Lets Hope so....I'm ready for it...

there are always lots and lots of trials and 'promising results' but nothing
like a 'cure' is on the horizon, either in pill or vaccine form (though if
you eat cheese, squeak, are white, small and have a long tail, there is a
vaccine that had some limited effect in trials in one study)

At the current time, some of the most promising compounds for
Alzheimer's are actually natural substances that cannot be patented by
pharmaceutical companies.  Thus, you won't see doctors prescribing
them.

Here are a couple examples of two of the most important natural
substances:

One of particular importance is something called sominone found
naturally in Ashwagandha extract (withania somnifera).  Administration
of this extract of Ashwagandha in a mouse model of Alzheimer's was
shown to do the following in published, peer-reviewed study:

1) Prevents loss of axons, dendrites, and synapses (protects brain
cells from Abeta)
2) Significantly improved and reversed memory deficits
3) Actually induced axonal and dendritic regeneration and synaptic
reconstruction significantly in rat cortical neurons damaged by Abeta.
(It somehow caused Abeta damaged neural networks to undergo
reconstruction and caused new neuronal growth.  No pharmaceutical even
comes close to what this compound has been shown to do in rodents.)

4) Among other things, other studies show that it:
   a) Acts as a acetylcholinesterase inhibitor
   b) may improve cognition even in healthy people
   c) has antioxidant properties and upregulates the brain's own
antioxidant enzymes

Ashwagandha extract has a long history of use as a nutritional
supplement and has been tested in humans in published trials.  It has
no known side effects at typical dosages.
======================

A second natural compound I'd like to mention is Alpha-lipoic acid,
specifically "R(+)" Alpha-lipoic acid, often abbreviated as R(+)-ALA,
or R-ALA.  It is a very potent antioxidant that is produced in minute
quantities naturally in the human body, and also has been demonstrated
to have a quite a number of other positive effects on the biochemical
inner-workings of cells.
Lipoic acid has been used by German doctors for diabetes patients for
decades, and is known to be safe.  Like Ashwagandha extract, it is not
a pharmaceutical drug, but rather a popular nutritional supplement.

A new published details how R-ALA may be beneficial for Alzheimer's
patients:

See:
Lipoic acid as a novel treatment for Alzheimer's disease and related
dementias,
Holmquist L, Stuchbury G, Berbaum K, Muscat S, Young S, Hager K, Engel
J, Munch G.
Pharmacol Ther. 2006 Sep 19

In fact, a dirty form of lipoic acid (by dirty, I mean a very poor
formulation compared to the R(+)) was already tested in human trials in
Alzheirmer's patients and found to stabilize cognitive function.  Read
this following abstract from the trial conducted in Germany:

Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2001 Jun;32(3):275-282.

Alpha-lipoic acid as a new treatment option for Azheimer type
dementia.Hager K, Marahrens A, Kenklies M, Riederer P, Munch G.

Department of Medical Rehabilitation and Geriatrics,
Henriettenstiftung, Schwemannstrasse 19, D-30559, Hannover, Germany

Oxidative stress and energy depletion are characteristic biochemical
hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD), thus antioxidants with positive
effects on glucose metabolism such as thioctic (alpha-lipoic) acid
should exert positive effects in these patients. Therefore, 600 mg
alpha-lipoic acid was given daily to nine patients with AD and related
dementias (receiving a standard treatment with acetylcholinesterase
inhibitors) in an open study over an observation period of, on avarage,
337+/-80 days. The treatment led to a stabilization of cognitive
functions in the study group, demonstrated by constant scores in two
neuropsychological tests (mini-mental state examination: MMSE and AD
assessment scale, cognitive subscale: ADAScog). Despite the fact that
this study was small and not randomized, this is the first indication
that treatment with alpha-lipoic acid might be a successful
'neuroprotective' therapy option for AD and related dementias.

PMID: 11395173 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
==

Until very recently there were problems with commercially available
lipoic acid that may have prevented it from being very effective.  One
of the problems is that it was only available as the dirty "racemic"
DL-form rather than the R(+) form.  Another problem is that it has a
very short half-life in plasma of less than 25 minutes.  Both of these
problems have been solved by chemists from a couple different
companies: Geronova (geronova.com), and Advanced Orthomelcular
Research(AOR) of Canada (www.aor.ca).  They have produced stable
sustained-release formulations of the R(+) form of lipoic acid which
has been shown to be effective in scientific studies.  These are
available for purchase online.  (The type of Alpha lipoic acid you'll
find on the shelf at Wal-Mart or your local supplement shop is not the
right kind to buy.)

With regard to Ashwagandha extract, a decent **4.5%** extract can be
found at many supplement shops under the brand name of "NOW".

