FORGETFULNESS: THE BASICS

November 26, 2005

About three years ago, I attended a party in Sun City, Arizona where my mother lives. I recall many jokes being made about "CRS" or senior moments. I was thus inspired to write this brief comment.

"Senior Moments" are no joking matter. In the medical literature it is called "mild Cognitive impairment" or MCI. The Petersen criteria for MCI are:

1. Memory complaint (the patient or close relative notes a perceived problem)
2. Normal activities of daily living (yes driving, golf, preparing dinner)
3. Normal general cognitive function (simple tests of memory are "normal")
4. Abnormal memory for age (complex tests of memory show a subtle problem)
5. Not demented (going to parties and joking about dementia)

Substantial research has show that MCI is often a clue that Alzheimers disease is about to begin. Put another way MCI is a pre-Alzheimer state, much like certain conditions are said to be precancerous. Excellent work done by Ranjan Duara, M.D. and his colleagues at the Wien Center in Miami Beach, Florida confirm this.2

About 11 -15% of populations defined as having MCI convert to diagnosable Alzheimers disease each year. The easy math is that about 50% of people with memory complaints who are over sixty will have diagnosable Alzheimers within five years.

This is alarming, especially if you or a loved one is having "senior moments."

However, there is hope. In January 2004 a group from Johns Hopkins studied 5,092 seniors in a county in Utah. They found that use of high potency and high dose combinations of antioxidant vitamins resulted in a 78% risk reduction in onset of Alzheimers disease over four years of study.3 Multi-vitamins or individual vitamins were ineffective.

Studies of combinations of B6, B9 (folate), and B12 have also shown promise as preventative of Alzheimer's.4 Classical literature has many references concerning the protective effects of ginseng against Alzheimers disease.5,6 Some work supports the thought that herbals can induce protective cytokines in the central nervous system.(7, 8)

Is it any wonder that Memory reVITALIZER™ contains antioxidant combinations in the hope that it will help stave off aging of the brain, and possibly delay or prevent Alzheimers disease. The combinations of Memory reVITALIZER™ are unique and not available in other supplements. The US Patent office has granted a patent on unique blend of amino acids, vitamins, herbals, minerals, and phospholipids that is contained in Memory reVITALIZER™.

1. Petersen RC. Mild cognitive impairment: where are we? Alzheimers Disease Assoc Disorder. 2005; 19(3):166-9.
2. Luis CA, Barker WW, Loewenstein DA, Crum TA, Rogaeva E, Kawarai T, St. George-Hyslop P, Duara R. Conversion to dementia among two groups with cognitive impairment: a preliminary report. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2004; 18 (3): 307-13.
3. Zandi PP, Anthony JC, Khachaturian AS, Stone SV, Gustafson D, Tschanz JF, Norton MC, Welsh-Bohmer KA, Greitner JC. Teduced risk of Alzheimer disease in users of antioxidant vitamin supplements: the Cache County Study. Arch Neurol. 2004; 61(1):82-88.
4. Lehmann M, Vitamin B12-B6-Folate treatment improves Blood Brain Barrier function in patients with hyperhomocysteinaemia and mild cognitive impairment. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2003; 16:145-150.
5. Zhong Z, Qu Z, Wang N. Wang J, Xie Z, Zhang F, Zang W, Lu Z. Protective effects of panaxnotoginseng saponins against pathological lesions of cholinergic neurons in rat model of Alzheimers disease. Zhong Yo Cai. 2005; 28(2):119-22
6. Tohda C, Kuboyama T, Komatsu K. Search for natural products related to regeneration of the neuronal network. Neurosignals. 2005; 14(1):34-45.
7. Yabe T, Tuchida H, Kiyohara H, Takeda T, Yamada H. Induction of Nerve Growth Factor synthesis in astrocytes by onjisaponins of polygala tenuifolia, constituents of kampo (Japanese herbal) medicine, Ninjin-yoeito. Phytomedicine. 2003; 10(2):106-14.
8. Veerendra K, Gupta YK. Effect of centella asiatica (Gota Kola) on cognition and oxidative stress in an intracerebroventricular streptozotocin model of Alzheimers disease in rats. Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol. 2003; 30:(5):336-42.