The Bredesen Protocol

While a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease seemed like a permanent sentence in the past, the revolutionary treatment protocol developed by Dr Dale Bredesen offers hope for people dealing with dementia today. 

Furthermore, those who determine to prevent Alzheimer’s now have the roadmap to succeed!

It has been said many times, if you’ve seen one person with Alzheimer’s disease, you’ve seen one person with Alzheimer’s disease.  Meaning, no two people exhibit this disease the same way, each person is different.  Here is the missing key to why; what causes dementia in people is different.

The Bredesen protocol is unique because it takes a root cause approach to tackle brain health; prevention or treatment, which is why it has remarkable success.  It is not in a pill – it is not that simple, unfortunately.  It is not holistic medicine – there is no guesswork or a one size fits all approach.  This is functional medicine, which requires a full battery of labs and tests to diagnose the problems that are at the root cause and remedy each one so that the brain can best return to its normal state.  While this protocol can be complicated and difficult, the results can be life-changing.

The Bredesen Protocol is a treatment or “solution” protocol to help individuals preserve and regain cognitive health. 

This Protocol provides a comprehensive, personalized program designed to prevent, halt and regain cognitive decline for those with no symptoms, for those with Subjective Cognitive Impairment (SCI), Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), and Alzheimer’s disease.  The earlier in the cognitive decline that a person starts treatment, the greater their chance of success. 

Testing for Root Causes

Using a functional medicine approach to identify the root causes of the disease, a comprehensive suite of laboratory diagnostic tests carefully examines an array of metabolic markers.  These include bloodwork (including genetics), urine, MRI with volumetrics (the volume of the brain as a whole and divided into parts) and other diagnostics. These tests are compiled into a detailed report with a unique treatment protocol, tailored to each client.

 

Throughout the course of treatment, bloodwork and cognitive evaluations are done strategically.  This is done to measure the progress and re-evaluate areas that need the greatest focus.

Creating the Roadmap

Once all the lab testing results are in, we run a “ReCode” report, which takes all of the data into account and creates a roadmap, specific to the individual.  This report itemizes steps to be taken to reduce root cause contributor and adjustments to be made to lifestyle that impact the brain.  It may suggest additional testing and or treatment to dig deeper into certain areas.  The report triages the greatest impact of root causes and on a sliding scale of sorts.  The areas of root cause are grouped as such:

  • Inflammation 
  • Glycotoxicity 
  • Tropic 
  • Toxins 
  • Vascular 
  • Trauma 

Getting Started with Treatment

With roadmap (ReCode report) in hand, the client is ready to get started to optimize his or her brain.  We consider this step where the fun begins!  The protocol has been broken down into the Bredesen Seven, meaning the seven categories that we tackle as they impact the brain. 

The Bredesen Protocol areas of treatment are what are known as the Bredesen Seven and include:

  1. Identifying root causes of cognitive decline
  2. Diet
  3. Sleep
  4. Exercise
  5. Brain Training
  6. Stress management
  7. Vitamins and nutrients

We at Age Well Simply work with our clients to create a schedule of tackling the steps in the ReCode report.  As we work together, we enjoy the process of exploring our clients’ motivations to make changes and unhook what holds them back.  We love watching our clients learn about themselves and rejoice together as each win is made!  We know this protocol can feel overwhelming and accept that not each week is perfect.  We also know, because we have seen it in action, that making the small changes, day by day, week by week, add up to the changes that clients desire.  We are here to carry out this protocol with our clients and do so with sincere interest and genuine hope. 

Learn how Our Approach will support you in being compliant with this protocol.