Can Alzheimer’s disease be reversed?

Dr. Heather Sandison, a renowned expert in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia care, believes that reversal isn’t just possible — but that it’s already happening in multiple patients. 

In her new book “Reversing Alzheimer’s: The New Tool Kit to Improve Cognition and Protect Brain Health,” which was published by HarperCollins on June 11, Sandison — who is based in California — offers a step-by-step guide to helping Alzheimer’s patients improve their overall brain health.

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One of the core elements of Sandison’s program is a focus on exercise as one of the most important lifestyle factors in preventing and controlling dementia. 

Research has shown that physical activity can reduce the likelihood and progression of Alzheimer’s. 

In the excerpt below, Sandison offers some specific recommendations for the types of exercise that can benefit patients living with the disease. 

Read an excerpt from ‘Reversing Alzheimer’s’

Dr. Heather Sandison: Need a new motivation to be active? Exercise is medicine for the brain and provides an amazing array of benefits. 

Most obviously, exercise increases blood flow throughout the body, including to the brain. That means getting your body moving will deliver more oxygen and nutrients to your brain while also flushing away more waste products. 

Exercise also strengthens the heart and cardiovascular system, which helps improve blood flow even when you’re not working out; it also reduces the risk of arterial plaques that might disrupt blood flow to the brain and contribute to dementia.

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The overarching reason that exercise is such a powerful health protector is that it is what’s known as a hormetic, or a beneficial stressor. 

Basically, when you put your body through its paces, the body is forced to use up resources, and your tissues can even be broken down a bit. (That’s what happens when you lift weights: Your muscles tear a tiny bit.) 

Dr. Heather Sandison, an expert in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia care, believes that reversal isn’t just possible but that it’s already happening in multiple patients.  (Dr. Heather Sandison)

In that sense, you’re introducing stress to your system, but that stress is a force for good, because it triggers your body to get more efficient at using its resources and your tissues to grow back even stronger. In other words, exercise makes your body — including your brain — more resilient.

Exercise benefits several of the root causes of neurological disease.

It improves structure by increasing your cardiovascular capacity and boosting circulation, which delivers oxygen and nutrients to the brain.

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It reduces stress in multiple ways — by giving you an outlet to blow off steam, by producing feel-good hormones such as endorphins and lowering the stress hormone cortisol, and, depending on what kind of exercise you choose, getting you outside and into nature, which is a well-known stress reliever. 

It can also be social, and a great way to spend time with friends or even meet new people, which helps address the loneliness and social isolation that The Lancet lists as one of the modifiable risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease.

In her new book “Reversing Alzheimer’s: The New Tool Kit to Improve Cognition and Protect Brain Health,” published by HarperCollins on June 11, Sandison — based in California — offers a step-by-step guide to helping Alzheimer’s patients improve their overall brain health. (HarperCollins)

It improves sleep by tiring you out.

It strengthens immune function, which reduces the risk and effects of infection — all those muscular contractions and moving against gravity improves the flow of lymphatic fluid, which delivers immune cells and flushes away invader cells.

“Exercise benefits several of the root causes of neurological disease.”

It promotes detox, both through increased circulation and through sweating. 

It improves signaling, as challenging and strengthening your muscles triggers the release of multiple signaling molecules, known as exerkines, that have demonstrated neuroprotective functions.

“The overarching reason that exercise is such a powerful health protector is that it is what’s known as a hormetic, or a beneficial stressor,” Sandison writes in her new book. (Dr. Heather Sandison)

If you do only one thing: Change up your current exercise routine in a way that challenges your brain and amps up the intensity. 

If you are a devoted walker, find a new route that includes hills or stairs. If you’re open to trying something different, check out a new exercise class that you’ve been meaning to try.              

Categories of exercise: some familiar, some cutting-edge

There are four types of exercise that you want to prioritize. Four may sound like a lot, but they are not mutually exclusive. 

You can combine at least two types of exercise in one session — you can turn strength training into cardio by performing your strength moves in high-intensity intervals, or you can make your cardio dual task by doing something that requires your mental focus while you move.

Aerobic exercise

Aerobic exercise is what we think of as “cardio” — it gets your heart and blood pumping and includes forms of exercise such as walking, jogging, biking, dancing and swimming.