Although I can't give definitive dosages, my recommendation for brands
would be:

For R(+)lipoic acid:
Product name:  R (+) SR (150mg caps).  Manufacturer:  AOR (website
http://www.aor.ca)
(this is a stabilized, sustained release form of the pure R(+) form I
talked about)
I don't know if they sell this directly.  You might have to search for
an online merchant that carries this product.  Biotin (a form of
B-vitamin) should be taken daily if lipoic acid is taken.  Biotin is
very inexpensive.

For Ashwaganha extract:
Product name: Ashwagandha 4.5% Extract     Brand name:  "NOW"
Can be found at many decent supplement shops

Dosing for these would be every eight hours.  Perhaps two caps of the
4.5% ashwagandha every eight hours.

Maybe 600 or 750mg  total daily of the R(+) SR, in three divided daily
dosages (every eight hours).

====

Why should I stop here, I guess.  Another compound is
Acetyl-l-carnitine.  This is often abbreviated as "ALCAR."   This is
another popular nutritional supplement that cannot be patented.
Evidence suggests that it helps to protect against Abeta toxicity.
Dosage would be something like 1000mg every twelve hours.  This is
available at your local supplement shop and probably Wal-Mart too, your
choice of brand.  It is acidic with a bad taste, so I recommend
capsules rather than purchasing just the powder.  Acetyl-l-carnitine
synergizes with R(+)-ALA.

Here's some study results with ALCAR:

J Neurosci Res. 2006 Aug 1;84(2):398-408.
Acetyl-L-carnitine-induced up-regulation of heat shock proteins
protects cortical neurons against amyloid-beta peptide 1-42-mediated
oxidative stress and neurotoxicity: implications for Alzheimer's
disease.

Abdul HM, Calabrese V, Calvani M, Butterfield DA.
Department of Chemistry, Center for Membrane Sciences, University of
Kentucky, Lexington, 40506, USA.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder
characterized by loss of memory and cognition and by senile plaques and
neurofibrillary tangles in brain. Amyloid-beta peptide, particularly
the 42-amino-acid peptide (Abeta(1-42)), is a principal component of
senile plaques and is thought to be central to the pathogenesis of the
disease. The AD brain is under significant oxidative stress, and
Abeta(1-42) peptide is known to cause oxidative stress in vitro and in
vivo. Acetyl-L-carnitine (ALCAR) is an endogenous mitochondrial
membrane compound that helps to maintain mitochondrial bioenergetics
and lowers the increased oxidative stress associated with aging.
Glutathione (GSH) is an important endogenous antioxidant, and its
levels have been shown to decrease with aging. Administration of ALCAR
increases cellular levels of GSH in rat astrocytes. In the current
study, we investigated whether ALCAR plays a protective role in
cortical neuronal cells against Abeta(1-42)-mediated oxidative stress
and neurotoxicity. Decreased cell survival in neuronal cultures treated
with Abeta(1-42) correlated with an increase in protein oxidation
(protein carbonyl, 3-nitrotyrosine) and lipid peroxidation
(4-hydroxy-2-nonenal) formation. Pretreatment of primary cortical
neuronal cultures with ALCAR significantly attenuated
Abeta(1-42)-induced cytotoxicity, protein oxidation, lipid
peroxidation, and apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Addition of
ALCAR to neurons also led to an elevated cellular GSH and heat shock
proteins (HSPs) levels compared with untreated control cells. Our
results suggest that ALCAR exerts protective effects against
Abeta(1-42) toxicity and oxidative stress in part by up-regulating the
levels of GSH and HSPs. This evidence supports the pharmacological
potential of acetyl carnitine in the management of Abeta(1-42)-induced
oxidative stress and neurotoxicity. Therefore, ALCAR may be useful as a
possible therapeutic strategy for patients with AD.

PMID: 16634066 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Another study showed that High Gamma Vitamin E and folate synergize
with ALCAR in protecting against Abeta.

====================

After this, I would add a sustained-release B vitamin complex to be
taken every twelve hours.  Wal-Mart sells a cheap sustained release B
vitamin complex under the brand name of "Spring Valley" as B-50 or
B-100.

These are just a few natural products that have real potential to be of
help for Alzheimer's patients...  there are many more.

UCLA researchers have done good studies on curcumin and
DHA.
http://alzheimer.neurology.ucla.edu/diet.html

For those with Alzheimer's I would recommend going with
fish oil supplements that have a high dha to epa ratio such as
Jarrow's max dha, and Carlson's super dha.

Jarrow Formulas, Max DHA:
http://www.iherb.com/store/ProductDetails.aspx?c=Herbs&pid=JRW-16018

Carlson Super DHA:
http://www.vitaminlife.com/product-exec/PNAME/Super_DHA_500mg_EPA_200mg/product_
id/16033