Alzheimer’s disease could be stopped by making radical lifestyle changes, a new trial suggests.
People diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or a precursor to dementia who switched to a plant-based diet, exercised and meditated daily, and went to therapy once a week saw marked improvements in their memory, speech, and cognition compared to patients who They continued with their normal routine.
One of the patients in the trial, Cici Zerbe, a Californian in her 80s, said her symptoms reversed and she feels “much better” since beginning the intervention.
When she was diagnosed with dementia, Zerbe worried she would end up like her own mother, in a nursing home and dependent on 24/7 care. But she said that thanks to therapy, she can still live independently and go for walks alone every morning.
Fifty-one patients were included in the trial, but two shared their experience and said the intervention helped them reverse or stop the progression of their disease.
Diet and exercise have a big impact on heart health and blood circulation is thought to play a role in the development of dementia.
Therefore, it could be that by improving their heart, participants improved blood flow to their brain, helping to stop the symptoms of the disease.
Previous studies have made clear the link between blood flow and dementia. Rahul Sidhu, a PhD candidate in Neuroscience at the University of Sheffield who was not involved in the research, wrote for the conversation.
When arteries are clogged by things like smoking, obesity, or high cholesterol, the brain doesn’t get as much blood.
Over time, this prolonged stress can affect brain tissue, which may be one of several factors that affect the likelihood of developing dementia.
If people improve their blood flow through changes in diet or exercise, Professor Sidhu wrote, they could return more blood and energy to the brain, which could help avoid some of the symptoms of dementia.
Studies like these, which look at alternative ways to treat this debilitating disease, which affects 6.9 million Americans, have become more popular because there has been little success with other therapies, such as medications.
Currently, there are only two FDA-approved medications that marginally improve some symptoms of the disease. But one of them has taken over the production amid controversy.
Without treatment, people with Alzheimer’s can live up to 20 years, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. During that period, your memory, attention span, and sleep quality slowly erode as the disease damages more and more brain tissue.
Dr. Dean Ornish, founder and president of the nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research Institute and University of CaliforniaSan Franciscowho led the new study, theorized that altering a person’s habits could interrupt the course of their disease.
To test this theory, Dr. Ornish and his colleagues enrolled 51 patients, with an average age of 73, in the trial.
All of the patients in the study had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, but they were at an early stage in the course of the disease, so their symptoms were not very advanced.
The study – published in the magazine Alzheimer’s research and therapy –he only observed the effects for 20 weeks.
Half of the participants, 26 people, were assigned the new lifestyle plan: eat packaged vegetarian meals, walk every day, do strength training three times a week, meditate daily, and participate in group therapy with their families. loved ones three times a week.
Their meals contained primarily fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, seeds, nuts and soy products and were low in sweeteners and added fats. They also received eight supplements to take daily.
A plant-based diet has been linked to a lower risk of developing dementia, probably because vegetables and fruits have more nutrients, fiber and antioxidants than meat or wheat products, according to the Committee of Physicians for Responsible Medicine.
These nutrients support overall body health, they write, and likely protect the brain as well.
As for exercise, participants didn’t have to start training like an Olympic athlete.
Instead, the researchers asked participants to walk for at least 30 minutes daily and perform gentle strength-training exercises with a nurse three times a week.
This was probably incorporated because have shown that regular exercise can reduce the risk of developing dementia by 45 percent, according to the Alzheimer’s Society.
Additionally, for one hour each day, participants were instructed to meditate, do yoga, or breathing exercises while on Zoom with a stress management specialist.
Chronic stress has been linked to an incredible number of health problems, including dementia.
This is because stress causes our body to become inflamed, which over a lifetime can wear down our brain tissue and increase the likelihood of dementia, the researchers wrote.
Changing participants’ diet, exercise and mindfulness habits appeared to help them improve their cognition, the study reported.
The last piece of the puzzle was group therapy, where participants were asked to bring their spouses and talk about their emotional and cognitive well-being along with a counselor present.
This was to develop communication skills and foster a sense of community, the researchers wrote.
Social isolation has been shown to increase the risk of dementia, the researchers wrote, probably because isolation causes them to make unhealthy choices such as drinking, smoking or avoiding exercise.
The Alzheimer’s Society estimated that it can increase the chance of developing dementia by 60 percent.
The other half of the study participants, 25 people, lived their lives normally.
Both groups were asked about their quality of life and underwent a series of tests measuring cognitive decline at the beginning and end of the study.
One measure included the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, which gives patients a score based on how well they complete a worksheet that includes drawing, memory, attention, language and the ability to make connections between concepts.
The research found that 71 percent of people who were treated performed better on cognitive tests compared to their baseline scores.
During the same period, 66 percent of people who didn’t change their lifestyle scored lower on cognitive tests, meaning they got worse.
Lead researcher Dr Ornish told Time: ‘This is not the study to end all studies. But it shows for the first time that intensive lifestyle changes can improve cognition and function in Alzheimer’s patients.
Cici Zerbe, a Californian in her 80s, was one of those people in the group who scored better after 20 weeks on the new diet.
Zerbe told CNN’s Sanjay Gupta that he feels “much better, much better” now, five years after beginning the intervention.
The retired educator said she believed the treatment helped her reverse her illness.
Another patient, Simon Nicholls, 55, said taking part in the trial helped him stop the progression of his disease.
Professor Sidhu wrote that this could be interpreted to mean that “Nicholls and Zerbe possibly ‘reversed’ their Alzheimer’s symptoms.”
However, he wrote, these are just two people out of a 51-person trial, and the reality is probably that it is not so easy to apply the treatment to the general population.
Other experts who were not involved in the research were equally cautious.
“This doesn’t provide definitive answers yet,” said Laura Baker, a professor of gerontology and geriatric medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. he told USA Today.
“The idea that lifestyle intervention can reverse dementia or cognitive decline… I just don’t think there’s enough evidence for that,” Dr. Baker added.
Even if the results did not prove to reverse Alzheimer’s, they were still promising, said Cornell preventive neurologist Dr. Richard Isaacson, who oversaw Mr. Nicholls’ treatment.
Of his patient, Dr. Isaacson said, “The results we’ve seen with Simon and some other patients in our research are extremely interesting.”