..also from Dr Teitelbaum - Altzheimer's and Senility

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Alzheimer's and Senility are Reversible

Alzheimer's is a common form of dementia (senility) affecting almost 5 million Americans. As our population ages, this is an area that drug companies believe may be quite profitable, so there is heavy advertising being done for the medication Aricept, which has very minimal to modest benefit.

The only definitive test for diagnosing Alzheimer's is a brain biopsy, which appropriately is not done. Because of this, and because most doctors do not have time to do a proper 30-60 minute evaluation for underlying causes (Medicare pays poorly for visits over ~ 5 minutes), many elderly folks get a label of Alzheimer's slapped on them and a prescription for Aricept at first sign of confusion, and perhaps a cursory look for other causes of confusion. In addition to the tragic personal costs, the financial cost of caring for someone with Alzheimer's averages from $70,000 to $174,000 (over a lifetime) with global costs for care being $248 billion yearly. It is insane to not aggressively look for and treat simple reversible problems that can cause or aggravate dementia.

Let's look at a simple medical approach to evaluating and treating people with mild to severe loss of mental function. When doing this, you may find that the person never had Alzheimer's, and that even if they do, even modest improvements in mental function can dramatically improve the ability to function and remember names and people. We will also discuss a promising new medication for Alzheimer's that can stop it in its tracks (well, really an old natural compound that they will try to pass off as new).

Also, for those of you with day to day "brain fog" wondering if you may have Alzheimer's, here's a simple rule of thumb:

Alzheimer's is not when you keep forgetting where you left the keys—it's when you forget how to USE the keys.

This article will focus on Alzheimer's and dementia, as well as poor memory & mental function in general. It will also lay the foundation for next week's newsletter on "Brain Fog in CFS & FMS."

Are you ready to get your memory and mind back?

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