The Elderly And Dementia

"In 2020, 60 Minutes checked in on the groundbreaking 90+ study and its members, a group of Americans age 90 and above still thriving in old age. Lesley Stahl revisited the participants, whom she first met in 2014, and caught up with the scientists expanding their findings on what leads to a longer, healthier life, with a special focus on memory and dementia."

Click on the link below for a facinating and enlightening 60 minutes segment on the latest research regarding the elderly and the causes of dementia.

What scientists have learned from studying people over 90 years old

Alzheimer's Disease And The Nun Study

Alzheimer's Disease is something I am extremely interested in, as my mother died young (71) with it, and her mother and most of her 7 brothers and sisters also died of it.  Several years ago, there was a study of a Sister Mary and several other Nuns.  In the study, the Nuns agreed to donate their brains to science for analysis.  All has relatively long lives and had no signs of dementia at death.  Interestingly, many had advanced brain plaques as a marker for the disease.  As a science-based thinker, I have to take the results as an indication that much more needs to be known about the etiology of the disease.  THAT is the beauty of being a science-based thinker: go with the evidence, even if it does not comport with present expectations.

Aging and Alzheimer's Disease: Lessons From the Nun Study

A "Breakthrough" In The Treatment Of Alzheimer's Disease?

"The first drug that can prevent Alzheimer’s disease is finally on the horizon after scientists proved they can clear the sticky plaques from the brain which cause dementia and halt mental decline."

A note of caution:  there have been many "breakthroughs" that have fizzled out in the history of medical research.

Alzheimer's: New drug that halts mental decline is 'best news for dementia in 25 years'

Markers For Genetically-Linked Alzheimer's Disease Found In The Young

"Research on Alzheimer’s has largely focused on the characteristic proteins that build up in the brain in old age, but experimental drugs meant to target those symptoms have been disappointing. One relatively new theory is that the mind-robbing disease is actually a developmental disorder that begins much earlier in life."

Alzheimer’s Effects on the Brain Found in Young People

That New Study On Alzheimer's Disease

"As an example of how functional medicine uses scientific evidence incorrectly, we have the MEND Protocol for Alzheimer’s disease (AD)."

Conclusion: Dubious science, based on questionable theory

The MEND™ Protocol For Alzheimer’s Disease

"Maybe this protocol is worthy of further study. Maybe it’s not. I can’t tell for sure if it is based just on this paper and Muses Labs hype, both of which have enough red flags in them to make me think that the MEND protocol is nothing more than functional medicine on steroids."

The more difficult the medical problem, the bigger the opening for quackery.