Bredesen Protocol: Giving New Hope to Those with Alzheimer’s Disease

Watching your parent, spouse, or significant “other” struggle to find words and memories can be heartbreaking and often frightening. They may be more forgetful – frequently misplacing items or losing their sense of direction. You may have noticed they take longer completing everyday tasks such as paying bills, preparing dinner or getting dressed.

Caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s Disease can make you feel alone – sadly, this is not the case. There are close to six million Americans living with Alzheimer’s, and the statistics grow even greater with those battling cognitive decline.

Before 2014, those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s were given little hope with their bleak diagnosis. Their only choice was medications (never proven to work) for them to try, hoping they might slow down the disease’s symptoms. But with Dr. Dale Bredesen’s ground-breaking research in his ReCODE (Reversal of Cognitive Decline) protocol, there’s a new bright light at the end of the tunnel for Alzheimer’s disease treatment.

What is Alzheimer’s Disease?

Alzheimer’s disease is a chronic neurodegenerative disease affecting over 5.7 million Americans and is the sixth leading cause of death in adults. It’s a disease which is becoming a national health epidemic and is anticipated to greatly shape the face of healthcare in the future.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia and is divided into three stages:

• Mild
• Moderate
• Severe

The hallmark sign for Alzheimer’s disease is a build-up of beta-amyloid plaques, tau proteins, and activated glial cells in your brain. This build-up leads to miscommunication between your neurons resulting in memory loss, impaired judgment, and cognitive decline.

Signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease include:

• Progressive memory loss, which could be mild at first
• Taking more time to complete tasks
• Getting lost or losing items
• Personality or mood changes
• Difficulty remembering names or words
• Decreased conversations
• Difficulty dressing, bathing, eating, and cleaning
• Depression
• Agitation

The greatest risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease have always focused on genes, specifically the apolipoprotein E e4 allele (ApoE4), and age – two uncontrollable risk factors.

Fortunately, with Dr. Bredesen’s research, he has identified multiple lifestyle and environmental factors, as well as metabolic imbalances causing Alzheimer’s. These controllable risk factors now give you the power to prevent and even reverse Alzheimer’s disease.

Can Alzheimer’s Disease be Treated?

With conventional treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, a monotherapeutic approach with medication is given to cognitively impaired patients. This single pill approach has not been successful in reversing Alzheimer’s – it may only slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s symptoms.

These medications focus on the symptoms of Alzheimer’s, not the root cause of why these proteins are building up on the brain.

However, through Dr. Bredesen’s ReCODE protocol, we are now looking at the body as a whole and treating Alzheimer’s with a multi-therapeutic approach. With this approach, he has discovered ways to prevent and even reverse cognitive impairment.

Although in its infancy, Dr. Dale Bredesen’s research has led him to uncover the defining characteristics of Alzheimer’s – uncovering the “why.”

Functional Medicine Approach to Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s disease is no doubt a complicated and complex disease to treat, which is why monotherapy hasn’t proven successful – there are multiple factors causing this disease.

The Reversal of Cognitive Decline, also known as the ReCODE Protocol, is a functional medicine approach to Alzheimer’s disease. It focuses on 45 underlying causes of Alzheimer’s disease in the individual.

The ReCODE protocol is designed for those with pre-symptomatic cognitive decline, mild cognitive decline (MCI), subjective cognitive impairment (SCI), and early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. This protocol uncovers the active pathways of the cause of cognitive decline in the specific individual.

These active pathways include defining characteristics such as:

• Genome
• Metabolic issues
• Toxicity
• Inflammation
• Mitochondrial damage
• Gut permeability
• Imbalanced hormones
• Nutrient deficiencies

Through Dr. Bredesen’s study, patients who had to quit their jobs due to their cognitive decline were able to return to their positions after this functional medicine approach to Alzheimer’s. Patients, as well as their family members and coworkers, were interviewed and found restoration in several areas of cognitive function with his ReCODE protocol.

What Does ReCODE Consist of?

Dr. Bredesen’s ReCODE Protocol is a computer-based algorithm, which determines the contributing factors of the individual that are causing neurodegenerative cognitive decline. It evaluates large datasets of genomic, biochemical, functional, and radiological data from the patient.

Examples of the factors taken into consideration as causes include:

• Inflammation
• Chronic pathogen exposure
• Trophic withdrawal
• Insulin resistance
• Vascular compromise
• Trauma
• Exposure to certain toxins such as mold
• Gut health

These risk factors can lead to an anti-trophic effect – or reduction of communication – in how our brains work and function. Someone with one or several of these risk factors may have early signs of Alzheimer’s disease or may be suffering from more advanced symptoms.

Ways the ReCODE Protocol can be utilized once risk factors have been identified:

• Treating pathogens such as Borrelia or the Herpes viruses as well as others
• Repairing gut permeability and strengthening gut microbiome
• Restoring insulin sensitivity and reducing protein glycation
• Rebalancing nutrition and hormone levels
• Reducing toxin and heavy metal exposure as well as mold detoxification

By identifying and treating these risks factors, doctors have been able to reverse the symptoms of cognitive decline in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

Certified Bredesen Practitioners in Kansas City

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive disease, therefore tackling the risk factors as soon as possible is ideal. Starting treatment as soon as your symptoms have been identified has been shown to have an increased effect on cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s treatment.

If you’re in the Kansas City area and you or a loved one are suffering from Alzheimer’s disease Jellison Integrative MD can help.

Dr. Paul Reicherter is certified in the Bredesen ReCODE Protocol and has been trained to use this revolutionary Alzheimer’s treatment approach. Dr. Reicherter has completed extensive training in order to provide his patients with a chance to reverse their Alzheimer’s disease. If you’re in the Kansas City area and would like to be evaluated for Alzheimer’s treatment or simply want to learn more about Dr. Bredesen’s ReCODE Protocol, please request an appointment or call (913) 568-0608.

Written by: Dr. Paul Reicherter, MD and Dr. Jessica Jellison, MD