found him.

He apparently lived a healthy life and would seemingly be low risk. He was thin, healthy and regularly used his brain (one of the amazing things I found was that not only was he an attorney, but he had graduated from the same law school I graduated from many years later).

Anyway, one day he was doing yard work of some type at home and I believe his head was injured from a tree branch. He almost died (lots of bleeding in the brain) but was saved through surgery. However, he ultimately developed dementia and died from it when he was about 70.

Anyway, the head injury put him at much higher risk of dementia. I researched it myself and the research was clear even to me. So, yes, I make an effort to avoid head injury. Just like I make an effort to avoid any type of fall. I have osteoporosis so I think it is prudent to avoid falls. This is why I have no area rugs in my house and during our recent remodeling I avoided putting in any stepdowns that would be trip hazard (so we have a gentle slope in the shower instead of a curb).

But, yes, people should think of these things.

 

[Nemo2]

Avoiding head injuries is usually filed under "Duh", since people rarely have Item 1 on their to do list "get head injury".

 

[RunningBum]

Avoiding head injuries is usually filed under "Duh", since people rarely have Item 1 on their to do list "get head injury".

Not that "Duh". The article added that you should particularly look to avoid an occupation where head injuries may happen. Turning that into something dumb like not putting "get head injury" on your to-do list is nonsense.

There are other things I can easily come with. Some will no longer apply to people the age of many on this board, but the article does not target retirees. Some apply to which activities you let your young kids take part in.

Avoid sports that lead to a lot of injuries, like football, hockey, boxing, and soccer.

Always wear a helmet when riding a bike, skiing, roller blading, etc. Make sure it fits properly, and replace it when it is compromised by a hard fall.

Wear a helmet when using a chain saw or other tasks like this where something could land on your head, or just pay a professional to do those things.

 

[Nemo2]

Not that "Duh". The article added that you should particularly look to avoid an occupation where head injuries may happen. Turning that into something dumb like not putting "get head injury" on your to-do list is nonsense.

There are other things I can easily come with. Some will no longer apply to people the age of many on this board, but the article does not target retirees. Some apply to which activities you let your young kids take part in.

Avoid sports that lead to a lot of injuries, like football, hockey, boxing, and soccer.

Always wear a helmet when riding a bike, skiing, roller blading, etc. Make sure it fits properly, and replace it when it is compromised by a hard fall.

Wear a helmet when using a chain saw or other tasks like this where something could land on your head, or just pay a professional to do those things.

Most of the things you cite fall in the category of "Well, yeah"...otherwise known as "Duh".

(If the topic was trying to avoid eye damage, and one of the recommendations was "Always wear an appropriate helmet when Arc Welding", would you not say "Duh"?)

 

[RetMD21]

One of the things that struck me from his book was that most people he tests are short on zinc. He said that seems to be a common deficiency in developed countries. He thought it might have to do with copper pipes. Perhaps not coincidentally, zinc deficiency in research studies has been found to play a role in diabetes, Alzheimer's, obesity and even cancer.

Interesting studies:
Zinc can halt the growth of cancer cells

Zinc Deficiency and Zinc Therapy Efficiency with Reduction of Serum Free Copper in Alzheimer's Disease
"...we have shown that AD patients are zinc deficient compared to age matched controls. Zinc is important in neuronal protection. We carried out a 6-month small double blind trial of a new zinc formulation on AD patients. We found that in patients 70 years old and older, zinc therapy protected against cognition decline compared to placebo controls."

I think zinc is very interesting. The Bredesen practitioners apparently insist on monitoring it with RBC zinc levels. I couldn't find any reasoning in the book Mayo clinic doesn't see and advantage over serum/plasma (link) The practical takeaway for me was to make sure that my supplement included zinc but I haven't bothered to get a blood test

https://news.mayocliniclabs.com/201...hrocyte-testing-useful-utilization-spotlight/

 

[stephenson]

Gin, of course. Tanqueray is favorite, then Blue Sapphire, with 2 olives. Hey, maybe the olives are the key?!

Ha!

Mediterranean Diet?

 

[RunningBum]

Most of the things you cite fall in the category of "Well, yeah"...otherwise known as "Duh".

