General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Alzheimer’s Disease Reversed For the First Time [View all]Yo_Mama
(8,303 posts)We know it's genetic, because when we test healthy close relatives, many of them have sharply abnormal blood sugar curves.
Anyway, over the long term, if these patients have fluctuating blood sugars, their microvascular system shuts down circulation to tissues, especially muscle/peripheral tissues. Then, even if the patients test out for normal levels of necessary minerals and proteins in their blood, the problem is that the nutrients aren't getting through in adequate amounts to their tissues, so nerve damage can occur and the Krebs cycle is disrupted. This sets up a downward spiral as glucose uptake is further impaired, creating greater blood sugar fluctuations and more microvascular dysfunction.
Further, when we reverse the blood sugar fluctuations in these patients through essentially treating them for Type II diabetes even though they don't have it yet, we can see the mineral levels in their blood drop suddenly as the starved tissues get better blood flow and start to take the nutrients up again.
The end result - which we did not expect - is sharply improved mental function, which indicates that circulation to parts of the brain is being shut down in the process and then that state is reversed when the fundamental cause is addressed.
I am almost sure that these mutations are all conserved because most of them allow people to live for a long time in a semi-starving state. Also, some of them appear to be born in a hyper-insulin state.