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LE Magazine March 2004

Life Extension for the Brain
By Bruce Scali

Medications and Hormones
The most serious cases of memory loss require the most powerful remedies, prescribed and monitored by a physician. To complete our discussion of treatments for memory loss, we will briefly mention these prescription medications so that intelligent questions can be asked of a physician who is treating a patient for memory loss.

As noted earlier concerning depression medications addressing occipital lobe serotonin deficiencies, potent prescription medications are available to address parietal lobe acetylcholine deficits.32-34 These include Aricept® and Exelon®, among others. Regardless of which is prescribed, indications and side effects should be fully explained to the patient or caregiver.

Hormones, too, can be grouped into families associated with brain regions and functions. For example, testosterone, while commonly associated with sex drive, belongs to the frontal lobe/energy group. Hormones associated with the memory function include human growth hormone, vasopressin, DHEA, and pregnenolone. Hormone assessment and balancing should be included in a treatment plan for severe memory impairment.

Dollars and Sense
Memory decline can be identified at an early stage by tests administered in a primary care setting.35 When mild deficits are uncovered at their onset, simple remedies can be used to postpone the ravages of senility.

Early testing and treatment result in a short-term increase in health care expenditures, but the long-term benefits in both dollars saved and human suffering averted are many times more significant. In 1997, 90% of the 2.3 million people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease were over 60 years of age. In the US alone, treatment of Alzheimer’s costs $100 billion a year. Yet this immense figure spent on Alzheimer’s care may come to seem small when the majority of baby boomers turns 65.36 Coupled with the positive economic impact that a larger number of productive older people can have, the financial ramifications of early treatment of memory decline are irrefutable.

And the value of having loved ones remaining vital and connected to us longer is in itself incalculable.

The author gratefully acknowledges Eric Braverman, MD, and his PATH Medical Group for contributing research material and quotes used in this article. Dr. Braverman’s new book, The Edge Effect: How the Balanced Brain Can Give You an Advantage in Life, will be available from Sterling Publishers this spring.

SOURCES OF P300 TESTING

For information on P300 testing, contact the neurology department of your nearest hospital, or one of these doctors:

Eric Braverman, MD
New York, NY
888-231-7284

Richard Delaney, MD
Milton, MA
617-698-0715

Frank Duffy, MD
Cambridge, MA
617-355-7846

Ronald Goedeke, MD
Auckland, NZ
011-649-479-1199

Eugene Hong, MD
Singapore
011-65-8349-718

Young Chul Lee, MD
Seoul, South Korea
82-2-548-4711-2

Roger Nocera, MD
Scottsdale, AZ
602-686-4400

Titus Parker, MD
Virginia Beach, VA
757-226-8880

Andrea Raub, MD
San Diego, CA
858-724-1313

Murray Susser, MD
Los Angeles, CA
310-966-9194

Robert Thatcher, PhD
Bay Pines, FL
727-391-0890

Continued on Page 2 of 3

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