(If the topic was trying to avoid eye damage, and one of the recommendations was "Always wear an appropriate helmet when Arc Welding", would you not say "Duh"?)

No they aren't. Kids (not all) are still allowed to play football, soccer, and hockey. Plenty of younger adults are still playing soccer. It's less common now, but I still people skiing and snowboarding without a helmet. And I'll bet not that many people replace their helmet after a hard fall.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I think zinc is very interesting. The Bredesen practitioners apparently insist on monitoring it with RBC zinc levels. I couldn't find any reasoning in the book Mayo clinic doesn't see and advantage over serum/plasma (link) The practical takeaway for me was to make sure that my supplement included zinc but I haven't bothered to get a blood test

https://news.mayocliniclabs.com/201...hrocyte-testing-useful-utilization-spotlight/

I don't know the best way to test, but we do watch our diets and I use the cronometer site from time to time plus buy zinc lozenges these days to make sure we are at least taking in enough zinc. We're often told that being overweight is a risk factor for diseases like cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer's, but perhaps it seems more logical to think that being zinc deficient is a risk factor for being overweight, diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer's?

"Doctors wanted to test the effects of zinc on measures of health in obese people. In this study, 60 healthy obese men and women, aged 18 to 45, took a placebo or 30 mg of zinc gluconate per day.....The placebo group lost less than one pound while those taking zinc lost almost four pounds."
Source:https://www.nutritionexpress.com/ar...rns/diet+weight+loss/showarticle.aspx?id=2059

 

[Katsmeow]

Not that "Duh". The article added that you should particularly look to avoid an occupation where head injuries may happen. Turning that into something dumb like not putting "get head injury" on your to-do list is nonsense.

There are other things I can easily come with. Some will no longer apply to people the age of many on this board, but the article does not target retirees. Some apply to which activities you let your young kids take part in.

Avoid sports that lead to a lot of injuries, like football, hockey, boxing, and soccer.

Always wear a helmet when riding a bike, skiing, roller blading, etc. Make sure it fits properly, and replace it when it is compromised by a hard fall.

Wear a helmet when using a chain saw or other tasks like this where something could land on your head, or just pay a professional to do those things.

Most of the things you cite fall in the category of "Well, yeah"...otherwise known as "Duh".

(If the topic was trying to avoid eye damage, and one of the recommendations was "Always wear an appropriate helmet when Arc Welding", would you not say "Duh"?)

Precautions always seem obvious in retrospect. But, the reality is many people don't take the precautions they should take. My birth father was not someone who really had to do the home project he was doing. He could have hired it out to someone who might not have made his error.

Like Amethyst mentioned, I did not allow my sons to play football. One was never interested, but the other was. I feel it was an unacceptable risk (and I was once an NFL season ticket holder so it wasn't that I hated the game).

How many people do you see getting on ladders and doing work around the house who really shouldn't be doing it?

Or to take another thing. I have osteoporosis, not particularly severe. But, I am very cognizant of fall risk. One of the most basic things you can do to less fall risk is not to have area rugs as they are a trip hazard. But, some many people never think of that.

The greater point about dementia and head injury is that many people do not realize a head injury will increase risk of dementia. It isn't just that you have a head injury and if you recover all is well. That ongoing greater risk continues. It is perhaps helpful to know that.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

We let our kids play soccer when they were younger. Looking back that was not a great idea as the coaches did teach headers. I've watched too many healthy brain videos now that if I had to do it over, I would have encouraged them to take up a different sport.

 

[Amethyst]

Anecdatally speaking...

I doubt staying thin all your life will prevent dementia. Every one of my aunts and uncles on my Mother's side, and most of their spouses, died of dementia (granted, all at least 90 years old, but at least one had Alzheimers for years and years). Nobody was close to fat.
My Mom, the thinnest of all, died from something else in her 80's. But she was definitely starting to lose her marbles, too. I'm not sure about my Dad. He seemed functional to the end, but had gotten awfully non-conversational, and he'd been a talker. So he may have been hiding something.
I suspect there's an infectious component, because so often both spouses are affected.

