There's​ growing evidence that the underlying cause of dementia is not the beta amyloid proteins that then develop into plaques that can interfere within neurons communicating efficiently. New thinking by Rudy Tanzi and Robert Moir and others now suggests that amyloid activity is part of the earliest forms of our immune system. Our work with neurofeedback and photobiomodulation supports this way of thinking as it refocuses attention at the system level where many factors can be considered 'causal' in the deterioration of synaptic communication. This leads to thinking more broadly and creatively about intervention strategies that include non-drug, noninvasive technologies like neurofeedback and infrared light therapy. The following discussion provides a context for how they arrived at this new view of beta amyloid as not the primal generator in neurodegeneration. 

www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/02/18/580475245/scientists-explore-ties-between-alzheimers-and-brains-ancient-immune-system

​About a year ago I read an article in the AARP magazine about a study being done with the use of Vielight for depression and Alzheimer’s.  I was so excited to read about it because 10 years ago my mother had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and soon she would be moving here to Tennessee where there would be more family support for her with my sister who also moved here and one of our brother’s living here.  My husband and I did a lot of research and were determined God had given us an answer to my mom’s disease. But we were not sure we could make the investment.
 
In February my mom moved in with us. My husband and I were overwhelmed with all that came at us. All that we had been warned about by our doctor friends was happening.  She was aggressive, confused, escaping in the middle of the night and very scared.  That was it we had to have the Vielight.  We contacted Dr. Berman and as soon as we received the Vielight I got on the phone with him and did a skype call so he could show me the positions I needed to use and start the therapy.
 
I am excited to tell you that my mom now lives in her own home (with full time care takers of course).  She is happy and very active.  She volunteers with her caretaker at a local thrift store and realizes she lives in a very peaceful community in Tennessee.  She talks to her friends on the phone and is able to share with us how her friends are doing after having a conversation with them.  She still shows signs of the disease but I believe that we have halted the progression and may even turned but the clock on the bloody thing.
 
We hope to have my mom with us a very long time.  She has no other medical issues and the Vielight has been an answer to prayers.
 

​The placebo effect has solid neurophysiological and biochemical roots that need to be appreciated for their direct influence over clinical outcomes, i.e., recovery of functioning and healing. Psychotherapy and neurofeedback and all the 'softer' (noninvasive) interventions now can be better understood for their role in treatment. 
 
www.nytimes.com/2018/11/07/magazine/placebo-effect-medicine.html

https://neurosciencenews.com/inflammation-alzheimers-10061/
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One of Quietmind Foundation's scientific advisors Dr. Richard Satave MD delivered a very important talk to the Anti Aging Medicine Association last year and I think it deserves wider exposure. Our work is being recognized more and more as the next wave in medical science innovation and Dr. Satava is a leading proponent and thought leader in that effort. 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rgkxnKzmuvo9pgJSjqMwI6WVFrBH3uqH/view

Joel Shannon  10.6.18
   www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/10/06/marijuana-damaged-teenagers-brains-more-than-alcohol-study-finds/1539574002
   
Marijuana use may pose a greater risk to the developing brains of teenagers than alcohol consumption, according to a new study this week. The analysis, published Wed in the Am J of Psychiatry, found that cannabis had greater short & long-term consequences than alcohol on 4 key components of teens' memory, finding greatly surprised researchers. "We initially suspected alcohol would have a bigger effect," Patricia Conrod, lead author & Prof of Psychiatry at U Montreal told USA TODAY
Researchers looked at 4 cognitive effects: Problem solving, long-term memory, short-term memory manipulation & the ability to stop a habitual behavior when needed. Marijuana had "significant" negative effects on all 4, while the study could not tie alcohol to negative effects, Conrod said. However, alcohol's effects may be greater as teens drink more later in life, Conrod said. Authors examined nearly 4000 students in the Montreal region over 4 years, starting when the average participant was about 13 years old. The students took yearly memory tests & self-reported their alcohol & marijuana use. Those reports were kept confidential "unless such info indicated imminent risk of harm," authors wrote. By the 4th year, 75% of the students had consumed alcohol at least occasionally, while only 30% of subjects had used marijuana. Study observed more daily marijuana users than alcohol users, Conrod said
Study found some of marijuana's negative effects were short-term, while others were lasting. A particularly troubling finding: Young cannabis users may cause long-term damage to a brain function associated with substance abuse. When studying response inhibition —that's an individual's ability to change their actions to help meet a goal —researchers found that teens using marijuana caused long-term damage to their brains. Conrod said that finding may help explain a previously "perplexing" phenomenon: Young cannabis users have been shown to be at a greater risk for addiction later in life.

This is a very good study that examines the impact of operant conditioning of EEG activity on short and longer term brain functioning. The use of sham controlled feedback makes this a very powerful statement of the reliability of the training protocol and the specificity of training of a unique band of EEG frequencies. 

The range of applications for neurotherapy are constantly growing as clinicians realize that this type of systemic intervention can enhance the body's capacity to recover and repair the neural connectivity that supports immune system function. Quietmind has been using neurofeedback and photobiomodulation to boost immune response and repair brain connectivity. For more information please call 610-940-0488 on our ongoing clinical trials.  

​huntingtonsdiseasenews.com/2018/01/25/neurofeedback-training-boosts-brain-connections-in-huntingtons-disease-despite-degeneration/?utm_source=HUN+E-mail+List&utm_campaign=83481a37b0-RSS_WEEKLY_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f42d6c3322-83481a37b0-72041957

​www.rdmag.com/news/2017/10/alzheimers-disease-disorder-energy-metabolism

This study shows how mitochondrial activity is directly involved in the deteriorating functioning of our primary energy metabolic system according to the study's primary author Kai C. Sonntag, MD, PhD,
 
"The observation that LOAD fibroblasts had a deficiency in the mitochondrial metabolic potential and an increase in the glycolytic activity to maintain energy supply is indicative of failing mitochondria and fits with current knowledge that aging cells increasingly suffer from oxidative stress that impairs their mitochondrial energy production". 

Quietmind Fdn. is now conducting clinical trials with near infrared light therapy to help repair and sustain mitochondria in the brain to stop and help reverse dementia's cognitive and behavioral symptoms. Call 610-940-0488 for details. 

The paper attached here is a comment from 3 well respected neurofeedback clinicians who compared published research studies that did not find learning effects with those that did and clearly articulated the reasons behind the lack of demonstrated results in the unsuccessful studies. The value of this comparison can not be overestimated in that it is precisely this type of platform and methodology agnostic comparison that is needed to clarify disparities of this kind in the scientific literature. The challenge it also lays at the feet of neurofeedback researchers and clinicians is also way overdue in terms of demanding a far higher standard of methodological and conceptual/theoretical congruence around and constructing applied clinical trials.  Quietmind Foundation is committed to the model of research efficacy proposed by the authors and our Institutional Review Board is uniquely qualified to evaluate the safety, ethical treatment and scientific merit of such studies. 
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