Personalized therapy saved from Alzheimer's disease
Scientists have managed to restore the intelligence of 10 patients with Alzheimer's disease
Oleg Lischuk, N+1, based on the materials of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging: Pre and post testing show reversal of memory loss from Alzheimer's disease in 10 patients
American scientists have managed to reverse the decline in intelligence in 10 patients with early stages of Alzheimer's disease or conditions preceding them. The results of the work are published in the journal Aging (Bredesen et al., Reversal of cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease).
The staff of the University of California at Los Angeles and the Buck Institute conducted experimental therapy of 10 patients. All of them suffered from incipient Alzheimer's disease, moderate cognitive impairment or subjective cognitive impairment (the latter two conditions are considered preclinical, or prodromal stage of acquired dementia). The diagnoses of all volunteers were confirmed by neuropsychological testing. In addition, they identified genetic markers of predisposition to the disease and characteristic brain damage according to quantitative MRI and positron emission tomography.
Software personalized treatment was performed according to the MEND protocol (metabolic optimization in neurodegeneration), which was developed earlier by one of the authors of the work Dale E. Bredesen (Reverse of cognitive decline: A novel therapeutic program). It implies a thorough diagnosis of all known metabolic disorders that underlie the disease and appear against its background, after which the patient is personally selected for their correction. According to the researchers, the treatment is based on modern data on the connectome (the totality of all neuronal connections), the results of experiments with transgenic animals and epidemiological studies of the effects of various types of monotherapy.
The MEND protocol consists of 36 items, which include deep correction of diet, brain stimulation, exercise, sleep normalization, specific pharmaceuticals, vitamins, herbal medicine and various additional effects needed by a particular patient. In the course of treatment, the prescriptions are adjusted in accordance with the dynamics of the patient's physiological indicators, which allows for a long-term improvement of the condition.
After a long course of therapy (up to 22 months by the time of writing the article), all participants in the experiment experienced a marked improvement in mental functions, which they themselves, relatives, colleagues and nurses noted. It was confirmed by the results of neuropsychological testing. According to scientists, the degree of improvement significantly exceeded the results of all known methods of treatment. In one of the patients, the volume of the hippocampus increased, which was reduced as a result of the disease before treatment.
Most of the patients were able to do everyday things again, recognize people and objects. Several people returned to work, one recovered his guitar playing skills. According to the results of the examination, two patients ceased to meet the diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer's disease and related conditions, that is, their condition returned to normal.
Currently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not recommend screening healthy people for the epsilon-4 variant of apolipoprotein E (ApoE e4), a marker of predisposition to Alzheimer's disease. The reason for this was the lack of data on the reversibility of disorders caused by the disease. The authors of the paper write that now such data has been obtained, and, perhaps, the recommendations will have to be revised.
According to Bridesen, his book with a detailed description of the principles and approaches to the correction of metabolic disorders in neurodegeneration is ready for publication and will be published in 2017.
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17.06.2016