Alzheimer’s Is Mishandled And Overdiagnosed,
But Is It A Myth?
By Barbara Murphy
Contributing Writer
“The Myth of Alzheimer’s.”
The title grabbed me as soon as I saw the book displayed on my library’s “special interest” table.
Alzheimer’s a myth? Whoever that wrote must be nutty, I thought. Nevertheless, I checked out the book by Peter J. Whitehouse, M.D. (with Daniel George) and over the course of several dark nights I read it from cover to cover.
Dr. Whitehouse boldly states: “Despite widespread belief that there is a disease called Alzheimer’s against which science is waging war, what the public is not told is that so-called Alzheimer’s Disease cannot be differentiated from normal brain aging and that no two illnesses are the same.... There is no one biological profile of Alzheimer’s that is consistent from person to person, and all the biological hallmarks of AD [Alzheimer’s Disease] are also the hallmarks of normal brain aging.”
He added that Alzheimer’s cannot be diagnosed with certainty before death and even autopsies produce uncertain results.
Dr. Whitehouse, who has been a leader in the Alzheimer’s field for 25 years, said that in the early years of practice he used to do what many doctors today are still doing — telling patients flat out they have Alzheimer’s Disease and unwittingly condemning their patients to years of despair and stigmatization.
Now, he says, when a person comes to him with cognitive problems he might tell them that their test results indicate an Alzheimer’s diagnosis but that all people have brains that age over time and all of our brains age in different ways.
“This time does not have to be a tragedy,” Dr. Whitehouse said he would tell his patients. “Even though you’re aging, you are still a vital human being with cognitive strengths who can contribute to your family and to society and who can explore your creative potential. Think of your brain as an old book. Even though it may be a bit tattered, a little worm around the edges, it still possesses knowledge and value that can be given to others.”
He cited the example of a woman he called Fran, whose tests indicated Alzheimer’s Disease. Dr. Whitehouse counseled Fran to go on with her life. He recommended some dietary changes such as eating more fruits and vegetables but added “what’s even more important then what you eat is with whom you eat.”
Dr. Whitehouse would urge Fran to stay socially and physically active, to keep playing bridge and meeting her friends for dinner. He also would suggest that Fran take adult education classes where she could learn something that would keep her active and engaged.
Dr. Whitehouse said he would somewhat reluctantly also tell Fran that drugs are available that “could offer some small benefit and may be worth a try” even though they all have serious side effects.
Alzheimer’s, Dr. Whitehouse said, cannot be diagnosed with any kind of accuracy and neither can it be treated effectively with any of the drugs on the market. Dr. Whitehouse is impatient, to say the least, with the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. “These industries promise an Alzheimer’s cure within a few years, and nothing could be further from the truth. How can we cure what we can not even diagnose?”
He stated that “lay organizations, biotech firms, pharmaceutical marketing departments, media and other profiteering players in the AD empire implore us to give them just a little more money and a little more time to produce a miracle cure for AD.
Sadly, he said, that “we are investing our resources, our time and our hope in pursuit of a cure that may never arrive for a disease that we cannot diagnose or effectively treat.”
Instead of focusing on a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease, Dr. Whitehouse said, we should put our resources into prevention and development of effective methods to help demented people participate as fully in life as they can.
He suggested a number of factors that may help prevent Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.
These suggestions include getting enough sleep, nutritious food and exercise; limiting consumption of fish (known to be major carriers of toxins); making your house free of lead and other toxins; and advocating for lead abatement programs.
Most important, he said, is to build “a cognitive reserve,” which might include getting all the education you can, learning a new language, learning to play a musical instrument, engaging in intellectual stimulating conversation, volunteering in your community, and contributing to the global fight against infectious diseases and global warming. He said that “aging persons are disproportionately affected by drastic changes in temperature as has been evidenced by high mortality rates during severe heat waves in several countries.”
After reading the Myth of Alzheimer’s, I was not persuaded that Alzheimer’s is really a “myth.” I’ve known too many people who were suddenly afflicted with the disease, which quickly ravaged their brains and eventually killed them.
I personally suspect Alzheimer’s has an environmental cause — that all the pesticides and other toxins that saturate our food and our environment are also saturating our brains, destroying them.
However, I agree with Dr. Whitehouse that many doctors are too quick to stick an AD label on people with cognitive problems. Encouraging these patients to continue with life, doing the things they love to do, makes a lot of sense. So does Dr. Whitehouse’s list of recommendations for preventing or at least delaying the onset of dementia.
(The Myth of Alzheimer’s by Peter J. Whitehouse, M.D., with Daniel George, published by Thorndike Press and by St. Martin’s Press, 2009, 633 pages in large print edition.)
