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19-Year-Old Proves Alzheimer’s IS NOT Genetic

Dr. Al SearsThe traditional medical establishment has totally missed the mark when it comes to Alzheimer’s research, prevention, and cures.Most doctors still believe that Alzheimer’s is caused by bad genes. But they couldn’t be more wrong.It is true that about 5% of the world’s population is at risk for what’s known as “early-onset” Alzheimer’s. This disease, which affects patients in their 40s and 50s, does run in families.But late-onset Alzheimer’s is the most common form. It strikes after age 60. And the drastic increase in patients is a recent phenomenon.Between 2000 and 2020, U.S. Alzheimer’s deaths skyrocketed by 146%. Alzheimer’s cases are expected to more thAn double by 2050, affecting 14 million Americans.1Bad genes can’t explain how this huge increase happened in only a few generations…

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Evolution just doesn’t work that fast. Human genes can’t change so drastically in just two or three generations.And a tragic case of a teenager who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s confirms it…Earlier this year, a 19-year-old in China became the youngest person in the world with the condition.2The teen initially started experiencing symptoms two years earlier…including memory loss, difficulty concentrating, and impaired problem solving. One year later, he couldn’t remember what he’d had for dinner the night before.By the time he was seen by doctors in Beijing, his memory loss was so severe that he had to drop out of school.Brain scans revealed that his hippocampus, the area of the brain where memories are stored, had atrophied considerably.

Air Pollution Can Damage Cells and Initiate Memory Loss

He also had damage to his temporal lobe and elevated levels of a protein called tau, both symptoms – but not causes of – of Alzheimer’s.Genome sequencing of his DNA ruled out any gene mutation or genetic predisposition.Researchers who wrote the boy’s case study in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease are at a loss to explain how he developed the disease.As a regular reader, you’ve seen me connect the dots between our toxic environment and this brain-wasting condition…And once you dig deep enough, the research proves It.Researchers at the University of Southern California found that older women who lived in areas of high pollution were 81% more likely to experience cognitive decline and 92% more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than those who live in less polluted areas.3The USC researchers determined that more than 20% of dementia cases worldwide may be due to air pollution.You see, in areas where there’s heavy traffic and exhaust fumes, the air is loaded with “particulate matter,” or PM.

These are tiny particles of toxins like sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, black carbon, and heavy metals. They’re 30 times smaller than the width of a human hair.And when it comes to toxins, size matters.The smaller the particles, the more oxidative stress they cause in your cells.But there’s another reason…Because they’re so small, they can travel along nerve byways directly to your brain after you inhale them through your nose. Once there, they begin to wreak havoc.A recent analysis of MRI brain scans by Harvard researchers found that the closer people lived to a major road, the more their brains shrank.And The Lancet recently published a study that looked at dementia rates in the Canadian province of Ontario. Researchers found that people living within 50 meters of a major road —where levels of PM are often 10 times higher than just 150 meters away — were 12% more likely to develop dementia than people living more than 200 meters away.Remember, this 19-year-old teen lives in China. Despite making progRess to clean up their air, the country continues to be ranked one of the top 10 most polluted places in the world.In fact, 99% of China’s 1.4 billion people live in areas where the annual average particulate matter greatly exceeds what is considered “safe” air quality guidelines.4If you’re living in or near a city, you might be thinking you need to move! Sounds good, but it’s not really practical for most people.

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Your “B”est Brain Protection

I suggest you protect your brain another way…with a combination of B vitamins, including B6, B12, and folate.New research from an international team studying the effects of PM found that a high-dose daily supplement of these essential nutrients “completely offset” the damage PM causes.5 Toxins like PM attack the genes in our immune systems. That lowers our ability to fight off disease.In the study, participants took B vitamins for four weeks. Researchers found that supplementing reduced the effect of PM by up to 76% at 10 different gene locations. The vitamins also reduced damage to mitochondrial DNA.Another study found that supplementing with B vitamins slowed shrinkage by as much as seven-fold in areas of the brain known to be most impacted by Alzheimer’s.6For the best protection, I also recommend supplementing with 800 mcg of folic acid (folate), 1,000 mcg of B12, and 2 mg of B6.

Dr Al Sears, MD

To Your Good Health,

Dr. Al Sears

Al Sears, MD, CNS

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References:

  1. Alzheimer’s Association. “Facts and figures 2023” https://www.alz.org/media/documents/alzheimers-facts-and-figures.pdf. Accessed on July 12, 2023.
  2. Jianping J, et al. “A 19-year-old adolescent with probable Alzheimer’s disease.” J Alz Dis. 2023;91(3):915-922.
  3. Cacciottolo M, et al. “Particulate air pollutants, APOE alleles and their contributions to cognitive impairment in older women and to amyloidogenesis in experimental models.” Trans Psych. 2017; 7(1):e1022.
  4. Air Quality Life Index. Country Spotlight: China. https://aqli.epic.uchicago.edu/country-spotlight/china/. Accessed on July 12, 2023.
  5. Zhong, Jia, et al. “B vitamins attenuate the epigenetic effects of ambient fine particles in a pilot human intervention trial.” PNAS. 2016;114(13):3503-3508.
  6. Douaud G, et al. “Preventing Alzheimer’s disease-related gray matter atrophy by B-vitamin treatment.” Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Jun 4;110(23):9523-8.