I have nothing to sell you but hope, and that I give you for free.

The purpose of this web site is to help my mother.  I needed a way to keep track of the mountains of information that I was digging up on the various neurological diseases the physicians she has seen have diagnosed her with.  So, I started to put it on this web page for my own use, and that of my family.  Perhaps you can also gather some information from all this for when you meet with a physician to discuss what can be done for someone suffering from brain failure:  Alzheimer's disease (AD), Vascular Dementia (VD), Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH), or any of the Parkinsonian Syndromes.  You will have a list of questions to ask, and sources to read so that you will know what to ask.

The PC Reading List

"First Aid" for AD Sundowning:
1 cup apple juice (or non-alcoholic apple cider) 2 times per day
20g of MCT oil from coconut meat, coconut oil, or refined "MCT oil".
    - 2 "Mounds" candy bars, or
    - 2x2" square of fresh coconut meat, or
    - 3 coconut macaroons, or
    - "coconut milk" as sold for Thai cooking (quantity TBD), or
    - 7 tsp. of "MCT oil", as sold for bodybuilding
Curcumin
    - 500mg capsules 2x per day, or
    - 1 Tbsp unrefined ground turmeric spice 2x per day, or
    - Curry dishes, at least 3x per week

Here are some things to ask the doctor about...

I.      Treatable conditions that mimic the symptoms of Parkinson's disease,
        Alzheimer's disease, or corticobasal degeneration (CBD)
        1) NPH (Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus)
        2) Lyme Disease
        3) Helicobacter pylori infection
        4) Celiac disease (gluten metabolism) [EDIT NOTE:  NEED LINKS TO MORE DISCUSSION OF THESE]

II.     Substances found in nature that have shown promise in relieving the
        symptoms or even the causes of neurodegenerative diseases
        1) Ginkgo-biloba
        2) Scyllitol - Dissolves amyloid beta (AB) plaques and restores
                       mental abilities in transgenic mice (standard "animal model"
                       for AD research).  Most abundant plant source is the coconut palm.
        3) Curcumin - (a.k.a. turmeric extract) Similar effect as scyllitol in "standard
                        animal model",
                      plus other positive effects.
        4) Phosphatidylserine (PS
        5) Huperzine A
        6) Vinpocetine
        7) Cinnamon -  Inihibits tau protein hyperphosphorylation & untangles
                       tau fibers that have already formed.
        8) Niacinamide - Inibits tau protein corruption, reduces quantity of
                         tau protein aggregations.
        9) MCT - "Medium-chain Triglycerides" provides an alternate energy source for
                 neurons which have trouble metabolising glucose.  Coconut oil is rich
                 in several MCTs.
       10) Adaptation of The Sinatra Solution to neurodegenerative diseases with
           glucose hypometabolism:  Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), L-carnitine (or maybe acetyl-L carnitine),
           D-ribose and magnesium to improve production of ATP by neuronal mitochondria
           [EDIT NOTE:  NEED LINKS TO DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THESE]

III.    Dietary changes to improve artery disease and reduce the chance of strokes
        See McDougall and Mirkin

        1) Improve circulation, reverse artery disease
        2) In combination with statin drugs
        3) Increase scyllitol intake from grains and legumes

IV.     Drugs currently on the market that have been shown to slow the progression of
        neurological disease
        1) Memantine (a.k.a. Namenda: AD)
        2) Enbrel (Etanercept:  AD)
        3) Lithium (ALS, tauopathies?)
        4) Methylene blue (tauopathies)
        5) Simvastatin (Zocor:  Parkinson's)
        6) Desferrioxamine (intramuscular)-- chelates iron, aluminum.  Halts
           AD progression.
        7) Deferasirox (oral)-- chelates iron, probably others.  Possible
           alternative to desferrioxoxamine.
        8) Clioquinol - pre-occupies AB metal ion binding sites, halts AD
           progression.

