Dementia prevention / Alzheimer's

At a glance:

Dementia is one of the most serious civilization diseases for the human psyche. One's own identity is lost.
The probability of developing the disease in old age is high. Life expectancy with dementia decreases considerably.
Therapy for dementia is possible.
We carry out prevention and rigorous therapy for those affected and their caregivers who are at risk at the same time.

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Charlottenstr. 58, 14467 Potsdam

Phone: +49 (0)175 – 582 41 59

info@praeventive-medizin-potsdam.de

Charlottenstr. 58

14467 Potsdam

info@praeventive-medizin-potsdam.de

Phone: +49 (0)175 – 582 41 59

What is dementia?

Dementia is the disease of forgetting.

Our society with dementia

According to the DZNE (German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases), almost 1.8 million diagnosed dementia patients, almost 1.7 million of which in the over-65 age group alone, were living in Germany in 2022. The number of unreported cases is certainly much higher. Every year, 300,000 new cases are diagnosed in Germany. The number of people suffering from dementia in Germany is estimated at 2.8 million by 2050. The therapy and care costs for the disease amount to approximately 45,000 euros per patient per year.

How does dementia manifest itself?

Dementia is an umbrella term for a number of conditions that affect the brain and result in a loss of cognitive ability. Symptoms of dementia vary depending on the type of disease, but typically include memory loss, problems with language and performing everyday tasks, confusion and disorientation, as well as behavioral changes and mood swings. In short, one's identity is lost.

What are the types of dementia?

The most common causes of dementia are Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia and Parkinson's disease (Parkinson's-associated dementia). These diseases affect the function of the brain in different ways and eventually lead to the loss of nerve cells and neuronal connections.

The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer's dementia. Two thirds of dementia diseases are attributable to it. It begins in the hippocampus (the "memory area") with the death of nerve cells and then spreads throughout the brain.

The vascular dementia occurs as a result of reduced blood flow (for example, in the case of a stroke).

Other forms include Lewy body dementia and temporal lobe dementia. Mixed forms of both diseases can occur together.

Outlook and life expectancy in dementia

Dementia is a progressive disease, which means that symptoms get worse over time and eventually sufferers may need help with everyday tasks. There are no medications, although a lot of money is being invested in research. Dementia is generally considered incurable.

Life expectancy for dementia patients is also devastating. For example, 65- to 80-year-olds with Alzheimer's dementia have a life expectancy of only five to seven years. 80-year-olds even live only three to four years on average. If vascular dementia is present, life expectancy can be even shorter.

Is age a determining factor for dementia?

Statistically, 1% of 65-year-olds, 2% of 70-year-olds and 4% of 75-year-olds develop the disease. This means that the incidence of the disease doubles approximately every five yearsso that one third of 90-year-olds have the disease and 100-year-olds have a 90% risk of developing the disease.

So the older you get, the higher the risk? So there's nothing we can do about it except not get older - or is there?

We can offer our consultation to privately insured patients as well as to patients with statutory health insurance as self-pay patients. You can easily book appointments in our preventive medicine yourself via our online calendar here:

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Dementia Therapy with the ReCODE Program and Bredesen Protocol

The therapy if you are already affected by a beginning Alzheimer's disease.

The Re-CODE program

UCLA University of California, Los Angeles, Alzheimer's research neurologist Dr. Dale Bredesen has developed ReCODE (Reverse of Cognitive Decline-Protocol), a therapy program ReCODE (Reverse of Cognitive Decline-Protocol), ein Programm to reverse cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease . The ReCODE program has shown promise in improving cognitive abilities and slowing the progression of Alzheimer's disease in many patients.

Dr. Sorina Kunert treats dementia according to the ReCODE program or Bredesen Protocol and is an official practitioner for Potsdam and Berlin. This makes her one of the few doctors practicing according to ReCODE in Germany.

The rigorous program is based on a holistic approach that takes into account various aspects of lifestyle, diet and environment to improve and maintain brain health.

The ReCODE program involves a personalized approach that identifies individual risk factors and causes of cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease. To this end, various diagnostic tests, including neuropsychological tests, laboratory tests and imaging techniques, are performed.