Aerobic exercise strengthens your heart, and what’s good for your heart is also good for your brain, because your heart sends the brain the blood, oxygen, and nutrients that your brain relies on to function.

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Your first goal with adding more exercise to your life is to get 150 to 200 minutes of aerobic exercise each week so that you get your heart rate into the vigorous zone of 70-85% of maximum heart rate. 

Listening to your body and adjusting your intensity level based on your perceived exertion is one of the best ways to know if you are pushing yourself hard enough.

Strength training    

Strength training — also known as resistance training — is just what it sounds like: using weights or other forms of resistance to build muscle tissue.

Building muscle — particularly in the big muscle groups of the legs, hips, and torso — is directly related to brain health, because these muscles generate brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a “fertilizer” for the brain, cueing it to create new neuronal connections and promoting neuroplasticity.

Alzheimer’s patients should aim for at least two strength-training sessions per week, notes the author of a new book.  (iStock)

You want to aim for at least two strength-training sessions per week. Strength training doesn’t have to involve your standard barbells and bench pressing your body weight. 

You can use resistance bands, light dumbbells, or even the weight of your own body in exercises like squats, lunges and planks. 

Even climbing stairs or hills counts as strength training and cardio in one activity, because they get your heart rate up as they also keep the muscles of the legs and hips strong.                    

Dual-task training

This next-level form of exercise combines physical movement with a cognitive challenge. The simplest form of this is walking and talking. 

What is a cognitive challenge will vary from person to person, but if you’re in prevention mode, listening to a foreign language lesson or a nonfiction book while you walk outside or ride the stationary bike, and then pausing the recording to recap what you’ve just learned every few minutes, is a good option. 

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For some people, going to a Pilates or yoga class or other class where you really have to pay attention to the teacher’s cues constitutes dual-task training — but not if it’s something you’ve been doing for long enough that you can zone out. 

“Exercise is such a powerful health intervention that if we could just bottle it, we could probably get rid of chronic disease.”

And if you have already started experiencing measurable cognitive decline, dual-task training may look like going on a walk while pointing out the names of the plants that you pass along the way, or having someone quiz you on the names of family members, or recalling family stories or important dates. 

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Wherever you are, you want to be working right on your edge — you can almost feel the wheels of your brain turning in order to stay focused.

Contrast oxygen therapy

This relatively unique form of training alternates the amount of oxygen in the air you breathe as you exercise — an approach that encourages the tiniest blood vessels (known as your microvasculature) throughout your body, including your brain, to open up, resulting in greatly enhanced blood flow. 

It’s similar to going to altitude to train and build your aerobic capacity, and it is incredibly valuable for cognitive function.         

“Exercise does take time and effort, but making this one activity a regular part of your life addresses so many causal factors of dementia that it can profoundly reduce your risk,” Sandison says in her book. (iStock)

This type of exercise does require specialized gear. You can buy the device, or go find a clinic near you where you can try it out. It does require you to wear a mask that is hooked up to a machine while you exercise, and when the oxygen saturation is low, it can be intense because you have to work harder to bring in enough air. 

In other words, contrast oxygen therapy is not for everyone. But if you are willing and able, it can be dramatically helpful.

For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews/health 

Honestly, exercise is such a powerful health intervention that if we could just bottle it, we could probably get rid of chronic disease. 

Exercise does take time and effort, but making this one activity a regular part of your life addresses so many causal factors of dementia that it can profoundly reduce your risk.

Excerpted with permission from the new book, “Reversing Alzheimer’s: The New Tool Kit to Improve Cognition and Protect Brain Health” (HarperCollins) by Dr. Heather Sandison, copyright © 2024 by Dr. Heather Sandison. All rights reserved. 

A new initiative dubbed The Commonwealth Project, based in Massachusetts, aims to integrate medical cannabis into traditional health care for seniors.

“People 65 and over are the fastest-growing segment using cannabis, but they’re using it for ailments of aging, [for] relief,” Howard Kessler, the group’s founder, told Fox News.

Medical marijuana is legal in 37 states, four U.S. territories and Washington, D.C. 

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It is not legal at the federal level, however, which means doctors cannot prescribe cannabis.

