Is Alzheimer’s disease just a myth and the resulting brain degeneration caused by aging and affected by lifestyle conditions and choices? That is a question posed by neurology, geriatrics, dementia and cognitive science expert Peter J. Whitehouse, MD, Ph.d. in his book, The Myth of Alzheimer’s. This ground breaking book asks the questions that so many early diagnosed patients and their families ask about dealing with the condition.
While Whitehouse was instrumental in developing and testing pharmaceuticals – prescription medications – to treat “Alzheimer’s disease” for over 30 years, in 2007, he had an “awakening” of sorts that made him question the true intent of pharmaceutical companies. His goal with the book is to not only influence the pharmaceutical industry in the way they do business, but also to hopefully guide baby boomers in their aging process and health care professionals in diagnosing and treating brain aging.
The myth Whitehouse describes is that of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) being a singular disease with no one biological profile of the condition. Natural aging in one person has the same biological hallmarks in one diagnosed with AD. Since we don’t have the biological markers to actually diagnose AD, even those people who are stated to have it can only be deemed “probable.” The concern he has is that there is a promise of “curing” AD, although it may be nothing more than accelerated brain aging. Prevention first and the care for those diagnosed are where dollars should be invested are his points. All of our brains are aging and the fear of AD, along with the hope of a cure are merely mythical.
Part one and two of the book expose some of the unsound clinical, political and scientific framework of AD and describe why it is so difficult to treat or “cure” the condition. He encourages the view of AD as a “changing of self” that must be addressed by the individual and his family as we are aging. Whitehouse proposes that the term Alzheimer’s, named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer for his cases from 1901-1906, distorts our expectations and understanding of the human brain. Dr. Alzheimer treated the first documented sufferer of AD, a 51 year old woman with problematic symptoms that Dr. Alzheimer described with “Cause of illness: Aeriosclerosis” and “Form of illness: simple mental disorder.” » Read more: The Myth of Alzheimer’s – A Review
