New Cutting Edge Breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention
There’s an old expression: “The faster I go, the behinder I get.”
Well, that applies to the conventional Alzheimer’s organizations and can be typified by the most recent issue of The Lancet, a fabled medical journal.1 In that issue, the writers state, “The potential for prevention is high and, overall, nearly half of dementias could theoretically be prevented by eliminating 14 risk factors.” That is a breakthrough thought, especially coming from such a conventional journal.
On investigation, however, their risk factor list and interventions are behind the times. Many risk factors well-known to Age Management physicians such as chronic stress, which is only briefly mentioned in Figure 2 below, is not mentioned further. Moreover, hormone replacement therapy is not considered and new approaches such as peptide therapy, while not necessarily shown to prevent Alzheimer’s, does improve exercise tolerance and lack of exercise is a clear risk factor for cognitive decline.
Similarly, the concept of mind/body interactions such as meditation, and yoga, well proven to not only decrease stress but also improve cognition are strikingly absent.2
The Lancet risk list as depicted in their Figure 2 from the journal.
Multiple risk factors revealed in the Figure, such as the treatment of depression, smoking cessation, and especially hypertension, are all amenable to mind/body therapies such as Kirtan Kriya meditation, which the Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Foundation has studied for two decades. All of the research of this work can be discovered at:
www.alzheimersprevention.org/research.
Kirtan Kriya has no side effects and is fast, affordable, and easy to do on a regular basis as shown by a very high compliance rate.2
Other Alzheimer’s risk factors such as weight control, are also helped by yoga along with following a Mediterranean diet rich in vegetables, fruit and some fish and whole grains if tolerated but little red meat and minimal alcohol consumption.3 Following this type of regime reverses brain aging by 12 years. Moreover, following this diet or a similar plan called DASH, delays neurodegeneration as well as helps prevent cardiovascular disease, a clear risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease.4 Indeed, the more “Medi” the diet, the less brain pathology. As stated in The Lancet, “a high diet quality relative to low diet quality was associated with lower dementia risk.”1
Yet, they are equivocal about following any type of diet and, of note, do not endorse the use of any vitamins, minerals, brain-specific nutrients or even Omega-3 rich fish oil, well known to Age Management practitioners to be an integral part of any Alzheimer’s prevention plan.
Beyond that, proven risk reduction provided by supportive community environments may be considered applicable to mind/body therapies, as people of all ages do yoga class in a congenial setting.2
Kirtan Kriya has also been shown to increase cerebral blood flow in anatomical brain areas significant for memory including the dendate gyrus, hippocampus, posterior cingulate gyrus, frontal lobes and prefrontal cortex, which sends reciprocal fibers to the amygdala.2
Perhaps most significantly, especially since The Lancet does NOT endorse the use of hormone replacement therapy in women, which research suggests may be beneficial5, is the crucial finding of a research study accomplished at UCLA called The Pink Brain Project.6 In this study, menopausal women at high risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease secondary to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and cardiovascular issues, were divided into a control group doing Memory Enhancement Training (MET), considered the “gold standard,” and a second group that practiced a special form of yoga called Kundalini and also Kirtan Kriya memory meditation.
The results were significant in that the yoga and meditation group had benefits comprising enhanced cognition and mood compared to the control group.6 Similar to previous research on Kirtan Kriya, inflammatory markers such as cytokines were diminished and telomerase was increased and telomere length increased.7
Furthermore, in research accomplished at The University of Pennsylvania, subjects with various forms of cognitive decline including early Alzheimer’s, showed strong increases in cerebral blood flow the very first time they practiced Kirtan Kriya and very significant changes after partaking in an 8-week program of at-home practice. Their memory loss was also reversed.8
Figure 2: This chart reveals the many benefits of Kirtan Kriya.
Also left out of The Lancet was any mention of the proven benefits of psychological well-being (PWB), one of the features of which, purpose in life, has been revealed to dramatically decrease the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease. Also unmentioned is Spiritual Fitness, a new concept in medicine combining multiple facets of spirituality such as religious attendance, prayer, meditation, being in nature, selfless service, and more.9 Although the development of Spiritual fitness does not necessarily require belonging to a specific religion, not unlike physical fitness it requires an action such as the above to develop its attributes: Patience, Awareness of something greater than ones’ self, compassion, or empathy, and living a life committed to spiritual growth and wellbeing.
Spiritual Fitness leads one to develop peace of mind, sorely lacking today, Universal love, what philosopher Stephen Post, Ph.D., considers to be the ultimate reality, and enlightenment, a state in which one enjoys a state of divine well-being; calm, and restful alertness, and a desire to share your knowledge with others in hopes of making the world a better place.
Therefore, according to research, spiritual activity is associated with better cognitive function with aging.10
New evidence does suggest that the risk of dementia may be reduced thus increasing the number of healthy years of life. It’s never too early and it’s never too late. Unfortunately, despite The Lancet’s in-depth report, they’re still behind the times.
By Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D.
President/Medical Director
Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Foundation
Prevention Editor, Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease
References:
- Livingston G, Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2024 report of The Lancet Standing Commission July 2024. Published online July 31, 2024. http://doi.org /10.1016/s0140-6736(24)01296-0.
- Khalsa, DS, Stress, Meditation, and Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention: Where the Evidence Stands. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease 48 (2015) 1-12 doi: 10.3233/JAD-142766.
- Shannon OM, Ranson JM, Gregory S, et al. Mediterranean diet adherence is associated with lower dementia risk BMC Med 2023; 1-81.
- Agarwal P, Leurgans SF, Agrawal S, et al. Association of Mediterranean-DASH intervention for neurodegenerative delay and Mediterranean diets with Alzheimer’s pathology. Neurology2023; 100: e2259-68.
- Morrison JH, Brinton RD, Schmidt PJ, Gore AC. Estrogen, menopause, and the aging brain: how basic neuroscience can inform hormone therapy in woman. J Neurosci.2006: 26: 10332-48.
- Grzenda, A., Siddarth, P., Milillo, M.M.. Aguilar-Faustino, Y,. Khalsa, Dharma S,. Lavretsky, H. Cognitive and immunological effects of yoga compared to memory training in older women at risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Transl Psychiatry 14, 96 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-024-02807-0.
- Innes KE, Selfe TK, Khalsa DS. Effects of meditation versus music listening on perceived stress, mood, sleep, and quality of life in adults with early memory loss: A pilot randomized controlled trial. J Alzheimer’s Dis. 2016; 52::1277-98.
- Newberg AB, Wintering N, Khalsa DS, Roggenkamp H, Waldman MR. Meditation effects on cognitive function and cerebral blood flow in subjects with memory loss: a preliminary study. J Alzheimers Dis. 2010;20(2):517-26. doi: 10.3233/JAD-2010-1391. PMID: 20164557.
- Khalsa, DS, Newberg AB Spiritual Fitness: A New Dimension in Alzheimer’s disease prevention. : Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease 1 (2021) 1–15 DOI 10.3233/JAD-201433.
- Lung A, Lam L, Spiritual Activity is associated with better cognitive function in old age. E Asian Arch Psychiatry. 2013 Sep;(3):102-7.