The program also includes measures to optimize diet, improve sleep, reduce stress, increase physical activity, and take supplements to balance specific biochemical imbalances.

The first results of the ReCODE Protocol were published (September, 2014) in the journal Aging . There were initially nine people suffering from Alzheimer's whose cognitive performance was fully restored with the protocol. By 2020, there were already more than 200 Alzheimer's patients (with an upward trend) in whom there was a significant improvement and the deterioration processes could be partially reversed. No medication can achieve that.

Literature on Alzheimer's disease and the Re-CODE program

Several publications followed, including The End of Alzheimer's (Bredesen), which became a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller when it was published. when it was published. The book is available in German as Die Alzheimer-Revolution . The latest book, The First Survivors of Alzheimer’s (Bredesen), has not yet been translated into German and tells the stories of affected patients who have found their way back into life.

The hippocampus grows!

In the hippocampus, we have stem cells that cause the hippocampus to grow steadily. The research team led by Jonas Frisén at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden has shown that 2% of hippocampal neurons are newly formed - every year, for life. So the damaged hippocampus can regenerate!

The stem cells in the hippocampus can be stimulated by lifestyle changes to form new nerve cells, even in old age. This happens via BDNF (brain-derived neutrophic factor), see box below, which stimulates the production of new neurons from stem cells. The likelihood of developing dementia increases with age not because age itself is the risk factor for dementia, but because poor lifestyle choices have "accumulated" over the years. Reversal of the damaging processes seems possible for the first time.

The PreCODE program as dementia prevention

Prevention if you are at risk of Alzheimer's disease.

Prevention is the key.

Since there is no drug therapy for dementia, prevention is the only chance to counteract this disease in the long term. Certain genes may indicate an increased risk of the disease, but the high number of dementia patients cannot be explained by a genetic defect. Even people with this genetic defect can prevent dementia. Dementia is therefore in our own hands and is by no means an "inevitable fate".

The Pre-CODE program

The PreCODE program (Prevention of Cognitive Decline-Protocol) is a further development of Dr. Dale Bredesen's ReCODE program. It builds on the findings of ReCODE and, intended as prevention, starts much earlier, in order to slow down the development of Alzheimer's even more effectively or prevent it altogether.

The program consists of a combination of interventions that target five basic biological factors that have been linked to the development of Alzheimer's disease. These factors are: inflammation, insulin resistance, hormone imbalances, neurotransmitter imbalances and toxins.

The PreCODE program includes changing your diet to a ketogenic diet, optimizing sleep and exercise, taking steps to reduce stress, and avoiding toxins, among other things. It also includes checking and optimizing hormonal balance and vitamin and mineral balance.

The goal of the PreCODE program is to protect and optimize the brain and body to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease and cognitive decline. It is important to note that the program is not a cure or treatment for Alzheimer's disease, but a preventative measure to maintain brain health.

Caregivers of dementia patients are also at risk.

Are you caring or providing care for another person with Alzheimer's dementia? That is wonderful, but a heavy burden. Because according to Michael Nehls (Alzheimer ist heilbar) ), this increases your own risk as a caregiver of developing Alzheimer's by about 6 times! Most relatives or caregivers do not know this. In this respect, you are also at risk and should also take countermeasures.

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Symptoms & Measures

What symptoms do you have and what are possible measures?

In the field of dementia / Alzheimer's

Symptoms

Forgetfulness (short- or long-term memory)
Language problems
Difficulty in performing everyday tasks
Confusion or disorientation
conspicuous changes in behavior
Concentration disorders
depressive moods or mood swings
diabetes
Sleep disorders
Obesity or weight gain
Susceptibility to infections

Measures

Measures according to the ReCODE or PreCODE program
Determination of the individual hormone profile and, if necessary, compensation of hormonal imbalances
Determination of possible insulin resistance and its treatment
Determination of the BDNF (brain-derived neutrophic factor)
Optimization of vital substances (minerals and vitamins)
Performing a DemTect test (dementia detection) according to Prof. Calabrese
Determination of neurotransmitters (norepinephrine, epinephrine, serotonin, dopamine, GABA and glutamate) and cortisol and, if necessary, balancing with amino acids and micronutrients
stress hormone synthesis improvement
Diagnosis and treatment of silent inflammation
Intestinal flora improvement
Exposure to toxins: identification and elimination
Sleep quality optimization
Adjustment of lifestyle, diet and excercise

Good to know

Other important correlations of Alzheimer's disease

An overview of the mechanisms associated with Alzheimer's dementia.

