Dementia by Prescription?

‘An increasing number of data demonstrate the utility of ketogenic diets in a variety of metabolic diseases such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes … emerging data suggests that ketogenic diet could be also useful in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, and some mitochondriopathies.’

Antonio Paoli et al, BioMed Research International, Volume 2014.

Dementia is an umbrella term that covers several conditions: Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), vascular dementia (VaD) which is caused by mini-strokes as a result of impeded blood flow to the brain, and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), which is an early stage of dementia that can be reversed as we saw in the last chapter.

Parkinson’s Disease is a different condition, but more than half the people with PD will eventually develop Parkinson’s Disease Dementia (PDD). Parkinson’s is the next most common brain disorder after Alzheimer’s, and is more common in men than women. The average time from diagnosis to death is said to be around 12 years, but this varies widely. ABC reporter Liz Jackson’s PD was much more aggressive.

It helps to understand that clinical diagnoses of various types of dementia can’t be 100% accurate, since they tend to share many symptoms. In addition, the symptoms don’t always align perfectly with the defined form of dementia.