AIC2017LA: Six types of Alzheimer’s disease and how to identify them

By Katherine Shagoury

Most people in the U.S. are affected by Alzheimer’s disease (AD)—they either have it themselves, or know someone who is, said Dale Bredesen, MD, an internationally recognized as an expert in the mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases, who spoke at the Institute for Functional Medicine’s 2017 Annual International Conference in Los Angeles, California earlier today.

The general assumption is that there is no way to prevent or reverse Alzheimer’s. While there may not be a cure for the disease, Bredesen is spearheading efforts that help reverse cognitive decline in AD patients, based on the idea that a lack of nutrients impair cognition. Part of his efforts include identifying subtypes of the disease to target treatment efforts.

Several different metabolic syndromes are called “Alzheimer’s disease,” which can be broken down into six subtypes:

• Type 1: Inflammatory (“Hot”)
• Type 2: Atrophic (“Cold”)
• Type 1.5: Glycotoxic (“Sweet”)
• Type 3: Toxic (“Vile”)
• Type 4: Vascular (“Pale”)
• Type 5: Traumatic (“Dazed”)

The following will explore four types of AD as well as characteristics practitioners can use to identify them.