Why was a new Alzheimers diagnosis created?
What do you do when someone has the beginning symptoms of Alzheimer's, but has not yet been given the official diagnosis?
The answer is-- come up with a new disease label.
Well medical science has coined a new term called AAMI. This stands for age-associated memory impairment. Basically it represents a precursor of full-blown Alzheimer's.
Due to the massive increase of Alzheimer's disease, the government's brain-aging experts came to the conclusion that there should be an earlier way to recognize this terrible disease.
With that said, the new AAMI label is now being used for people who have early signs of Alzheimer's.
The criteria for AAMI includes the following:
over the age of 50
not demented
intellectual function adequate to remain productive
complaint of gradual memory loss
objective evidence of memory loss on performance tests.
As it now stands, 40% of people between the ages of 50-59 have it and it increases by 10% every ten years.
Unfortunately, most physicians not trained in functional medicine do not have the knowledge to know how to measure the one ingredient needed every day to keep our brains healthy and memories vibrant.
This important brain ingredient is called phosphatidylserine.
Phosphatidylserine is a key component of the cell membrane and is essential to cell-to-cell communication and transfer of biochemical messages into the cell (especially within the brain and central nervous system).
Participants with relatively low memory scores were found to have experienced a significant improvement in memory.
-- Journal of Clinical Biochemistry and Nutrition
Phosphatidylserine may help improve memory function in older adults, suggests a 2010 study published in the
—Journal of Clinical Biochemistry and Nutrition.
For the study, 78 elderly people with mild cognitive impairment were assigned to six months of treatment with phosphatidylserine supplements, or a placebo.
In tests performed at the end of the six-month period, participants with relatively low memory scores at the start of the study were found to have experienced a significant improvement in memory.
In another study, a group of people with a brain age of around 64 years were placed on Phosphatidyl Serine100 mg three times a day for 3 months.
Before and after double blind testing showed that this rolled the hands of time back to a brain age of about 52, 12 years younger by providing 30% improvement in memory!
Do you know any drug that does this?
These people had marked improvements in everyday memory items like phone numbers, faces and names and of all things, placement of glasses and keys!
It is important to understand that there are commonly a number of probable causes of disease. We must remember that unless their is a drug or surgery to treat a disease, traditional medicine will say that the disease is incurable.
This is sad considering the thousands of brilliant scientists and researchers who have dedicated their lives to having clinical papers published in many of the most recognized medical journals showing documented discoveries in what may be at the root of many diseases.
This of course applies to today's article on the precursor to Alzheimer's (AAMI) and will go so far to say Alzheimer's in and of itself.
So my point is very clear, do not accept that your disease, whatever it may be, does not have a cause. I beg to differ considering the thousands of patients I have worked with who have been told that their disease had no cause and they had to settle on temporary relief with medications. And these same patients are walking testimonials to the power of seeking the root cause via the science of functional medicine.
Without attempting to create friction, I ask why are not more traditional doctors reading these life-saving papers published in their own journals?
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's or AAMI I recommend you seek out the services of a healthcare practitioner thoroughly trained in functional medicine.
References:
Crook TH, et al, Effects of phosphatidylserine in age-associated memory impairment, Neurology, 41:644-49, 1991
Heiss WD, Kessler J, Mielke R, Szelies B, Herholz K. Long-term effects of phosphatidylserine, pyritinol, and cognitive training in Alzheimer's disease. A neuropsychological, EEG, and PET investigation. Dementia. 1994 Mar-Apr;5(2):88-98.
Oma S, Mawatari S, Saito K, Wakana C, Tsuboi Y, Yamada T, Fujino T. Changes in phospholipid composition of erythrocyte membrane in Alzheimer's disease. Dement Geriatr Cogn Dis Extra. 2012 Jan;2(1):298-303.
Kidd PM, Alzheimer's Disease, amnestic mild cognitive impairment, and age-associated memory impairment: Current understanding and progress toward integrative prevention, Alt Med Rev, 13; 2:85-1
Crook T, Petrie W, Wells C, Massari DC. Effects of phosphatidylserine in Alzheimer's disease. Psychopharmacol Bull. 1992;28(1):61-6
Amaducci L, Crook TH, Lippi A, Bracco L, Baldereschi M, Latorraca S, Piersanti P, Tesco G, Sorbi S. Use of phosphatidylserine in Alzheimer's disease. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1991;640:245-9.
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