There was an interesting piece in the BMJ recently (Sep 2013) claiming that many people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and dementia probably won’t ever develop issues beyond normal ageing memory loss. Here’s what WDDTY had to say about it:

Around 65 per cent of people aged over 80 will be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in a new drive in the UK and the US to screen the elderly. But only between five and 15 per cent of people with mild cognitive impairment, such as memory loss, will ever develop Alzheimer’s. The rest will never suffer from the disease, despite the prognosis, and they may even improve, say specialists in the UK and Australia.

A similar picture is emerging for people labelled as having dementia. Around 25 per cent will never see their mild cognitive problems develop into full dementia. 

I have noticed that the recent drive for better diagnosis of these conditions has led to many more people being told they are at risk of developing Alzheimer’s or dementia and this brings a lot of worry that, by the looks of this article, could be totally unwarranted. That seems a shame. The cynic in me would wonder if this is, yet again, a drive to sell more drugs. I hope not.

Of course, it is vitally important to identify those who might be at risk of these horrid conditions but I have been worried about how you do distinguish between simple (if frustrating) memory loss and the more severe conditions. That must be hard.

As the WDDTY article also goes on to suggest, it could even be that the drugs given could cause more cognitive decline themselves.

You can go to the BMJ and sign up to read this article if you like – it is part of the fascinating Too Much Medicine series, which is a fab idea from BMJ and very welcome. If you don’t sign up, reading the rapid responses is enlightening anyway.

Here is a useful article about possible new ways to distinguish between those who may go on to develop more severe problems and those who likely won’t.

Breakthrough discerns normal memory loss from disease

Also,  foodforthebrain.org has a free cognitive test which takes 20 minutes. It has recently been given five stars in a comparison study published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, when the separate aspects of cognitive function tested in the test were compared to the ‘state of the art’ tests used for diagnosis, like those in the article above.

OK, now we’ve got that panic out of the way, let’s look specifically at brain problems that DO need treatment.

Memory and Cognitive Function

If you are losing where you put your keys, finding words and names hard to come by, that’s quite normal; I’ve been like that since my 20s, frankly! However, if you feel it is increasing or becoming a problem for you, then think about these things:

Nutrient levels. Most cognitive issue I come across are down to low levels of things like choline, magnesium, B vits, fatty acids etc, so make sure you take a good supportive wellbeing sort of protocol (see here) and close those gaps. You might also want to boost specific brain nutrients. There are many complexes about. This is one of my faves because it has good levels of a synergistic blend of brain nutrients that generally help. 

Phos serine is also a really good option at about 200mg per day – I remember in my training reading a fascinating article by my professor (Dr Plaskett) and I have never forgotten it. Try this. 

Next, consider if your hormones might be out for some reason. They have a real impact on our memory and brain function. Could you be perimenopausal (post 35), low in oestrogen, testosterone etc? Get them tested and correct. See Hormone Tests here.

One big issue is a lack of oxygen to the brain, which is why that complex above works so well as it contains nutrients known to encourage oxygenation. So does exercise and breathwork.  NeurO2 here is my fave – brilliant for increasing blood flow to the brain.

If your issue is brain fog, also think about it being a food reaction – I can’t tell you how often it lifts when we remove allergens especially gluten and dairy. I think Dr Carl Pfeiffer termed it ‘brain allergy’. Dead right.

So, try those approaches. If they help to an extent but not entirely, or don’t help at all, think about neuroinflammation/brain inflammation. 

Brain/Neuro Inflammation Symptoms

So, what to do if you are having more severe, chronic brain problems?

It depends on the type of issue you are having. In essence, many people suffer with a slow down in brain function – a loss of brain endurance – which is very distinct from memory loss. Or, they can have problems with long-term hidden brain inflammation causing depression, anxiety, food and chemical sensitivities. More severely, they can suffer loss of brain function after a head injury, stroke, trauma or maybe an infection or toxin that crosses the blood brain barrier, setting up an immunological response called glial priming, where the inflammation is constantly doing damage over time.

All forms of brain inflammation confer a higher risk of neurodegenerative issues like Alzheimer’s and dementias so it is wise, if you recognise yourself here, to do something about it.

To help, here are what I would term the milder or early symptoms of brain inflammation:

• Brain fog (hazy thoughts and recall)
• Mental speed varies
• Reduced brain endurance (can’t do things as long eg. read/drive/chat), losing words, gaps as talking, not thinking well
• Brain fatigue after exposure to specific chemicals, pollutants, perfumes
• Brain fatigue after specific foods
• Depression, lack of motivation and drive, fatigue, need to sleep
• Change in handwriting over the years or if writing quickly
• Poor digestion, motility, acid, enzymes, infections etc because of vagus nerve and NI feedback

When the issue becomes more chronic, this can develop into what is termed Sickness Behaviour Syndrome (SBS). That then looks like this – you can have some or many of these symptoms. Usually people recognise themselves quite easily:

That’s a LOT of people who probably aren’t even aware that brain inflammation could be involved, and who certainly aren’t being treated for that!