Alzheimer’s and Congestive Heart Failure

Dear Dr. Dean:As you may remember I was one of your patients when you had a medical practice here in Southern California. The last time I spoke with you was a few years ago when you advised me concerning my mothers condition of mild congestive heart failure and recommended us to local physician knowledgeable in nutrition-based medicine. The nutritional supplements combined with fairly regular exercise (swimming) immensely aided her condition and we are thankful for your assistance.However now my mother age 81 has another problem she has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimers. No doubt it has been progressing for some time as her memory had been declining for six to seven years. She now cant remember any recent events although she does have some recollection with prompting. She also doesnt make her own food and has to be prompted to go to the refrigerator to get food. However when she is at my home she will help with the dishes and is capable of doing that. Her reasoning powers are excellent but we have been advised that she should no longer live on her own without 24 hour assistance. Her neurologist at UCLA Medical Center showed us a recent CT brain scan against an MRI taken three years earlier and concluded that the lobal areas of her brain shrank by nearly one half. I realize that if indeed it is Alzheimers which it seems to be that there is no cure; however there are protocols that may arrest or slow the progression. Her neurologist noted that the only proven substance which would slow the progression was 2000 IU of Vitamin E per day. Contrary to a recent article in VRP he didnt believe that Lithium was of any value since he stated that there is some evidence that lithium may be a contributing factor to the illness. (He didnt elaborate why). I asked her neurologist about the following and his comment was it has not been medically proven to be effective:1. Acetyl L-Carnitine2. Pyroglutamic Acid3. Ginko-Biloba4. Phosphytalalserine5. Phosphyatylcholine6. Lipoic Acid7. B-50 Vitamin8. Huperzine9. Pregnenolone9. NADH10. DHEA11. Sublingual B-12 B-6 & Folic Acid13. DMAE14. EPA/DHA: Cod Liver Oil / Flax Seed Oil15. Chelation Therapy16. Niacin17. Natural Hormone Replacement: Estrogen/ProgesterinePlease comment on the above as well as effectiveness of Lecithin Grape Seed Oil and Grape Seed Extract GHB Vinopectine Idebenone L-Phenylalanine L-Tyrosine L-Glutamine Glutithione Hydergine RNA/DNA Piracetam Centrophoxine Nemodipine and patients Homocysteine levels and blood sugar levels as well as any other protocols believed to be effective. Also is there any value in obtaining a hair analysis to determine the levels of toxic metals in the body.My mother is currently on the following medications (although she hasnt taken much of said medications and none of the Estrogen/progesterone for over a month due to stomach upset from a recent flu):1. ? Demadex 20.00 mg.2. ? K-Dur 20.00 mg.3. 1 Airicept 10.00 mg.4. 1 Altace 2.50 mg.5. Respirdal 1.00 mg. (as needed)6. 1 Estrogen/ProgesteroneI want to thank you for any direction you could recommend that will alleviate mitigate or slow this illness. Thank you again for all the help you offered in the past; it is greatly appreciated. Very truly yours Bruce C.

Bruce Good hearing from you again. Sorry to hear about your mom. Many of the ideas you had are good ones. However considering that she is going to require some supervision when taking any supplements and she may be resistant to taking a lot of stuff I think we should try to use a limited amount of products with the greatest likelihood of helping her while minimizing any potential side effects. With regard to the medications shes taking ironically Altace has amnesia as a potential side effect. Respirdal also has a pretty significant toxic side effect profile. Id like to see her reduce her use of both of these medications. K-Dur Desmadex and the hormones are probably OK—especially the hormones and K-Dur. Here are some suggestions. First I think its important that she be getting adequate sleep. That would probably reduce her requirement for Respirdal. I recommend 3-6 mg of melatonin at night. Also ask her physician if he will prescribe Neurontin at bedtime. Neurontin is an anti-seizure medication but its a great inducer of natural restful sleep. It is a GHB analog with a very low side-effect profile. It is very safe—even in high doses. Start with a low dose at bedtime (100-200 mg) and titrate the dose upwards as required. If she becomes anxious during the day she can take low (sub-hypnotic) doses during the day as well. Id also make sure shes taking 3-6 mg of Melatonin at bedtime. People do a lot better during the day if they sleep restfully at night. For congestive heart failure I recommend two-three grams of carnitine taurine and arginine each day. Also 200-300 mg of Co Q10. A lot of this stuff is combined in VRPs CardioCare. Also consider Pressure FX. Although Pressure FX is designed primarily as a blood pressure formula I think it will probably help in congestive heart failure as well. A good thing about it is that it normalizes blood pressure—i.e. if its high it brings it down but will not drop pressure into the subnormal ranges. Also its compatible with all other medications. Its mechanism of action is to facilitate intracellular potassium—so the K-Dur will get where its supposed to go. For the Alzheimers itself youve put together a pretty good list. Vinpocetine ALC Phosphatidylserine Huperzine A and Ginkgo biloba would be high on my list. Phosphatidylcholine would provide the precursor for acetylcholine and would therefore probably enhance the effectiveness of Huperzine and Aricept. Lithium Orotate is also a good idea. I dont know where your moms neurologist got the idea that it would contribute to Alzheimers. Ask him if hes got an article about that. Id like to see it. I can understand his reluctance if all he knows about lithium is the prescription varieties (lithium carbonate and lithium citrate—neither of which are very well utilized by the body and dosages needed for therapeutic benefit in bipolar disorder border on toxic doses). Lithium orotate on the other hand is very safe and only small doses are needed. Sublingual B-12 may help—and may give her an energy boost during the day. Nootropil (piracetam) may be included in this mix. Nootropil is available from compounding pharmacies in the U.S. with a prescription or from overseas pharmacies like IAS (www.antiaging-systems.com). Tell the folks at IAS that VRP recommended them to you. Also Id consider Hydergine at a dose of about 6 mg daily. Naturally I wouldnt start all of this stuff at the same time. Try one substance at a time (start with a low dose and work up to the recommended dose on the bottle over a week or two). Then introduce a second third etc. Watch for signs of improvement or worsening (not likely) or side effects (especially GI intolerance). These can all be taken safely in combination but some people have a pill limit or sensitive stomach to certain substances. One caution is with regard to Huperzine. Huperzines mechanism of action is the same as Aricept (both are cholinesterase inhibitors). Consequently if you decide to try Huperzine Id wean her from Aricept first—or at least reduce her dosages. Hope these suggestions help. Let me know how she is doing. Ward Dean M.D.