Causes of Dementia: on Alzheimer’s
According to the National Institute on Aging (USA), while progress has been made on the scientific front, scientists have yet to have a complete understanding of the cause of Alzheimer’s. Rather than a single cause, Alzheimer’s is probably caused by a combination of factors, including the environment and lifestyle.
Dr Dale Bredeson’s research identified 36 factors, which affect whether one moves towards a path of causing Alzheimer’s or preventing this. These factors include infections, fasting insulin levels, hormone status, exposures to toxins such as mercury and mycotoxins, sleep, gastrointestinal permeability and inflammation.
There can be a misconception that inflammation arises from infections. However, this is not always the case. Rather, inflammation can also be triggered from consumption of trans fats, or from food consumption such as gluten that can cause a “leaky gut”. In addition, over consumption of sugar, when combined with insulin resistance can also trigger inflammation.
The concept presented by Dr Bredeson to prevent and reverse decline in cognition is progressive. It represents a change to the old methods of drug development to combat a single cause. While simple illnesses with a root cause could work effectively with such single cause drugs, complex illnesses like Alzheimer’s can come from various factors, and as such a “one size fits all” drug may have significant limitations. There are more than 200 failed drug development programs and only three approved drugs by the FDA with limited effects.