The idea of developing dementia is probably one of our greatest health fears. We tend to think of it as an irreversible disease that gradually robs us of our faculties.

But podcast guest, psychiatrist Dr Kat Toups is one of a group of doctors and researchers who argues that certainly in its early stages, the disease is actually reversible. The mistake - she says - is to think of dementia as an illness with a sole cause and instead we need to see it as multi-system disease, which requires a coordinated approach to work out what is injuring the brain and then provide effective treatment.

Toups calls her approach the three Rs: remove, replace and regenerate. So that means taking away anything causing problems; providing the nutrients and hormones to help the brain function optimally; and then using a number of neuroplasticity techniques to enable the brain to form new connections and regenerate.

Patients in her latest study who have undergone her protocol have seen a remarkable improvement. Their brain scans are now showing less signs of aging than those who don’t have dementia. All of her subjects have now raised their cognitive scores into the normal range. In one case a fine artist who had had to stop painting has been able to start painting again and has even opened a new exhibition, and another patient has just started a new business.

For the full details of the protocol, please click here.

The host of the podcast, Liz Tucker is an award winning medical journalist and former BBC producer and director. You can follow Liz on Twitter at https://twitter.com/lizctucker and read her Substack newsletter about the podcast at https://liztucker.substack.com

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