We had a call from the past this AM..Navy days..a fellow dentist that was in our area for a bit. When I explained G's situation, he immediately asked me to get writing materials and to listen. Anyone interested can go on line to see more about this anti oxident type food supplement. OSR#1 was developed by Boyd Haley and is all over the web...CTI science.com has tons about it.In any case one of the uses has been for Alz and other dementias with some apparently amazing results. It is OTC, but is in such short supply that only licensed Drs. can order it...very $$$$ also. Of course, G let his license go some years ago, so we'd need someone else to get it, but after listening about it and reading, I'd be willing to give it a try. WHERE IS SUNSHYNE WHEN I NEED HER? Has anyone else heard about this? Our caller mentioned the mercury content G's life had after years of practice...that has been kicking around for a long time, but interesting still.
Everyone is free to do their own research and draw their own conclusions, but this is the E-mail from my researcher who has a Ph.D in biochemistry:
"... Boyd Haley..... is controversial - he is a chemistry prof at the U of Kentucky. His claim to fame is that mercury in dental preps. and thimersol (mercury) containing vaccines, causes autism and Gulf War syndrome. He also thinks that mercury has the same effect on nerve cells as autism and Alzheimer's.
His product on his website (ctiscience.com) cites a chemical that has zero references on the web except from him. The chemical is supposed to be an anti-oxidant, like a small naturally occurring protein, glutathione (our bodies make this). Glutathione has been shown to protect nerve synapes from damage. According to the website, his chemical is supposed to maintain a healthy level of glutathione. He does not say how the glutathione was measured, or if it was measured in the brain.
A research lab in Penn. has done toxicity studies only. There are zero journal articles referenced anywhere for the efficacy of his chemical. Without those, I would not touch the stuff - it has too many side effects listed on the website and no proof that it does anything."
I wrote the company to ask for some information and discussed this compound with a faculty member here at U Penn who does research on aging as his area of expertise. I agree with Joang that there are zero references in the medical literature regarding this compound. When I emailed the company, they could site no clinical trials, only a safety study done in animals. When I discussed antioxidants in general with my colleague he stated that while antioxidants were promising, there have been no great results to date regarding alzheimer's. His hypothesis is that maybe a purified antioxidant is not what a body needs, but the collection of a variety of nutrients found in fruits and vegetables may be beneficial.
From my own reading, the hope for antioxidants in treating dementia came from retrospective studies where people who had diets high in antioxidants seemed to do better. But when the theory was tested in a prospective fashion to eliminate bias, no benefits were seen. So maybe having a diet high in antioxidants just means people are more health conscious in general and likely to do better with a chronic illness.
I wouldn't close the door on something like this, but I would simply wait and see until some sort of clinical study comes out. I wish I could be more positive.