“I’ve talked to many physicians who say they get asked five times a day by their patients, ‘I’d like to try [it].’ And the physician says, ‘I think you should. But I’m of no help,'” William Van-Faasen, former CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, told Fox News.

Most states do require documentation for medical marijuana. 

The Compassionate Use Act allows health care providers to write recommendations for the substance instead of traditional prescriptions.

“Doctors need to know the benefits that cannabis has on seniors’ lives,” Keith Myers, CEO of MorseLife Health System, a senior living community based in Palm Beach, Florida, told Fox News.

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“They need to understand that it should be part of the drug regimen that they make recommendations for.” 

“It’s the wild west. Consumers are left on their own.”

Even with informed doctors, senior citizens can face hurdles when trying to access cannabis treatment.

“It’s the wild west. Consumers are left on their own,” former Massachusetts HHS Secretary Marylou Sudders told Fox News.

Dispensaries often do not have on-site doctors or pharmacists, and the quality of cannabis can vary from place to place.

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“Think about what it’s like when they want to try it,” Kessler said. “When you go into the dispensary, they aren’t doctors or health people. They aren’t experts … So you’re not getting the guidance. There’s no follow-up.”

Some groups say that increased regulation is needed before access to medical marijuana is expanded.

It is important to be aware of the different formulations, dosages and delivery systems, experts cautioned. (iStock)

“There are … literally hundreds of thousands of different formulations you could be thinking about,” Kevin Sabet, president and CEO of the nonprofit Smart Approaches to Marijuana in New York City, told Fox News.

“You really have to be careful about the dosage, the delivery system.”

Kessler’s pilot project in Massachusetts would allow for medical cannabis through a payer-provider system like Medicare Advantage.

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“They have your health records. They keep tremendous data,” he said. “They keep actuarial data … You could use the data to improve the efficacy. You could create a safer product. You could train the caregiver.”

Kessler’s group has already conducted smaller studies, which he said have shown promise for cannabis use among seniors.

“You don’t feel so dopey like you do with Xanax,” said one patient.

Dispensaries often do not have doctors or pharmacists onsite, and the quality of cannabis can vary from place to place, experts say. (REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo)

In one study conducted at a senior living facility in Florida, more than 80% of participants reported a positive impact.

“[Even if] something can be prescribed and it is approved [for] medical use, we still have to work to convince prescribers to offer the product as an alternative,” Robert Kent, former White House general counsel of National Drug Control Policy in Washington, D.C., told Fox News.

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“I think that using the payers, the insurance companies, to help with that is an enormously smart idea.”

“If you really want equitable access, insurance coverage at some point is the way to go.”

Seventy-four percent of participants also said that marijuana was more cost-effective than prescription drugs — while 56% stopped taking other pharmaceuticals altogether.

“Doing it within that health care system, you can scale it up in a massive way — and very quickly,” said Kent. “It could exponentially save a bunch of money, which could be used to secure the program and … for other purposes.”

Thirty percent of people over age 65 take five or more pharmaceuticals daily, according to the National Institutes of Health.  (iStock)

Thirty percent of people over the age of 65 take five or more pharmaceuticals daily, according to the National Institutes of Health. 

One study for Health Affairs found that doctors prescribed an average of around 1,800 fewer doses of painkillers each year to Medicare members in states where marijuana was legal.

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If marijuana is legalized nationwide, Health Affairs projects savings of up to $500 million per year.

Even for those with informed doctors, senior citizens can face hurdles when trying to access cannabis treatment. (iStock)

“For some people, the cost is a deterrent,” Sudders said. “And so, if you really want equitable access, then insurance coverage at some point is the way to go.”

Medicare Advantage programs can reimburse for products and services that are outside traditional medical care, he noted. 

“You’re working within the system, not asking for a new system to be created.”

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But some groups aren’t convinced — and say more research is needed.

“I think it’s been oversold,” Sabet said. 

“I think in a lot of other studies, [it] shows that people have those same outcomes when they’re taking a placebo … and they think they’re taking this. And so I think we really need to look at this very closely.”

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Kessler said he hopes his team will study it more closely and find benefits that could change the health care landscape. 

Those involved believe the pilot could launch within the next year.