 

[RetMD21]

A friend's teen daughter had concussion type symptoms after concentrated soccer heading practice. I don't know if that's common but it seems like something to avoid. When I was in high school 45 years ago football concussions were not necessarily taken seriously.

The lancet paper looks at the prevalence of the risk factor in the population and the risk increase/affected individual. Heating loss and smoking are the biggest factors in terms of population with hearing loss and depression increasing the risk most for individuals.

Weight and diabetes are risks but not the highest.

 

[RunningBum]

It's not just striking the soccer ball with the head. In a game situation, you can have multiple players trying to head the ball in different directions, leading to head-to-head collisions.

 

[Nemo2]

...and don't get me started on tennis.....imagine getting hit on the head by a 160 mph serve!

 

[harllee]

I ride my bike a lot and I always wear a helmet but I am surprised at how many people I see on bikes without helmets.

Helmets on motorcyclists is a controversy in my state. NC requires helmets for motorcyclists but every year a bill is introduced to eliminate the helmet requirement. In South Carolina no helmet is required.

It might be interesting to look at dementia statistics for bike riders and motorcyclists who do or do not wear helmets.

This is one way to prevent head injuries--wear a helmet when you bike or ride a motorcycle!

 

[daylatedollarshort]

The lancet paper looks at the prevalence of the risk factor in the population and the risk increase/affected individual. Heating loss and smoking are the biggest factors in terms of population with hearing loss and depression increasing the risk most for individuals.

Weight and diabetes are risks but not the highest.

That is interesting, as magnesium may help with hearing loss recovery, and can be a factor in cognitive decline and depression as well. Like cognitive decline, depression seems to have many factors, but magnesium is the only nutrient I remember reading about that may reverse hearing loss.

 

[Navigator]

Anecdatally speaking...

I doubt staying thin all your life will prevent dementia. Every one of my aunts and uncles on my Mother's side, and most of their spouses, died of dementia (granted, all at least 90 years old, but at least one had Alzheimers for years and years). Nobody was close to fat.
My Mom, the thinnest of all, died from something else in her 80's. But she was definitely starting to lose her marbles, too. I'm not sure about my Dad. He seemed functional to the end, but had gotten awfully non-conversational, and he'd been a talker. So he may have been hiding something.
I suspect there's an infectious component, because so often both spouses are affected.

Unfortunately, we don’t really have anything that prevents most forms of dementia. Most items on the list, including avoiding obesity, simply lower the risk of dementia. Usually this just means delaying its onset by a year or two. Your relatives may have delayed getting dementia by being thin, but ironically being thin also allowed them to live long enough to get it.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Unfortunately, we don’t really have anything that prevents most forms of dementia. Most items on the list, including avoiding obesity, simply lower the risk of dementia. Usually this just means delaying its onset by a year or two. Your relatives may have delayed getting dementia by being thin, but ironically being thin also allowed them to live long enough to get it.

I'm curious how your view fits in with the longer lives / lower rates of cognitive decline in places like Loma Linda (Seventh Day Adventists) vs. the surrounding communities?

 

[Amethyst]

Yes, this is what I think, as well.

Dementia = living death. What is the point of all our striving, if in the end we can't even remember it?

Unfortunately, we don’t really have anything that prevents most forms of dementia. Most items on the list, including avoiding obesity, simply lower the risk of dementia. Usually this just means delaying its onset by a year or two. Your relatives may have delayed getting dementia by being thin, but ironically being thin also allowed them to live long enough to get it.

 

[Navigator]

I'm curious how your view fits in with the longer lives / lower rates of cognitive decline in places like Loma Linda (Seventh Day Adventists) vs. the surrounding communities?

I am certainly not an expert in dementia, just interested because I want to prevent it from happening to me. For what it’s worth:

There are empirical observations that some communities have lower incidences of cognitive decline, but we don’t really understand what factor or combination of factors account for this. My speculation on such zones is that the majority of people are living healthy lifestyles that appear to delay the onset of dementia, which acts to lower its incidence. We know that exercise combined with learning increases cognitive reserve (I.e, the number of neurons in the memory portions of the brain). Unfortunately, research show brain lesions begin in people with high cognitive reserve about at the same time as in the general population. The delay in decline is due to the fact that they have more neurons available to them.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Unfortunately, research show brain lesions begin in people with high cognitive reserve about at the same time as in the general population. The delay in decline is due to the fact that they have more neurons available to them.

