A precision approach to end Alzheimer's Disease | Dale Bredesen | TEDxManhattanBeach

[Music] how many of us would like to avoid Alzheimer's disease yeah me too yeah and how many know they're fasting insulin okay how many know they're a Bowie genotype hhv-6 a status okay nocturnal oximetry these underutilize tests are just some of the many critical tests to determine whether you are at risk for Alzheimer's disease and more importantly why you may be at risk but what is Alzheimer's disease why is it so common and why has there been such a uniform failure in the quest for a cure let's look under the hood at the heart of Alzheimer's disease is a master switch called a PP for amyloid precursor protein a PP is a sensor for numerous factors such as hormones and nutrients and inflammation and growth factors when these are optimal a PP is cleaved it's cut by molecular scissors at a single site to produce two peptides or protein fragments si PP alpha and alpha CTF these mediate growth and maintenance literally you are putting your resources into memory formation and maintenance on the other hand in the presence of pathogens things like viruses bacteria fungi or toxins or reduce support a PP is cut at three sites to produce four different fragments sa PP beta a beta which is the one we classically associate with Alzheimer's disease but as you can see it's a much larger story Jake ASP and c31 these mediate retraction and protection your brain is now in protection mode pulling back rather than in growth mode therefore what we call Alzheimer's disease is actually a protective response to numerous different pathogens it's essentially a scorched-earth retreat and the amyloid that we have vilified is not the cause of the disease after all but actually a protective part of the immune system so what flips this switch this master switch well the bad news is that there are dozens and dozens of different things that can contribute and that most patients have more than 10 contributors such as infections such as P gingivalis from our dentition herpes simplex from our lips toxins such as metals like mercury or organic toxins like toluene or bio toxins which are toxins by some mold species or reduce support from growth factors like brain-derived neurotrophic factor or reduced hormones estradiol testosterone thyroid hormone or reduced nutrients such as vitamin D or omega-3 fats or leakiness of your gut lining or metabolic abnormalities such as diabetes and pre-diabetes all of these factors acting on our genetic backgrounds now the good news is that there are dozens not thousands and the great news is that virtually every single one of these is treatable so given all these factors what would the perfect Alzheimer's drug look like well the perfect Alzheimer's drug would have to do all of these things and that is a tall order for a drug and so as you can see the perfect treatment for Alzheimer's disease may not be a single drug working alone but instead may be a personalized precision program and therefore rather than looking for the elusive silver bullet we have been developing silver buckshot and we have used this silver buckshot in a way never done before asking for each person what are all the contributors to his or her cognitive decline and targeting each one what is the fasting insulin what is the pathogen exposure what is the toxin exposure and over a hundred different variables and we have documented and published for the first time reversal of cognitive decline in over 100 patients with Alzheimer's pre Alzheimer's so here a couple of examples Marcy had low hormones low nutrients and a chronic undiagnosed infection and you can see how beautifully she did not only with her cognitive scoring but also with her hippocampal volume and the hippocampus is a critical region of the brain for memory and is one that is heavily impacted in Alzheimer's disease here is Edward and Edward did beautifully Edward had low had chronic inflammation low methylation had chronic inflammation had low pregnenolone and also had low vitamin D and not only did he do very well with his cognitive improvement he has sustained this now for six years which has been unheard of in Alzheimer's disease these are just two of the many examples of reversal of cognitive decline examples in which families got their loved ones back now we are in the midst of the first clinical trial in history in which we target and identify all of the contributors to cognitive decline for each person in contrast all previous clinical trials have predetermined a treatment and therefore not treated what is actually causing the cognitive decline this new approach should revolutionize the way we evaluate and treat all neurodegenerative diseases our generation will be the last generation to fear Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease will go the way of past scourge 'as such as leprosy and polio our sons and daughters will live in a world in which Alzheimer's is much less common and much more treatable for the first time ever we have the ability to make that happen thank you [Applause]

Channel: TEDx Talks

Views: 20,502

Rating: 4.9305019 out of 5

Keywords: TEDxTalks, English, Science, Achievement, Biotech, Brain, Cells, Elderly, Medical research

Id: TzJSCttlQmc

Length: 9min 31sec (571 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 15 2020