But Is It A Myth?
By Barbara Murphy
Contributing Writer
“The Myth of Alzheimer’s.”
The title grabbed me as soon as I saw the book displayed on my library’s “special interest” table.
Alzheimer’s a myth? Whoever that wrote must be nutty, I thought. Nevertheless, I checked out the book by Peter J. Whitehouse, M.D. (with Daniel George) and over the course of several dark nights I read it from cover to cover.
Dr. Whitehouse boldly states: “Despite widespread belief that there is a disease called Alzheimer’s against which science is waging war, what the public is not told is that so-called Alzheimer’s Disease cannot be differentiated from normal brain aging and that no two illnesses are the same.... There is no one biological profile of Alzheimer’s that is consistent from person to person, and all the biological hallmarks of AD [Alzheimer’s Disease] are also the hallmarks of normal brain aging.”
He added that Alzheimer’s cannot be diagnosed with certainty before death and even autopsies produce uncertain results.
Dr. Whitehouse, who has been a leader in the Alzheimer’s field for 25 years, said that in the early years of practice he used to do what many doctors today are still doing — telling patients flat out they have Alzheimer’s Disease and unwittingly condemning their patients to years of despair and stigmatization.
Now, he says, when a person comes to him with cognitive problems he might tell them that their test results indicate an Alzheimer’s diagnosis but that all people have brains that age over time and all of our brains age in different ways.
“This time does not have to be a tragedy,” Dr. Whitehouse said he would tell his patients. “Even though you’re aging, you are still a vital human being with cognitive strengths who can contribute to your family and to society and who can explore your creative potential. Think of your brain as an old book. Even though it may be a bit tattered, a little worm around the edges, it still possesses knowledge and value that can be given to others.”
He cited the example of a woman he called Fran, whose tests indicated Alzheimer’s Disease. Dr. Whitehouse counseled Fran to go on with her life. He recommended some dietary changes such as eating more fruits and vegetables but added “what’s even more important then what you eat is with whom you eat.”
Dr. Whitehouse would urge Fran to stay socially and physically active, to keep playing bridge and meeting her friends for dinner. He also would suggest that Fran take adult education classes where she could learn something that would keep her active and engaged.
Dr. Whitehouse said he would somewhat reluctantly also tell Fran that drugs are available that “could offer some small benefit and may be worth a try” even though they all have serious side effects.
Alzheimer’s, Dr. Whitehouse said, cannot be diagnosed with any kind of accuracy and neither can it be treated effectively with any of the drugs on the market. Dr. Whitehouse is impatient, to say the least, with the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. “These industries promise an Alzheimer’s cure within a few years, and nothing could be further from the truth. How can we cure what we can not even diagnose?”
He stated that “lay organizations, biotech firms, pharmaceutical marketing departments, media and other profiteering players in the AD empire implore us to give them just a little more money and a little more time to produce a miracle cure for AD.
Sadly, he said, that “we are investing our resources, our time and our hope in pursuit of a cure that may never arrive for a disease that we cannot diagnose or effectively treat.”
Instead of focusing on a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease, Dr. Whitehouse said, we should put our resources into prevention and development of effective methods to help demented people participate as fully in life as they can.
He suggested a number of factors that may help prevent Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.
These suggestions include getting enough sleep, nutritious food and exercise; limiting consumption of fish (known to be major carriers of toxins); making your house free of lead and other toxins; and advocating for lead abatement programs.
Most important, he said, is to build “a cognitive reserve,” which might include getting all the education you can, learning a new language, learning to play a musical instrument, engaging in intellectual stimulating conversation, volunteering in your community, and contributing to the global fight against infectious diseases and global warming. He said that “aging persons are disproportionately affected by drastic changes in temperature as has been evidenced by high mortality rates during severe heat waves in several countries.”
After reading the Myth of Alzheimer’s, I was not persuaded that Alzheimer’s is really a “myth.” I’ve known too many people who were suddenly afflicted with the disease, which quickly ravaged their brains and eventually killed them.
I personally suspect Alzheimer’s has an environmental cause — that all the pesticides and other toxins that saturate our food and our environment are also saturating our brains, destroying them.
However, I agree with Dr. Whitehouse that many doctors are too quick to stick an AD label on people with cognitive problems. Encouraging these patients to continue with life, doing the things they love to do, makes a lot of sense. So does Dr. Whitehouse’s list of recommendations for preventing or at least delaying the onset of dementia.
(The Myth of Alzheimer’s by Peter J. Whitehouse, M.D., with Daniel George, published by Thorndike Press and by St. Martin’s Press, 2009, 633 pages in large print edition.)
