The Most Feared Terminal Disease:

Alzheimer’s

Presented by Terry Lemerond

What exactly is Alzheimer’s Disease?

• Progressive and fatal brain disease

– brain cells destroyed

– memory loss

– problems with thinking and behavior

• Most common form of dementia

• No cureGrowing more common:

Almost 14 million people

with Alzheimer’s by 2050!

Did You Know?

• Another case of Alzheimer’s disease is diagnosed every 70 seconds

• By 2050, a new case will be diagnosed every 33 seconds

2010 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures.

http://www.alz.org/documents_custom/ALZ_FF_Wisconsin.pdf?type=interior_map

More than just a Brain Fart

• Memory loss that disrupts your normal life– It’s just an age-related change: forget a name but remember it later– Warning sign: Have to ask for the same information over and over

again

• Challenges in planning and solving problems– It’s just an age-related change: need help with the computer– Warning sign: Can’t follow a familiar recipe or remember the rules

of an often played game

• Confusion over time and place– It’s just an age related change: get confused about the day of the

week but remember later– Warning sign: Don’t know where you are, or how you got there

• Losing or misplacing things– It’s just an age-related change: misplace keys or glasses but find

them later– Warning sign: put things in odd places, can’t retrace steps to find

lost items

Cause of Alzheimer’s: Plaques and Tangles

• Plaques

– Build up between nerve cells

– Deposits of protein fragments –beta amyloid

• Tangles

– Form inside dying cells

– Found in predictable patterns, first in areas of the brain for learning and memory, spreading out to other areas

• Free radical activity

– Increased oxidative stress (caused by heavy metals such as aluminum?) increases rate of brain cell death

Healthy

Brain Cells

Damaged Brain

Cell with beta amyloid plaques

Conventional Treatment• Mild to Moderate AD

– cholinesterase inhibitors (Aricept®)

– preserve levels of acetylcholine, a chemical messenger in the brain that is important for memory and learning

• Moderate to Severe AD– N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonists

– delay progression of some symptoms

– Regulates glutamate, an important brain chemical. When produced in excessive amounts, glutamate may lead to brain cell death.

• Side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss, muscle weakness and confusion

These drugs slow symptoms, temporarily, for about half of the people who use them

Natural Treatment: Curcumin

• Most bioactive compound in turmeric

• Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory

• New research on effects in the brain…

How Does it Work?

• Reduces oxidative damage and inflammation

• Reduces amyloid accumulation and promotes amyloid destruction

• In one week, curcumin reduced the average size of beta-amyloid plaques by 30% (animal model of Alzheimer’s disease)1

Curcumin effectively passes the blood-brain barrier and

binds to beta amyloid.

Curcumin is more effective in inhibiting formation of

beta amyloid protein fragments than many other drugs

being tested as Alzheimer's treatments!

1. Garcia-Alloza M. Curcumin labels amyloid pathology in vivo, disrupts existing plaques, and partially restores distorted neurites in an

Alzheimer mouse model. J Neurochem. 2007;102:1095-1104.

Curcumin Absorption

• Greatest challenge – bioavailability

– poorly absorbed from the intestinal tract

– metabolizes easily to other compounds

• Options

– Bind to phosphatidylcholine (lecithin)

○ No human bioavailability data to date

– Mix with piperine (black pepper)

○ Piperine interacts with many drugs and medications

– Mix with phospholipids and turmeric essential oils,

micronized

○ Best Results: Up to 10 times better absorption than standard curcumin extracts (human clinical data)

New Curcumin Research

• Edith Cowan University, Australia

– Human clinical trial of curcumin with turmeric essential oils in patients with cognitive impairment

• University of California, Los Angeles

– Efficacy and Safety of CurcuminFormulation in Alzheimer's Disease

Vitamin D

• The “sunshine vitamin” (actually a pro-hormone)

• Research findings– participants deficient in

vitamin D were 88% more likely to have a mood disorder such as depression or anxiety.

– compared to people with higher vitamin D levels, participants deficient in vitamin D performed worse on mental performance tests

– When compared to people who have optimal vitamin D levels, once you reach 65, low levels of vitamin D make it twice as likely that you will suffer some degree of mental decline

By the time we are 65,

changes to the structure of

the skin reduce production

of vitamin D by up to 60%!

Vitamin D + Curcumin

Spanish Sage

• Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory• Inhibits an enzyme which can disrupt signals in

the brain– acetylcholinesterase (enzyme) breaks down acetylcholine

(neurotransmitter)– Spanish sage inhibits acetylcholinesterase

• In healthy adult volunteers, Spanish sage improved memory and word recall

• In patients with Alzheimer’s, Spanish sage oil reduced symptoms and improved attention

• No significant side effects

Rosemary

• The “herb of remembrance”

• Crosses the blood brain barrier

• Like Spanish Sage, is an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor

• Activates a signaling pathway that protects the brain from free radicals

• Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are associated with high levels of free radical damage

• Unique characteristic: does not activate unless free radical damage occurs – much less potential for side effects

Recap: Ingredient Benefits• Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory

– Curcumin, Rosemary and Spanish Sage Oil

• Reduce beta amyloid plaques– Curcumin and vitamin D

• Inhibit cholinesterase– Spanish sage oil

• Antidepressant and improved mental function– Vitamin D and curcumin

• Other helpful nutrients– Omega fatty acids and phospholipids from salmon:

Omega-3’s increase a compound which can destroy beta-amyloid plaques

– Silica: detoxifies aluminum

Healthier Brain, Clearer Thinking

Dosage and Safety

• 2,000 IU vitamin D3; 600 mg of curcumin, Rosemary and Spanish Sage oil daily

• No significant side effects

• Who should take this formula?– Alzheimer’s prevention

– Alzheimer’s patients

– Age related memory changes

– Prevention of other top causes of dementia (stroke and multi-infarct dementia)

– Anyone desiring improved mental function, memory and recall