How You Classify Things Matters

People like to classify things. Diseases of old age are no exception. I plugged in ‘different types of dementia’ into Google. Here’s what their Artificial Intelligence program gave back to me:

· Alzheimer's disease

The most common type of dementia, accounting for around 60% of diagnoses in the UK. It's also the most common type of young onset dementia, where symptoms develop before the age of 65. Alzheimer's disease is caused by abnormal deposits of proteins in the brain that form amyloid plaques and tau tangles.

· Vascular dementia

Caused by conditions, such as blood clots, that disrupt blood flow in the brain.

· Lewy body dementia

Caused by abnormal deposits of the alpha-synuclein protein, called “Lewy bodies,” that affect the brain's chemical messengers.

· Frontotemporal dementia

Caused by abnormal amounts or forms of tau and TDP-43 proteins that accumulate inside neurons in the frontal and temporal lobes. There are two types of FTD: behavioral variant FTD (bvFTD) and primary progressive aphasia (PPA).

· Normal-pressure hydrocephalus (NPH)

Symptoms include changes in walking, being unable to hold urine, forgetfulness, issues with focus, and slower thinking and decision making. NPH can be treated by draining extra fluid from the brain through a shunt.

· Dementia caused by alcohol use disorder

Symptoms include double vision, loss of muscle coordination, and difficulty processing information, learning new skills, and remembering things.

· Dementia caused by traumatic brain injury

Symptoms include memory loss, behavior or mood changes, slurred speech, and headaches.

Then I plugged in “how to treat different types of dementia”. All the sites basically said there’s not much you can do about any of them. There are some drugs for Alzheimer’s such as Cholinesterase inhibitors. And some of those drugs may help some of the other types of dementia. Some sites like the Alzheimer’s Association website list even more types of dementia along with treatment ideas.

The bottom line on each site was basically “You’re screwed”.

Although they did say it more tactfully.

I prefer to look at Dementia and cognitive decline more along the lines of Dr Dale Bredesen and the company we work with, A Mind for All Seasons:

· Type 1 Alzheimer’s is inflammatory, or hot, and driven by ongoing inflammation. In fact, one of the major mediators of the inflammatory response is called NFκB (nuclear factor kappa-light-chain enhancer of activated B cells), and this increases the production of molecules that produce amyloid, so there really is a direct link from inflammation to Alzheimer’s.

· Type 2 Alzheimer’s is atrophic, or cold, and driven by suboptimal levels of nutrients, hormones, or trophic factors (cell growth factors like nerve growth factor). Simply put, your brain is not receiving enough of the right building blocks to maintain your brain’s five hundred trillion (500,000,000,000,000) synaptic connections so cognitive problems ensue.

· Type 1.5 Alzheimer’s is glycotoxic, or sweet, and driven by high blood sugar or high fasting insulin. We call this type 1.5 because it has features of both type 1 and type 2: chronic inflammation (type 1) occurs because the glucose actually attaches to many of your proteins causing an inflammatory response. Reduced trophic support (type 2) occurs because your brain cells become less sensitive to insulin, which is a critical growth factor for them.

· Type 3 Alzheimer’s disease is toxic, or vile, and driven by exposure to toxins such as mercury, toluene, or mycotoxins (yes, exposure to some mold can cause Alzheimer’s through toxins made by certain molds such as Stachybotrys and Penicillium). Since we are exposed to toxins, we all experience this risk to a greater or lesser degree, so the key is to minimize exposure, identify the toxins to which we are exposed, and increase excretion and detoxification of them.

· Type 4 Alzheimer’s disease is vascular, or pale, and driven by cardiovascular disease. Indeed, vascular leakiness represents one of the earliest changes identified in Alzheimer’s disease.

· Type 5 Alzheimer’s disease is traumatic, or dazed, and driven by head trauma—whether from a traffic accident or a fall or even repeated minor head injuries during sports.

Although he applies these types specifically to Alzheimer’s in his article, I believe they contribute to numerous manifestations of Dementia.

There is a big difference in the two ways of looking at cognitive decline. The second list actually shows you that you might be able to do something about the disease:

· Reduce inflammation

· Ensure your body has the right nutrients

· Maintain a healthy level of blood sugar

· Stay away from toxins

· Improve your cardiovascular health (diet and exercise)

· Don’t hit your head

You don’t get any tips or techniques from the first list. Other than prescription drugs. It shows that the way you classify things can make a difference.