V.      Mechanical devices that show promise in arresting the progression of
        dementia
        1) COGNIShunt [proven ineffective?]
        2) Infrared

VI.     Metals involved with neuro-degenerative diseases
        1) Aluminum and Aluminosilicates
        2) Copper  [EDIT NOTE:  ARTICLE IN NOVEMBER 2009 SCIENCEDAILY.COM THAT COPPER IS IMPORTANT IN IMMUNE RESPONSE???]       
        3) Iron metabolism in Parkinsonian Syndromes

VII.    Chelation agents that can be taken orally
        - to open up arteries
        - remove metal ions that may cause nerve cell damage
        - remove metal ions that may cause normally harmless (even crucial)
          proteins present in the brain to become toxic by a catalytic
          action (amyloid beta plaques)
        - remove metals from the body.  It is not known for sure if this
          causes or exacerbates AD, but the cost is very low, and the risk
          of adversely affecting your health is low.  At the worst, they
          will be ineffective.

        1) Phytic Acid (myo-inositol hexakisphosphate, IP6, InsP6) Naturally
           occurring "anti-nutrient" that binds to free metal ions, allowing
           the body to flush them out.
        2) Oral EDTA.  EDTA is a common food additive used to preserve the
           flavor and color of processed foods.  Perhaps it can be found in
           bulk, since food processing companies must use it in this way
           themselves!
        3) Cilantro:  An herb found to mobilize aluminum, mercury and some
           other metals that are then chelated by a chelating agent such as
           phytic acid or EDTA.  Cheap and easily available.
        4) Curcumin:  Curcumin, amoung its other salubrious qaulities, is a
           powerful iron and copper chelator.

IIV.    Do blood thinners and anti-platelet medications reduce the risk of
        strokes and therefore the worsening of vascular dementia?
        1) Aspirin (reports of developing aspirin resistance?)
        2) Cumadin, etc (brand name or generic pharmaceuticals)

IX.     Are there any natural blood thinners and anti-platelets?
        -to prevent ischemic strokes (can exacerbate hemorrhagic strokes)
        -Natural blood thinners
         a. Garlic
         b. Ginkgo-biloba  

X.      Have statin drugs used to reduce cholesterol levels been found to
        slow the progression of Alheimer's disease or reduce the the risk
        strokes by reversing arterial sclerosis?
        - Statins - lowers cholesterol, delays AD progression.

XI.     Are there any alternative therapies available?
        - IV EDTA chelation therapy-- chelates most metals.  Reported by
          chelation therapists to halt and reverse AD symptoms.
        - Infrared (1072nm)

Nutritional alternatives:  Things you can try while coaxing the physicians to get off their butts and try something. [EDIT NOTE:  THE NUTRITIONAL ALTERNATIVES PAGES IS OUT OF DATE AND NEED MUCH UPDATING]

Even if you find something in these pages you think might work, and the doctors agree with it, the real challenge might be getting the patient to change their lifestyle.  Habbits and behavior will probably be your greatest obstacle.  This is like watching your grandfather smoke himself to death with cigarettes.  You know they are bad for him, and that he is smoking way way too much.  But what can you do?  There really just isn't a way to stop someone hell-bent on self destruction, so you must just stand there helpless watching him pound nails in his own coffin.  A person who is starting to show the signs of Brain Failure (dementia, Alzheimer's Disease, Vascular Dementia, NPH, etc.), may not even be physically or mentally able to help themselves.  They may not have an appetite to eat better food.  They may not be able to swallow pills or feed themselves.  Their primary caregiver may not believe that mere lifestyle and eating habbits and herbs and medicine or anything can help.  Fatalism or a state of denial on the part of the caregiver can doom the dementia sufferer to an inevitable decline.  The only way pills can help you, if they can, is if you have enough faith to swallow them.

This may be your greatest challenge.  This, more than anything else, you may not be able to overcome.

PC Home

Click to join tauopathies

You can reach me by mai|ing to "perpetualcommotion.com", at gmail dot com.

Updated January 23, 2010
Inception June 5, 2006