Vanguard Neurologist

By David Perlmutter, MD, FACN

Alzheimers disease afflicts some 4.5 million Americans. And this is a disease for which we have no meaningful treatment whatsoever. So why is it that we hear precious little about actually preventing this disease that is costing us nearlt $100 billion each year? Is there really any good science out there, published in a respected medical journal that would indicate that we can reduce our risk for getting this devastating illness? Obviously you know what my answer is

a resounding yes. I have the opportunity to visit with Alzheimers patients and their families every single day in our clinic and with every patient I see I am utterly frustrated when thinking about the fact that this disease is preventable.

Authors of a recent report entitled, Dietary Intake of Antioxidants and Risk of Alzheimers Disease, published in the well respected Journal of the American Medical Association, introduced their research with the following:

Several findings suggest that oxidative stress may play an important role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimers disease, First, the brains of patients with Alzheimers disease contain lesions that are typically associated with exposure to free radicals. In addition, oxidative stress in brains of Alzheimers patients is indicated by elevated cerebral levels of endogenous antioxidants that scavenge free radicals Based on these findings, it has been hypothesized that antioxidants from food may reduce the risk of Alzheimers disease.

They then go on to describe their research which evaluated the dietary habits of 5395 subjects individuals aged 55 years and older in comparison to their risk of developing Alzheimers disease over up to 9 years of follow-up. What they discovered was truly remarkable, especially when taken in the context of the incredibly large number of Alzheimers sufferers in this country.

Essentially, the authors showed that those individuals consuming diets richest in antioxidants had a risk of Alzheimers profoundly lower than those with diets more deficient in these important nutrients. Specifically, when compared to those with the lowest consumption, those with the highest consumption of beta carotene showed a 13% risk reduction for Alzheimers disease, vitamins C and E each were associated with an 18% risk reduction, with substantially more risk reduction in smokers consuming these antioxidants compared to non-smokers. In fact, smokers consuming the highest levels of beta carotene showed a risk reduction of 51% for the disease. What’s more, we’re not talking about some exotic nutrient or pharmaceutical intervention.

So why wasnt this news? Instead, we are bombarded with advertisements for the latest Alzheimers pill. The research cited above was published by the American Medical Association. Shouldnt it be their responsibility to make the public aware of this vital information that could help prevent a disease that is proving so devastating to our society?