(a) learning about proposed causes and current theories of Alzheimer's disease.
(b) learning what you can do to prevent Alzheimer's disease.
(c) learning what you may be able to do to Alzheimer's disease patient you personally know.
This is also a good book for an MD or PhD who is interested in above, plus
(d) getting ideas on what you can do to prevent or cure Alzheimer's disease with your research and/or practice.
The author Dale Bredesen has been working on Alzheimer's disease for 28+ years as an MD.
I have read a few of his papers while I do my research on Alzheimer's disease. This book is not academic paper, but for general public. It was a New York Times bestseller in 2017.
When we scientists are to write something for general readers, we are told to write it in a way that an educated but medically/scientifically untrained reader, like a lawyer or an accountant, can understand.
This book meets the guideline. Perhaps a little tricky for someone not trained for medicine or biology at all. But, hey, it is a book by an MD.
After I started investigating Alzheimer's disease, I learned one thing. Alzheimer's disease research is a murky research field. There are so many proposed theories, controversial causes, and possible remedies.
Yet, current bottom line in clinic is, there is no cure and no therapeutic drugs.
This book brilliantly summarizes current theories and causes for Alzheimer's disease (the author called them "36 holes in the roof"), and categorizes them in 3 categories (inflammation, lack of nutrient or hormone, toxins).
Accordingly, he categorizes human Alzheimer's disease into 3 subtypes (inflammatory, non-inflammatory, atypical). He proposes that various tests for a set of biomarkers can distinguish the subtypes of Alzheimer's disease.
For example, inflammation can be detected by blood tests for hs-CPR, homocysteine, etc. Nutrient status can be tested by vitamins (C,E,D,B), etc. Hormone status can be measured for insulin, HbA1c, estradiol, etc. Infections that cause inflammation can be assessed by tests on mycotoxin. Environmental toxins like heavy metals (arsenic, mercury, lead,etc) can also be tested. Also, Apoe genotyping is important to assess genetic risk (carrying apoe4 indicates a higher risk).
By identifying an Alzheimer's disease patient's subtype, he can design countermeasures that can tip the balance between health and disease toward health, resulting an improvement in Alzheimer's disease symptoms.
His approach is a type of personalized medicine.
We tend to dream of a magic bullet against a disease. His approach is closer to Indian Ayurveda or Chinese traditional medicine. Instead of using a magic bullet, the approach uses a shotgun to work on many of what he calls "36 holes in the roof", multiple causes for Alzheimer's disease.
The concept is familiar, because we are working in cancer prevention research field, where the notion of "herbal shotgun" is well-known.
From the scientist/researcher's standpoint, disease research is not over until we figure out much of the disease, the biomedical mechanisms. But for general public and medical practice, once effective treatment is developed, the battle is over.
Vitamin C (lime or lemon juice to be exact) for scurvy. Antibiotic for bacterial infection. Antiviral drug cocktail for AIDS. There have been many medical breakthroughs in the past.
The practice he is proposing in this book (the re-code method) might be the step toward the right direction for Alzheimer's disease.
I liked the hope this book presented.
[The book cover]
