Question: My wife has had dementia since 2007. I recently ran across the word “ampakine” in searching for help. Can you tell me what this is?
Dr. Blaylock's Answer:
Ampakines are a class of drugs that have been shown to improve short-term memory in animal testing and limited human testing. They appear to have a fairly good safety record, but have not been studied extensively.
Though they are still in the testing stage, ampakines have been shown to work by two methods. First, the drugs improve critical signaling between special types of brain cells called AMPA glutamatergic neurons.
Second, but more importantly, ampakines increase the brain’s production of two powerful substances — BDNF and NGF —that are known to repair the brain and enhance memory.
If your wife’s problem began after taking a statin, the most likely source of the problem is a deficiency in CoQ10, which is very common with these dangerous drugs. Lowering cholesterol in the elderly is very harmful to the brain, and studies have shown that lowering cholesterol in elderly women does not reduce the risk of heart attacks or strokes and impairs brain function — especially memory.
For more information, see my previous newsletters on statins. I have seen a number of people get better taking CoQ10 in high doses — 300 to 600 mg, three times a day.
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