Best way to combat Alzheimer's is a healthy lifestyle, studies show

Lifestyle choices remain the best way to prevent and reduce symptoms of Alzheimer’s, according to another failed drug trial and a five-day-long international conference.

Living a healthy, non-smoking, socially active and interesting life remains the best way to prevent dementia, confirmed several studies at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, which is just ending in Toronto, Canada.

There are no medications that can prevent the fatal disease, or extend the lives of the more than 5 million Americans currently suffering from Alzheimer’s, though one class of drugs, cholinesterase inhibitors such as the drug Aricept, can delay or reduce symptoms in some people.

The latest trial failure shows that another approach to treating Alzheimer’s will not be the long-sought answer, and raises concerns about the idea of using multiple drugs to treat the disease, which robs people of their memories and ability to function in the world.

The trial of the drug currently called LMTM, made by TauRx, included more than 890 patients from the US, Europe and elsewhere. Overall, the drug showed no benefit compared to typical treatment, which includes cholinesterase inhibitors.

But the 15% of patients who weren’t on these medications before taking LMTM saw a surprising benefit, according to Serge Gauthier, Director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Unit at McGill University in Toronto.

Their brains shrank one-third less than participants taking either just cholinesterase inhibitors or both LMTM and the inhibitors, he said, marking the first time any drug has shown such a benefit. It’s not clear why LMTM would work only in this small group, but it’s possible that the two drugs – which were hoped to work better in combination – actually cancel out each others’ benefits.

“That’s science. You find things that you have to explain and then you move forward,” Gauthier said at a Wednesday morning news conference.

He said he doesn’t think the improvements happened by accident, because he’s seeing some of the same benefits among similar patients in another clinical trial that is expected to report results in September.

But the failure of LMTM is another disappointment in a field that “desperately needs new therapies,” said David Knopman, a clinical neurologist at the Mayo Clinic, who moderated the news briefing.

Other presentations at the conference offered more reason for hope.

On Sunday, researchers presented preliminary results from a small trial showing that 11-14 hours of “brain training” designed to increase volunteer’s processing speed, cut their risk of dementia nearly in half over a decade. The computer training program, Double Decision from BrainHQ, costs $96 a year.

People who had more complex jobs, remained socially active and avoided depression were also more resilient to the ravages of Alzheimer’s, other new research confirmed.

The studies presented at the conference have not yet been published or peer reviewed, so their conclusions are considered preliminary.

Previous research has also supported the importance of eating a Mediterranean diet, exercising by taking 8,000-10,000 steps a day, sleeping at least 7-8 hours a night, and moderating stress, said Massachusetts General Hospital Neurologist Rudolph Tanzi.

“Try to learn something new and hang out with people you like, who don’t expect too much of you and stress you out,” said Tanzi, also a professor at Harvard medical School and co-author with Deepak Chopra of Super Genes.

Bottom line, said Gary Small, director of the longevity center at the University of California, Los Angeles: Even without new miracle drugs, there’s a lot people can do to reduce their risk of developing Alzheimer’s, and if they develop the disease, to slow its progression.

“When I start these [cholinesterase inhibiting] medicines early, when I combine them with a healthy active lifestyle, people do quite well,” he said.