The Myth of Alzheimer's?

We seem to be rethinking everything right now - the energy we use, the pollution we create, the foods we eat. Peter Whitehouse, a prominent Alzheimer’s researcher and doctor, is also rethinking the disease we call late onset Alzheimer’s.

In his new book, The Myth of Alzheimer's: What You Aren't Being Told About Today's Most Dreaded Diagnosis, written with Danny George, Dr. Whitehouse questions just about everything we think we know about Alzheimer’s and memory loss. Their book comes at a time when I’ve started to rethink my late father’s dementia after two years of blogging about Alzheimer’s research.

In some ways, The Myth of Alzheimer’s is a practical how-to manual, with information about treatments, alternative medicine, avoiding toxins, and the role of diet, exercise and stress reduction. It includes clear explanations of the science and theories behind Alzheimer’s, and ideas on how to manage your relationship with your doctors.

In other ways, the book is the story of Dr. Whitehouse’s personal journey. He’s a well-respected Alzheimer’s researcher, was instrumental in developing cholinesterase inhibitors, and is active in national and international committees making recommendations on treatment of dementia.

But he eventually realized that everything we “know” about Alzheimer’s did not fit with his personal experience as a scientist, a doctor and a human being. For example, he observed that:

*Despite their disabilities, many patients who meet the criteria for diagnosis of Alzheimer’s continue to live full lives

*Each patient’s memory loss is unique, and does not necessarily fit the standard set of symptoms and progression

*The plaques and tangles pathology that defines Alzheimer’s doesn’t always match the degree of cognitive problems

*Patients respond better to treatment that takes into account the whole person, rather than treatments aimed at a pathology we don’t understand.

Dr. Whitehouse came to the conclusion that what we call late onset Alzheimer’s is really brain aging caused by a variety of factors. Given this “reframing” of Alzheimer’s, he lost faith in the promise that a cure is around the corner. “After thirty years of research and tens of billions of dollar spent, we’re not even close,” he writes. “In fact, our expensive genetic tests and neuroimaging devices have actually caused us to drift deeper into confusion….”

But if the current understanding of late onset Alzheimer’s is off-target, and we lose our hope for a cure, how do we make sense of Alzheimer’s and memory loss? How I am to understand Dad’s dementia if science can’t explain it or cure it?

“A realistic hope is better than false hope,” says Dr. Whitehouse. “Hope comes from being in the same boat as others (brain aging) rather than being in a different stigmatized boat (Alzheimer’s). It comes from telling your own story rather than waiting for some scientist to produce a cure as part of a story he or she is trying to sell. Hope comes from accepting mortality and contributing to the next generation, rather than hanging on to selfish goals.”

What if both Dad and I had taken this point of view, and accepted his “brain aging” rather than trying to figure out what was “wrong” with him? Would I have focused more on just enjoying his company? Would he have been less frustrated and embarrassed about his memory loss? Would I have been more open to accepting his mortality when he told me he’d already had a good life? I’m still trying to work out the answers to these questions.

The Myth of Alzheimer’s goes beyond questioning Alzheimer’s to questioning how we deal with aging, our approach to life and death and the legacies we’re leaving. Somewhat ironically, the book’s medical advice is much the same as the mainstream message about brain health – eat well, exercise, reduce stress and stay engaged in life. But the “reframing” from medical treatment of a disease to the larger issues of prevention, personhood, and quality of life and care makes for a very different discussion.

“Our book is motivated from a real desire to help people address their aging associated cognitive challenges,” says Dr. Whitehouse. “Current ways are not sustainable or even desirable. Our approach goes far beyond dementia. Reflect on what we say and we all have the opportunity to be better human beings that are all cognitively impaired to one degree or another but still full of life.”

This book is sure to ruffle some feathers. I don’t know if we’re ready to rethink our approach to Alzheimer’s, but I’m glad Peter Whitehouse and Danny George have started this conversation.

Comments

[Joseph Potocny]

I find no offensiveness in this book or its' title. My physc and phsycologist dicussed this a numer of years ago as they came to the conclusion that I was probably and confirmed suffering with AD and via Pet SCAN FTD. I have felt that AD is a panacia name for several different types of dementia or brain aging if you will. Kind of like the doctor telling you that you have the FLU. Next time ask him which one, there are over 200 viruses that cause the flu with similiar systoms. Personally I feel it will be well into the future 2300s if at all, if they are able to discover the true causes of and different types of dementia, let alone cure them. I live my life and make no appologies for what is happening, it is just my turn. I run my blog for those on the other side so they can see Our World and get a small glimpse of how it is for us. Many folks disagree with me and that is ok, but all the research backs up my conclusions that they do not know where the heck they are going. One study says this and another shoots it down. Hell even the manufacturers of the medications developed to possibly aid us, say chances are they will not work, or only for a short time if at all. I respect Don and Jenny greatly and applaud the courage they have to post this. Cannot deal with the word MYTH get over it and go on with your life. MY Neurologist one of the two top in San Diego Area and the State, told me to dump the meds and enjoy the rest of my time as it comes and forget doctors, except for broken legs and the like. So that is what I have done. For me things are moving a little faster, but I still sing (like a cow giving birth), laugh, enjoy my friends and family. What more do I need in my life, the God does not give me.

God Bless You and Yours!
Joseph Potocny

[Ruth Whalen, MLT (ASCP)]

A descendant of the Tuatha, the Men of Science who were human gods, a medical professional and survivor of bogus medical theories created by atheist profiteers, I know that there's no such thing as Alzheimer's, mental illness, Parkinson's disease, ADHD, and many other named disorders. There is, however, a severe shortage of organic chemistry knowledge and metaphysics in the medical profession.
Ethically, Ruth

[Robert Rubin]

If "The Myth of Alzheimer's" were a call to spend more and focus more on care of AD victims, that would be one thing.

But it is more than that: It claims that a cure for AD will never be found unless we find a cure for aging itself. Does that really make sense? Because a pathologicsl process increases in frequency as one gets older does not make it part of normsl aging.

Heart disease and cancer increase in incidence as one ages; so should we call heart disease "heart aging" and cancer "tissue aging"? Do brains really age by being destroyed?

Mr. George now admits that young-onset AD is a disease. I think that is because it can hardly be called "brain aging" if one develops it in one's forties. He goes on to falsely state that all such cases are due to genetic defects. That has not been established. Some cases have been traced to defects that are genetically bases, but not all such cases can be so explained.

And if young-onset AD is admitted by the co-author to be a disease, why isn't the same disease acknowledged to exist in the older victims? Rather arbitrary.

The other problem with the book is it's unsupported attacks on the American Alzheimer's Association and on drug companies and dedicated scientists working to find a cure.