Making Alzheimer's a Memory

Hope for Alzheimer’s and Dementia

We’ve read, over and over, that Alzheimer’s has no cure. But— what if your mother, who has dementia, could be treated and regain her memory? And, what if your own declining memory could be made sharp again?

We’re entering a new era of understanding what it takes to prevent, arrest, and even reverse diagnoses of dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. In sharp contrast to the largely predictable response from traditionally trained doctors of “I’m terribly sorry, there is nothing we can do” and a referral to the local Alzheimer’s Association chapter, new research and a non-profit called Sharp Again Naturally (SAN) point to documented cases in which brain function has been partially or completely restored.

“Sharp Again’s mission is to educate the public and the medical community about causes of memory loss, dementia, and Alzheimer’s Disease that can be treated and reversed, and to advocate for new testing and treatment protocols.”

Established just a few years ago, SAN got its start when its founders heard Patricia Tamowski speak at a meeting in Westchester. Tamowski’s mother had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease, and she went looking on-line for a supplement that might help. Instead, she discovered people who had regained their cognitive function. So intrigued was she that she and her fiancé, Scott Douglas, a seasoned videographer, contacted these people to see if they would agree to be interviewed on camera. One year and thousands of miles later, they had 40 hours of footage of these individuals and their family members, doctors, and researchers.

Lisa Feiner and Jacqui Bishop, founders and co-chairs of SAN, knew when they saw the film clips and heard Tamowski’s story, that there was potential to help many thousands of people. Bishop’s mother, Jeanne, a vital and beloved woman, had died of Alzheimer’s after a decline of 15 long years. The family would have given anything to help her get well. Feiner, a health coach and board member of a long-term care nursing and rehabilitation facility, had long felt there had to be reasons why some people became so forgetful as they aged and others did not. With the help of a couple of other colleagues, they decided to take what they had learned and start a 501c3 non-profit to spread the word.

To date, SAN has identified nine factors that can cause memory loss and dementia, and which, when treated, have reduced or eliminated symptoms. Sometimes there’s just one cause; sometimes it’s a combination. But SAN’s message is to keep testing and treating as long as symptoms persist.

To make this information available as a comprehensive strategy, SAN’s recently established Medical and Dental Advisory Board is using SAN’s research-based information and their own medical expertise to develop testing and treatment Guidelines. The combination of both lay and professional versions of the Guidelines will provide: (1) a starting point of discussion between patients, their caregivers, and doctors; and (2) a diagnostic and treatment strategy that includes and expands on the successful approach used by Dr. Dale Bredesen in the UCLA-Buck Institute study described below.

SAN has gained a following and was approached by the Omega Institute to plan a conference entitled “Hope for Alzheimer’s and Dementia,” which is being held at Omega’s Rhinebeck, NY campus July 1-3, 2016. It will be the first of its kind, and what’s particularly exciting is that SAN’s co-presenters are some of the best-known functional medicine doctors in the country, if not the world:

· Mark Hyman, MD is the Director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine, and a founder and medical director of the Ultrawellness Center in Lenox, MA (ultrawellness.com).

· David Perlmutter, MD, FACN, ABIHM is a board-certified neurologist and Associate Professor of U of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine and best-selling author of Brain Maker (drperlmutter.com)

· Dale E. Bredesen, MD is the founding president and CEO of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, and director of the study which, using a multi-therapeutic, multi-causal approach for treating mild to severe memory loss, had a 90% success rate in restoring brain function (www.buckinstitute.org)

If you are interested in learning more about the Omega conference or the work of Sharp Again Naturally, visit their website www.sharpagain.org.

Sharp Again Naturally will be presenting on Thursday, April 14 at the Finger Lakes Massage School in Mt. Kisco at 7:30pm. The presentation—open to the public—will cover the nine reversible factors identified to date that contribute to memory loss and dementia, and can be treated using natural approaches. The presentation will also include some practical preventive measures.

To register for this event:

Call 914-241-7363 ext. 12.

Finger Lakes School of Massage

272 North Bedford Road

Mount Kisco, NY 10549