Cognitive decline is a major concern of the aging population. Already, Alzheimer’s disease affects approximately 5.4 million Americans and 30 million people globally.
Without effective prevention and treatment, the prospects for the future are bleak.
By 2050, it is estimated that 160 million people globally will have the disease, including 13 million Americans, leading to potential bankruptcy of the Medicare system.
Unlike several other chronic illnesses, Alzheimer’s disease is on the rise—recent estimates suggest that Alzheimer’s disease has become the third leading cause of death in the United States behind cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Since its first description over 100 years ago, Alzheimer’s disease has been without effective treatment.
While researchers continue to seek out a cure, it is becoming clear that there are effective treatment options.
More and more research supports the conclusion that Alzheimer’s disease is not a disease of only beta-amyloid plaques and tao tangles but a complex and systemic disease.
In a new study, researchers examined patients with varying levels of cognitive decline and demonstrated how a precision and personalized approach results in either stabilization or improvement in memory.
The research was conducted by a team at The Centre for Healthy Aging, National University Health System, Singapore.
Interventions to stop the progression of Alzheimer’s disease have been marginally successful at best.
This study used a more comprehensive, personalized approach addressing each participant’s unique risk factors.
The team sought to determine whether a comprehensive and personalized program, designed to mitigate risk factors of Alzheimer’s disease could improve cognitive and metabolic function in individuals experiencing cognitive decline.
After a thorough review of published research, the team developed a comprehensive approach to addressing scientifically supported risk factors that have been rigorously defined as interventions to promote prevention, increased resiliency, and stabilization of brain function in the realm of AD and dementia.
They found that a multi-modal and personalized approach promotes an improved resiliency and restoration of optimal brain function.
The personalized therapeutic program includes genetics, an extensive blood panel, medical history and lifestyle data to evaluate relevant metabolic risk factors and nutrient levels associated with cognitive health.
The study approach considers more than 35 factors known to contribute to cognitive decline.
Results demonstrate that certain of those factors are more affected than others again demonstrating the need for a more precise treatment plan.
This study supports the need for an approach that focuses on a one-size fits one, not a one-size fits all, approach that comprehensively assesses all involved risk factors affecting memory loss.
In conjunction with the publication of this vital study, and to expose alternative treatment options for Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline, the team has written a book, Outsmart your Brain—an Insider’s Guide to Life-Long Memory.
One author of the study is Brian Kennedy, Ph.D., Director of The Centre for Healthy Aging, National University Health System.
The study is published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease Reports.
Copyright © 2020 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
