Finally... a REAL brain breakthrough

Dear Reader, I'm not sure if I mentioned this trial before. But if so, it's definitely worth mentioning again. Researchers just wrapped up the second phase of research into a nutrient formulation designed to combat Alzheimer's disease (AD) and cognitive impairment. And let's just say the results are very promising. Now, this research is on a branded product. So I'm not going to mention its name here. But it's a combination of vitamin E, folic acid, vitamin B12, along with a proprietary blend of N-acetyl L-cysteine, acetyl L-carnitine and S-adenosyl methionine (SAMe). The subjects here all started the study with moderate dementia. And yet, after just three months of supplementing with this nutrient combination, average cognitive impairment among the subjects had dropped from moderate to mild. That's an impressive improvement by anyone's standard--even a pharmaceutical company. The main outcome researchers looked at here was cognitive performance. But they also looked at some of dementia's behavioral and psychological symptoms, as well as the impact that they had on daily activities. (In other words, the main issues that those with Alzheimer's-type dementia suffer from.) Again, within three months, patient evaluations and caregiver reports showed that subjects taking this nutrient combo benefited from significant cognitive improvements. And that they continued to improve--or at least maintained these improvements--with continued supplementation. Most notably, researchers observed a particularly profound benefit on the participants' mood. This is a huge finding, since clinical depression is a common problem among Alzheimer's patients. And it goes without saying that improvements in this department can make major contributions to quality of life--both for AD patients and their families. So how does this formula work? Previous laboratory studies point to a couple of key mechanisms. For one thing, it reduces oxidative damage to your brain. (Obviously, oxidative stress isn't your friend, which is why I devote so much of my time to teaching you how to fight it.) It also appears to reduce the formation of beta amyloid, which is a protein implicated in the formation of plaque deposits associated with Alzheimer's. And finally, it boosts and maintains levels of the critical neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Which is really what all of the Alzheimer's drugs out there try to do. They just don't do it nearly as well. I mean, if pharmaceuticals like Namenda and Aricept were as effective as these nutrients, you can bet it would make front page headlines around the world. But guess what? They're not. The truth is, the two "best" pharmaceuticals we have for AD are pretty worthless. In fact, a friend of mine--who was part of the clinical research for Aricept, and who shall remain nameless--suggested that the drug didn't even really work. So how did it get FDA approval? I'll tell you how: money. For those of you not familiar with statistics, the more people you have in a study, the higher the chance that any positive results will be statistically significant--even if the improvement itself is infinitesimal. Ultimately, the company had to enroll hundreds of thousands of people in this study simply to get a slight improvement. And that's not cheap. This latest study, however? It was funded by the Alzheimer's Association. So take that for what it's worth. At the end of the day, good nutrition hardly costs a thing. (Comparatively speaking, at least.) And yet, research shows that it can effectively ward off dementia... not to mention a laundry list of other debilitating diseases, to boot. I'd say that's a pretty good return on investment, wouldn't you? Until next time, Dr. Fred