Much to the disappointment and frustration of affected patients and families around the world, mainstream medicine has failed to develop a drug to prevent, and much less treat, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) — despite spending billions on the fruitless pursuit.
But as I often report, ongoing research shows that you can indeed prevent — and even reverse — AD and dementia by using solely natural approaches.
In fact, a brand-new study, published in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, looked at the cognitive benefits of a form of vitamin B3 (niacin).
This approach makes sense to me, as B vitamins are known in Europe as “neuro-vitamins” due to their potent benefits on cognitive function. Furthermore, we’ve known about the importance of B vitamins for the brain, and for reversing and preventing AD for years.
For this new study, the researchers studied mice bred to develop Alzheimer’s disease.
First, they divided the mice into group two groups: a treatment group and a control group. Then, they added nicotinamide riboside (NR) — a form of vitamin B3 (niacin) — to the treatment group’s water supply for three months. Nothing was added to the control group’s water supply.
Turns out, the NR-treated mice experienced many cognitive improvements, such as:
• lower levels of neuron damage and death
• increased production of new neurons
• reduced brain inflammation
The NR-treated mice also experienced reduced tau proteins in their brains, which means the NR helped decrease in tau buildup (caused by increased enzyme activity), that’s commonly attributed to AD. Researchers also found that the mice’s amyloid-beta protein level remained unchanged after NR-treatment.
This finding might concern mainstream researchers and physicians, since they have “hung their hat” (so to speak) on the theory that Alzheimer’s is the result of accumulation amyloid plaques and tau proteins. But, as I often report, I’m not convinced either of these substances play a real role in the development of AD.
Amyloid and tau aren’t be-all, end-all of Alzheimer’s diagnosis
Decades ago, as a hospital pathologist, I observed that amyloid build-up (a sticky plaque) could occur in virtually every tissue of the body. Sometimes, there was dysfunction in organs with a lot of amyloid. And other times, the presence of amyloid didn’t appear to be significant at all. Any hospital pathologist could’ve told you the same.
Plus, in recent years, autopsy studies have shown that half the people with dementia didn’t have excessive amyloid build-up in the brain. And half the people who DID have amyloid build-up did NOT have dementia or AD.
In the end, these studies failed to turn up any cause-and-effect relationship between amyloid and AD.
For me, the real question is this: Did cognitive activity improve after NR treatment?
Notably, the NR-treated mice performed better than control mice on many learning and memory tests. In addition, NR-treated mice had better muscle strength and endurance than the controls.
With these promising results, the research team moved onto human cells. They tested NR on cells from people with — and without — AD. As in the lab study, NR decreased DNA damage in the cells taken from people with Alzheimer’s.
Typically, AD impairs the brain’s usual DNA repair activity, leading to inflammation and dysfunction. But the researchers believe that NR actually rejuvenates stem cells in both brain and muscle tissue.
How that’s for a real “anti-aging” effect?!
Researchers in this new lab experiment also pointed to mitochondrial dysfunction as a key component of AD. (Your mitochondria are your cells’ energy factories and also support cellular hydration — both keys in optimal longevity.) Ultimately, mitochondrial dysfunction can lead to reduced neuron production and increased neuronal inflammation. But the researchers believe NR can play a role in helping fix mitochondrial dysfunction.
It’s also interesting to note that NR is a derivative of the natural substance nicotine. But it’s really nothing to dread.
This connection may even prove beneficial, as people exposed to nicotine report feeling both cognitively sharp and relaxed. In addition, patients with Parkinson’s disease show vast improvement when exposed to nicotine. In my view, it must relate somehow to vitamin B3’s effect on neurons in the brain. Perhaps one man’s nicotine is another man’s vitamin B3!
Despite its demonstrated benefits, it’s difficult to find NR on supplement shelves. And in any case, you’re far better off protecting your brain with a high-quality vitamin B complex that contains at least 50 mg of B3 (niacin).
Plus, B3 isn’t the only natural approach to reversing AD.
More natural treatments continue to emerge
Three years ago, UCLA scientists published a clinical trial showing they could reverse AD in 90 percent of cases by using an 18-step plan with all-natural and nutritional approaches.
I reported this breakthrough at the time. I also noted there were even more natural treatments available that went beyond the original UCLA protocol. (As this new lab experiment clearly illustrates.)
To their credit, the UCLA researchers went on to study some of these additional approaches and just published their results. (I’ll tell you all about these additional approaches in the upcoming April 2018 Insiders’ Cures newsletter. In this issue, I’ll also tell you about research that shows NR helps prevent age-related hearing loss and vision loss. Not a subscriber? Click here.)
In the meantime, I’ll continue to report on research from the front lines that shows you how to naturally prevent and reverse AD. And you can learn about natural medicine’s most cutting-edge treatments, which you can do at home, to reverse Alzheimer’s in my comprehensive, online learning protocol, the Complete Alzheimer’s Cure. To learn more, or enroll today, simply click here.
Source:
“NAD+ supplementation normalizes key Alzheimer’s features and DNA damage responses in a new AD mouse model with introduced DNA repair deficiency,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (www.pnas.org) 2/5/2018