I don't know anything about that, but I do know there are many areas of the word where cognitive decline isn't common in the elderly. In the U.S. one of those identified areas is Loma Linda.

"When I was first at Loma Linda University Medical Center in 2008, our data showed that less than 5 percent of our older patients had dementia. But when we went to communities right next door to Loma Linda, we saw markedly increased rates of dementia and stroke. This huge disparity confirmed the influence that community and lifestyle have on Alzheimer’s. Our patients in Loma Linda, as you know, have very different lifestyles than the average American: they are Seventh-Day Adventists, eat mostly vegetarian meals, exercise regularly, and have strong family and community ties....Based on our clinical work and over 300 scientific papers, we outline a proven program to prevent Alzheimer’s disease and reverse cognitive decline in The Alzheimer’s Solution.....The most important thing to know is that Alzheimer’s disease is avoidable for the majority of people." https://www.bluezones.com/2017/09/researchers-say-alzheimers-disease-cases-preventable-find/


Then there is this study -
Alzheimer's like symptoms reversed in mice
"You don't have to wait 10 to 12 years for a designer drug to make it to market; you can make these dietary changes today," said senior author Terrence Town, a professor of physiology and neuroscience at the Keck School of Medicine of USC's Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute. "I find that very encouraging."

The Finnish FINGER study found lifestyle changes did reverse cognitive decline in test subjects. If you do a search for terms like Alzheimer's not inevitable, or reversing cognitive decline, you'll see many promising articles and research reports like these.

 

[aja8888]

I ride my bike a lot and I always wear a helmet but I am surprised at how many people I see on bikes without helmets.

Helmets on motorcyclists is a controversy in my state. NC requires helmets for motorcyclists but every year a bill is introduced to eliminate the helmet requirement. In South Carolina no helmet is required.

It might be interesting to look at dementia statistics for bike riders and motorcyclists who do or do not wear helmets.

This is one way to prevent head injuries--wear a helmet when you bike or ride a motorcycle!

Well, for motorcyclists, the most common ending for not wearing a helmet is they become organ donors before they get dementia.

 

[Navigator]

I don't know anything about that, but I do know there are many areas of the word where cognitive decline isn't common in the elderly. In the U.S. one of those identified areas is Loma Linda.

"When I was first at Loma Linda University Medical Center in 2008, our data showed that less than 5 percent of our older patients had dementia. But when we went to communities right next door to Loma Linda, we saw markedly increased rates of dementia and stroke. This huge disparity confirmed the influence that community and lifestyle have on Alzheimer’s. Our patients in Loma Linda, as you know, have very different lifestyles than the average American: they are Seventh-Day Adventists, eat mostly vegetarian meals, exercise regularly, and have strong family and community ties....Based on our clinical work and over 300 scientific papers, we outline a proven program to prevent Alzheimer’s disease and reverse cognitive decline in The Alzheimer’s Solution.....The most important thing to know is that Alzheimer’s disease is avoidable for the majority of people." https://www.bluezones.com/2017/09/researchers-say-alzheimers-disease-cases-preventable-find/


Then there is this study -
Alzheimer's like symptoms reversed in mice
"You don't have to wait 10 to 12 years for a designer drug to make it to market; you can make these dietary changes today," said senior author Terrence Town, a professor of physiology and neuroscience at the Keck School of Medicine of USC's Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute. "I find that very encouraging."

The Finnish FINGER study found lifestyle changes did reverse cognitive decline in test subjects. If you do a search for terms like Alzheimer's not inevitable, or reversing cognitive decline, you'll see many promising articles and research reports like these.

Thank you for bringing up these studies. I have seen some of them and I hope they are on to something. I also would encourage people to live a healthy life style, as suggested in these studies. I don’t want to appear overly negative, but according to NIH:

“Although scientists have conducted many studies, and more are ongoing, so far nothing has been proven to prevent or delay dementia caused by Alzheimer's disease.”

I do try to eat right and live a healthy lifestyle, but do so knowing these things may or may not help.