Tau proteins

Tau proteins are important proteins in brain neurons that help maintain their structure. They are also involved in the formation of a skeleton (the cytoskeleton of microtubules) in the cells. Tau proteins stabilize this microtubule scaffold, allowing substances to be transported between neurons. In the brains of Alzheimer's patients, however, too many of these tau proteins accumulate in so-called neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). In Alzheimer's disease, these microtubule-tubule systems are defective and stick together. There are fewer and fewer functional tau proteins. The neurons thus lose their stability and the transport of neurotransmitters is no longer possible, leading to cell death.
Beta-amyloid

Beta-amyloid are protein fragments that are located outside the nerve cells. Their function is to protect the nerve cells from inflammation. Beta-amyloid is a protein fragment that accumulates in abnormal amounts in the brain of Alzheimer's patients and contributes to the development of the disease. It is formed by the cleavage of a larger protein called amyloid precursor protein (APP). Normally, beta-amyloid is broken down and eliminated by certain cells in the brain. In Alzheimer's patients, however, it accumulates into what are called "plaques" in the brain, which can interfere with communication between nerve cells and cause inflammation. These plaques are made of a sticky, proteinaceous material and are mainly deposited around nerve cells.

The accumulation of beta-amyloid in the brain is believed to be an early event in the development of Alzheimer's disease. The plaques can cause the death of nerve cells and eventually the loss of memory and cognitive abilities.

Alzheimer's disease begins in the part of the brain called the hippocampus. This is where memory content and memories from short-term and long-term memory are stored.

The Alzheimer's gene ApoE4

The most important Alzheimer's gene is called ApoE4. ApoE4 is a variant of the apolipoprotein E gene that occurs in the population. If you inherit the ApoE4 gene from one parent, the probability of developing Alzheimer's increases to 20%. If you inherit one gene from each parent, the probability even increases to 50%.

ApoE4 is thought to increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease by affecting the metabolism of beta-amyloid in the brain. People with ApoE4 are more likely to develop the aforementioned beta-amyloid plaques in the brain.

Most people have the ApoE3 variant of the gene, which is considered neutral. There is also a rare ApoE2 variant that is associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer's disease.

It is important that you know which of the genes you have so that you can take preventive action in good time and avoid the disease of Alzheimer. Our gene analyses provide you with information about this.
BDNF - Brain-derived neutrophic factor

BDNF stands for "brain-derived neurotrophic factor". It is a protein that is produced in the brain and plays an important role in the development, survival and plasticity of nerve cells. It protects existing neurons, stimulates the formation of new neurons from stem cells (neurogenesis), strengthens synaptic connections between neurons (neuroplasticity), and influences the transmission of signals between neurons. Our synapses are essential for thinking, learning and remembering. BDNF also plays an important role in regulating mood.

A deficiency of BDNF has been linked to various neurological and mental disorders such as depression, schizophrenia, epilepsy, and indeed Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, BDNF is often considered as a potential target for the treatment of these diseases.

Epigenetic factors, lifestyle measures, for example physical exercise, an appropriate diet, the intake of vital substances and a good intestinal flora lead to BDNF being stimulated. BDNF therefore increases through lifestyle measures and it thus is a preventive marker for the development of Alzheimer's dementia and for the prognosis of the disease.

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Video

New stem cells in the hippocampus by progesterone.

How the hormone progesterone can help in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

In this video, Dr. Kunert talks about her "favorite hormone" progesterone and what powers are hidden within it.

Progesterone is in fact important for our hippocampus, where our identity, cognition and experiences are also stored. In Alzheimer's disease, the hippocampus is severely impaired. However, with the help of progesterone, new stem cells can be formed there, a hope for Alzheimer's patients!