In order to manage Alzheimer's disease we need to understand and — if possible — remove the underlying causes and risk factors. We need to ask: "What else is going on inside the body that might allow Alzheimer's disease symptoms to develop?"
Accurate diagnosis of the factors behind Alzheimer's disease consists of three steps:
Cause | Probability | Status |
---|---|---|
Senile Dementia | 94% | Confirm |
Excess Salt Consumption | 21% | Unlikely |
Chronic Inflammation | 21% | Unlikely |
Lyme Disease** | 5% | Ruled out |
Mercury Toxicity | 2% | Ruled out |
Parkinson's Disease | 0% | Ruled out |
Megaloblastic Anemia** | 0% | Ruled out |
Metal Toxicity | 0% | Ruled out |
Is Alzheimer's Disease affecting you?
Possible responses:
→ No / don't know→ There is good reason to believe I have it → Doctors think I might have it → I have been diagnosed with it |
Due to older people's precarious homeostatic mechanisms they are much more prone than younger people to dehydration and electrolyte imbalances. This may induce a confusional state which may be mistaken for a dementing illness such as Alzheimer's.
Because Alzheimer's patients often exhibit increased concentration of heavy metals in their blood and brain, toxic exposure is believed to play an important role.
Spirochetes, such as those found in Lyme disease, may be one of the causes of Alzheimer's disease and may also be the source of beta amyloid deposited in the brains of such infected patients.
Alzheimer's Disease is the most common cause of dementia, being responsible for 60-80% of cases. All people with Alzheimer's disease have problems with memory loss, disorientation and thinking ability.
Research published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation in July, 2012 has shown that chronic inflammation can leave the brain vulnerable to developing Alzheimer's.
August 25th, 2011: A study published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging has found that elderly people who have salt-rich diets and exercise little suffer quicker mental decline. Just over a teaspoon (7.7gm) of salt a day can dull the mind and raise the risk of Alzheimer's, the study suggests.
The team from the University of Toronto tracked salt consumption and physical activity of 1,262 healthy men and women aged between 67 and 84 over a three-year period. They also assessed the mental health of the participants at the start of the study and once a year for the duration.
The good news is that sedentary older adults showed no cognitive decline over the three years if they had low sodium intake.
Baltimore Longitudinal Study showed a strong correlation between low testosterone levels and dementia, as well as increased risk of Alzheimer's disease.
Pernicious Anemia can be mistaken for Alzheimer's in older patients.
Because Alzheimer's patients often exhibit increased concentration of heavy metals such as mercury in their blood and brain, toxic exposure is believed to play an important role. The areas of the brain that mercury favors are those involved with memory (amygdala and hippocampus). It is not just aluminum that is implicated in Alzheimer's.
A study published in 2003 in The Archives of Neurology found that people who rapidly develop symptoms of Parkinson's disease may be up to 8 times as likely to develop Alzheimer's disease. The study found that the physical symptoms of Parkinson's disease are linked to a decline in mental functioning as seen in Alzheimer's disease. About 15% of Parkinson's disease victims eventually develop Alzheimer's disease, and another 15% develop other forms of dementia.
See the link between syphilis and schizophrenia.