Personalised Medicine for Dementia: Collaborative Research of Multimodal Non-pharmacological Treatment with the UK National Health Service (NHS)

Abstract

The dominant narrative around dementia argues that progression cannot be halted or reversed. However, evidence on multimodal non-pharmacological treatments formulated around a 'personalised medicine' approach challenges this view. This paper reviews the current evidence for dementia prevention utilising such treatments and explains the logic of applying personalised medicine. The functional medicine treatment approach to 'root cause' analysis is presented as currently practiced with patients experiencing cognitive decline. We report six case reports including in-depth practitioner evaluations, recommendations and follow-ups. We cover the various presentations of memory and concentration problems and the screening process with advanced functional testing. The case reports appear in a table, followed by 11 key points, insights and findings. To our knowledge, this is the first paper reporting practitioner case reports documenting improvements in symptoms of memory

Views of Conventional Medicine and Integrative Medicine among Informal Dementia Caregivers and Healthcare Professionals in NW England

“…Prior studies have demonstrated reversal of cognitive decline, improved memory and quality of life with a personalised multimodal approach (Bredesen et al 2016;Bredesen et al 2018) [16,17]. While the above studies occurred in the Netherlands and North America, the current study builds upon recent case reports in the UK demonstrating improvements in symptoms of memory decline from a personalised multimodal approach [18].…”

“…To further elucidate needs and views going forward, a deliberative workshop and feedback interviews were held to present preliminary findings of the earlier interviews and focus groups to participants, and to hear their reflections and further thoughts on framing a future vision for dementia treatment. Within this workshop preliminary findings were also presented from recently completed case reports mentioned above [18]. We involved a purposive sample of 49 participants (Table 2) in 32 interviews, 3 focus groups and a deliberative workshop.…”