Bredesen Protocol
Dr. Dale Bredesen has created a protocol that involves multiple interventions to address specific components of AD pathology that research has identified to date. Each intervention is measured and tweaked over time by using blood tests, cognitive evaluations and other markers of overall health improvements. His analogy is to think of AD as a leaky roof - there are as many as 36 leaks in in the AD roof that need to be addressed to stop the problem. Not every patient will have the same leaks, and the protocol is customized based on the patient’s genetics, current health and lifestyle.
His first published paper on the protocol, Reversal of Cognitive Decline, highlighted 10 case studies. Of those 10 people, nine showed enough improvement to return to normal life activities. Since then, several hundred people with cognitive impairment have followed the protocol, and most have seen a reversal of cognitive impairment. Dr. Bredesen is currently partnering with the Cleveland Clinic to test the protocol in a larger trial.
Although Bresdesen does not see private patients, he is in the process of making it available to the wider public with the help of doctors certified in the protocol through MPI Cognition. His previous affiliation with Muses Labs has come to an end.
Bredesen’s protocol has not been tested as a preventative. That said, research has shown that Aβ is deposited in E4 carriers as early as their thirties so addressing components early will likely lead to better health in aging. Members on the APOE4.Info forum who follow the protocol report improvements not only in health, but cognition, even if they do not have an SCI or MCI diagnosis.
The following list includes summaries, a selection of research references and suggested strategies related to the intervention targets of the protocol.
2. Enhance autophagy, ketogenesis
5. Exercise
10. Improve insulin sensitivity (insulin and blood glucose)
11. Hormone balance
12. GI health
13. Reduction of Aß
15. Optimize Vitamin D (Editing note: Update info from 25OH-D3 = 50-80ng/ml)
16. Increase NGF
17. Provide synaptic structural components
20. Ensure nocturnal oxygenation
21. Optimize mitochondrial function
22. Increase focus
24. Exclude heavy metal toxicity
25. MCT effects
=== For further reading and information on Dr Bredesen's research ===
Book
Dr Bredesen's book, The End of Alzheimer's: The First Program to Prevent and Reverse Cognitive Decline, published August 22, 2017. Amazon link to Dr Bredesen's book
Videos and interviews
- Videos are available on the MPI Cognition website www.mpicognition.com
- There is a long, but very good STEM Talk interview with Dr Bredesen available on YouTube, Published on Jun 1, 2016 Episode 12 Dale Bredesen discusses the metabolic factors underlying Alzheimer’s Disease
- Presentation given by Dr Bredesen at the Integrative Healthcare Symposium (IHS) Pre-Conference - Feb. 24, 2016 in Midtown, New York City IHS 2016 -Cognitive Health: Dawn of the Era of Treatable Alzheimer’s Disease
- 36 Holes in the Roof, comes with a very nice illustrative video, published Mar 25, 2015 36 ‘Holes in the Roof’ The Dawn of the Era of Treatable and Preventable Alzheimer’s Disease
- Dr Gundry's interview with Dr Bredesen, Published on Aug 21, 2017 Dr. Steven Gundry interviews Dr Dale Bredesen about "The End of Alzheimer's"
- Dr Mercola's interview with Dr Bredesen, with a fair discussion of ApoE4, Published on Aug 25, 2017, Dr. Mercola Interviews Dr. Bredesen About ReCODE Protocol
- Dr Perlmutter, author of "The Grain Brain" interviewed Dr Bredesen on Dec 4, 2017. Dr Bredesen also took questions from the audience. Dr Perlmutter and Dr Bredesen
Dr Bredesen's Papers
- The first version of Dr Bredesen’s protocol (which is similar to the above) can be found in his paper: Reversal of cognitive decline: A novel therapeutic program, published September 2014, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25324467
Subsequent papers of Dr Bredesen do not address his protocol, but further examine his findings, they are:
- Metabolic profiling distinguishes three subtypes of Alzheimer's disease, published in August 2015, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26343025
- Direct Transcriptional Effects of Apolipoprotein E published January 2016, Dr Bredesen is co-author. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26791201
- Inhalational Alzheimer’s Disease: An unrecognized – and treatable epidemic, published February 2016. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4789584/
- Transcriptional Effects of ApoE4: Relevance to Alzheimer's Disease, published September 2017. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28879423