“If CMS, the Medicaid and Medicare folks, approve this proposal, I think within six months to a year, we’ll start to have solid information,” Kent predicted. 

“Then it could be expanded across all age groups for the same conditions.”

An experimental Alzheimer’s drug, donanemab, was endorsed by a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel on Monday.

Donanemab is designed to treat symptoms of early Alzheimer’s disease, including mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer’s dementia.

At the FDA’s Peripheral and Central Nervous System Advisory Committee hearing, which was held in Maryland on Monday, the advisers unanimously agreed that the drug’s benefits outweigh any potential risks.

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While this isn’t a guarantee the FDA will approve the drug, the agency does typically follow the panel’s recommendations, per reports.

Officials at Eli Lilly, the Indiana pharmaceutical company that makes donanemab, were also in attendance, fielding questions from the committee about potential side effects.

At the Monday hearing, Eli Lilly officials presented clinical trial results that showed the drug slowed cognitive and functional decline for people with mild cognitive impairment due to early stages of Alzheimer’s.

The study was also published by the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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In phase 3 trials published in May 2023, donanemab was shown to “significantly slow cognitive and functional decline in people with early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease,” according to a press release on Eli Lilly’s website.

If donanemab is approved, it would become only the second available medication designed to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s symptoms.

Donanemab is designed to treat symptoms of early Alzheimer’s disease, including mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer’s dementia. (iStock)

Leqembi, the first new Alzheimer’s treatment in 20 years, was given full FDA approval in July 2023.

Donanemab works by clearing built-up amyloid from the brain. It was shown to cause side effects such as “brain swelling and tiny bleeds,” researchers found.

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The Alzheimer’s Association, based in Chicago, released a statement welcoming the FDA’s finding that donanemab is effective for the treatment of early Alzheimer’s disease.

“A future with more approved Alzheimer’s treatments is a tremendous advancement for people eligible for these drugs,” said Joanne Pike, DrPH, Alzheimer’s Association president and CEO, in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. 

Eli Lilly officials presented clinical trial results showing that the drug, donanemab, slowed cognitive and functional decline for people with mild cognitive impairment due to early stages of Alzheimer’s. (iStock)

“Progress with treatment is happening. Now we need more types of treatments, targeting a variety of aspects of the disease, with greater efficacy and safety,” she continued.

“A rich and robust life without the threat of memory loss, confusion or cognitive decline — this is what we envision.”

The next step toward approval of donanemab is FDA review.

Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center, noted that donanemab is very similar to Leqembi, the current drug on the market that blocks amyloid formation.  (Dr. Marc Siegel)

Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, who was not involved in the drug trials, noted that donanemab is very similar to Leqembi, the current drug on the market that blocks amyloid formation. 

“A rich and robust life without the threat of memory loss, confusion or cognitive decline — this is what we envision.”

“The problem with … denonemab is similar — it can cause brain swelling and bleeding,” Siegel told Fox News Digital.

“It is also expensive, as it’s once a month versus once every two weeks for Leqembi.” 

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Denonemab is “somewhat more effective,” Siegel noted, as it slows progression of Alzheimer’s by about 35% versus 27% for Leqembi.

“It may be better at removing plaques,” he said.

“A future with more approved Alzheimer’s treatments is a tremendous advancement for people eligible for these drugs,” the Alzheimer’s Association president and CEO said in a statement. (iStock)

There may be limitations associated with these types of drugs, however, according to the doctor.

“Many experts have told me that the obsession with amyloid formation may not be the holy grail it was once thought to be,” Siegel told Fox News Digital. 

“The study didn’t pay enough attention to tau proteins, which are also a key player here.” 

For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews/health. 

Tau proteins, which cause “tangles” in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients, are not the primary targets of these drugs, Siegel said. 

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“There is also the issue of neuroinflammation and neuronal transmission abnormalities, which precede the buildup of the plaque proteins and are important targets for research.”              

Fox News Digital reached out to Eli Lilly and the FDA requesting comment.

