Many patients newly diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) feel they have limited treatment options, but there are many dietary choices and lifestyle changes that patients can pursue, according to a new book by Richard S. Isaacson, MD, associate professor of Clinical Neurology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
Even physicians and nurse practitioners with experience treating AD patients are unaware of new and novel ways to treat the disease.
Treating Alzheimer’s, Preventing Alzheimer’s: A Patient and Family Guide, by Dr. Isaacson, bridges the gap between what physicians, patients and family members are told and currently available treatments.
“Over the last 10 years in treating AD, I have developed a multimodal approach to treating the disease which combines dietary modifications, medication and lifestyle changes,” Dr. Isaacson said.
Dr. Isaacson, who has several family members with Alzheimer’s disease, wrote the book “to educate patients and family members who may not be aware of all their options.”
Among the therapeutic options Dr. Isaacson recommends for patients are medical foods, which are products for a specific nutritional purpose, and non-pharmacologic approaches such as physical and mental exercise, music therapy and a nine-week diet modification plan.
One of the novel suggestions Dr. Isaacson provides for patients is Axona, the only medical food indicated for the clinical dietary management of AD. As AD patients have a significant decrease glucose metabolism, the main fuel for the brain, Axona provides “ketone bodies as an alternative fuel source,” which may improve cognitive function in AD patients.
For AD prevention, Dr. Isaacson recommends dietary modifications and lifestyle changes, including a program of physical exercise and incorporating specific cognitively stimulating mental exercises.
“Rather than relying exclusively on data from large clinical trials, I believe that each AD patient is an individual, who will benefit more from a comprehensive plan that approaches treatment like a puzzle,” Dr. Isaacson said.
Published by AD Education Consultants Inc., Treating Alzheimer’s, Preventing Alzheimer’s: A Patient and Family Guide (978-0-9831869-7-7, 270 pages, soft cover, $19.95) also is available on Amazon.com, Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble Nook and Apple iBooks.
Harvard-trained Neurologist Richard S. Isaacson, MD, currently serves as associate professor of Clinical Neurology, vice chair of education, and education director of the McKnight Brain Institute in the Department of Neurology at the University of Miami (UM) Miller School of Medicine.
Prior to joining UM, he served as associate medical director of the Wien Center for Alzheimer’s disease and Memory Disorders at Mount Sinai. Dr. Isaacson is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology; has appeared widely in the media, including NBC Today Show, FOX Good Day L.A., CNN.com, CBS, the Wall Street Journal, U.S. News and World Report, and Univision, and has utilized research support of the American Academy of Neurology, Alzheimer’s Association, and National Institutes of Health Clinical Research LRP. His Uncle Bob was diagnosed with AD while he was in high school, and his cousin was diagnosed just over four years ago.
