Ending Alzheimer’s: Dr. Bredesen and Rhonda Patrick Podcast

I’ve listened to this podcast once and am making my way through it again.  I take a lot of what’s presented with a grain of salt.  Dr. Bredesen has a book to sell, an algorithm to pump, and speaking engagements to nurture.

On the other hand, I realize that Alzheimer’s is a focus of intense public and research interest and because of my Biochemistry background, I’m motivated to get up to speed on what is known about the science behind it. I also think that Acupuncture, and perhaps TAVNS have something to offer since they appear to lessen inflammation.

Dr. Bredesen is a professor at UCLA and a founder of the Buck Institute on Aging.  His current book is called The End of Alzheimer’s .

Of course, right there, all sorts of flags go up about false promises, but he has staked out a position, so I’m listening.

In the first part of the podcast he talks about the plaques and the tau tangles found in the brains of Alzheimer patients.  He makes the point that people can have the tangles and have the amyloid proteing and not have Alzheimer’s.  He also points to the research which has shown that amyloid may, in fact, have a protective, antimicrobial effect and a binder of heavy metals ie it’s there for a reason.  And indeed, when researchers have removed the amyloid patients did worse.

He breaks down the Alzheimer’s Condition into groups.

Type 1  Inflammatory Type or “hot” type   You see this in patients with pathogens.  Lyme disease, leaky gut, fungi.  (This is is a tough one for me, since all of these diagnoses are in dispute.  I’m opened minded, but still…)

Type 2  The dry, atrophic type.  This is a type where there is not enough trophic support for the neural tissue.  The remedy for this one is hormonal supplementation. (Again, raises red flags for me, but onward….)

Type 1.5  This is a combination of the hot and dry and has insulin resistance as a feature.  It has inflammatory and atrophic features.

Type 3   Toxic  This type of Alzheimer’s has a slightly different clinical presentation where amnestic qualities are less prominent and word finding and organizational abilities are curtailed.

Type 4 is Vascular

Type 5 is traumatic.

So enough for this blog post.  We will continue to discuss this podcast in the next few blog posts.