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says consumers should avoid eating shellfish from Oregon and Washington state as they may be contaminated with toxins that cause paralytic shellfish poisoning. 
• Oregon and Washington have prohibited shellfish harvesting on their coastlines, but shellfish have already been distributed across the country.
• At least 31 people have been sickened by paralytic shellfish poisoning so far.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says consumers should avoid eating shellfish from Oregon and Washington state as they may be contaminated with toxins that cause paralytic shellfish poisoning. At least 31 people have been sickened in Oregon so far, according to state health officials. Here’s what to know about the federal agency’s advisory.

What did the FDA say about shellfish?

The warning says to avoid oysters and bay clams harvested from Netarts and Tillamook bays in northern Oregon since May 28, as well as shellfish harvested from areas around Willapa Bay in southern Washington since May 26. They may be contaminated with high levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning, or PSP, a naturally occurring toxin produced by algae.

Shellfish harvested from those areas during that period were distributed beyond Oregon and Washington to Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New York. The FDA has warned restaurants and retailers in those states not to serve it.

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What do we know about the shellfish poisoning outbreak so far?

Elevated levels of toxins were first detected in shellfish on the Oregon coast on May 17, state fish and wildlife officials said.

Since then, a paralytic shellfish poisoning outbreak has sickened at least 31 people in Oregon, according to the Oregon Health Authority. The agency has asked people who have harvested or eaten Oregon shellfish since May 13 to fill out a survey intended to help investigators identify the cause of the outbreak and the number of people sickened.

Oregon authorities have closed the state’s entire coastline to the harvesting of mussels, razor clams and bay clams. Agriculture officials have also closed three bays, including those named in the FDA advisory, to commercial oyster harvesting.

Officials in neighboring Washington have also closed the state’s Pacific coastline to the harvesting of shellfish, including mussels, clams, scallops and oysters, a a shellfish safety map produced by the Washington State Department of Health shows.

What is paralytic shellfish poisoning?

Paralytic shellfish poisoning, or PSP, is caused by saxitoxin, a naturally occurring toxin that’s produced by algae. Saxitoxin is a neurotoxin, meaning it can damage nerve tissue.

People who eat shellfish contaminated with high levels of saxitoxins usually start feeling ill within 30 to 60 minutes, according to Oregon health officials. Symptoms include numbness of the mouth and lips, vomiting, diarrhea, shortness of breath and irregular heartbeat in severe cases.

There is no antidote to PSP, according to the health agency. Treatment for severe cases may require mechanical ventilators to help with breathing.

Authorities warn that cooking or freezing contaminated shellfish doesn’t kill the toxins or make it safe to eat.

What causes paralytic shellfish poisoning?

A “very large” algal bloom has resulted in “unprecedented levels” of PSP toxins along Oregon’s coast, Matthew Hunter, shellfish program manager for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, said during a briefing.

The toxins have accumulated in the shellfish, sickening some people who have eaten them.

While the factors that create harmful algal blooms are not well understood, certain factors — resulting from both natural processes and human activities — are believed to play a role, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“Studies show that many algal species flourish when wind and water currents are favorable,” the agency says on a webpage dedicated to explaining harmful algal blooms. Some blooms, it says, stem from “sluggish water circulation, unusually high water temperatures, and extreme weather events like hurricanes, floods, and drought.”

Algae growth can also increase when nutrients used in fertilizers, mainly phosphorus and nitrogen, flow into bodies of water, according to the agency.

How long will shellfish be unsafe to eat?

Oregon officials said it may take weeks, months or even up to a year for toxin levels to subside, depending on the type of shellfish.

Mussels can accumulate paralytic shellfish poison rapidly, but also rid themselves of it quickly, according to Hunter, the Oregon fish and wildlife official. Because of this, it may take anywhere from two weeks to a month for mussels to eliminate the toxin.

Razor clams, however, are slower to do so. It may take them several months to a year to cleanse themselves due to the current high levels of toxin, Hunter said.

How common is paralytic shellfish poisoning?

Such high levels of paralytic shellfish poison haven’t been detected in Oregon in decades, according to Hunter, who cited a previous shellfish harvesting closure in the state in 1992.

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However, PSP has been prevalent in the regional waters for centuries, he said.

What’s the economic impact of the outbreak?

The harvesting closures may deal a blow to Pacific Northwest fisheries.

The shellfish industry generates $270 million each year for the region’s economy, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and employs some 3,200 people.