Minding His Manners
SOURCE: NaplesIllustrated.com
Dr. David Perlmutter says he once dreamed of becoming a meteorologist with the National Hurricane Center. He has become an acclaimed weatherman of sorts, specifically forecasting the chemical storms that contribute to brain disease. Last year, his research earned him the prestigious Linus Pauling Award, which is given annually to an individual whose research or clinical expertise has contributed to the advancement of knowledge in functional medicine.
Perlmutter treats patients primarily with Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases who have been referred to him by more than 800 doctors throughout the world. But it's his research that's making headlines. The Food and Drug Administration has approved testing of Glutathione, his pioneering treatment for Parkinson's disease. Glutathione is a protein, comprised of amino acids, that bonds to toxins, allowing them to be exreted from the body. Glutathione also is as a strong antioxidant that helps protect the body from diseases, including some forms of cancer.
Perlmutter's research has shown links between health and Glutathione deficiencies and offers hope for Parkinson's patients. "For the first time, we will have the opportunity to treat the disease, not just symptoms of the disease, but the very disease itself, and stop the destruction of brain tissue," Perlmutter says. "Treat the fire and the smoke goes away too." He also is seeking approval to conduct trials to inject Glutathione into a patient's spine in order to treat Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease). Currently, there is no treatment for the disease, which converts muscles to putty and destroys the nervous system. "This very well may be the major advance we've been looking for," Perlmutter says. "I know we're on to something."
The benefits of Glutathione, as well as a plethora of essential proteins, vitamins and minerals, can be obtained naturally through a healthy diet of fruit and vegetables. Perlmutter stresses the importance of good nutrition and says the industry has only begun to recognize its role in creating critical enzymes that are necessary for good brain health. "One of the best things you can do for your brain, and one of the most simple things you can do — so simple that it's hard to believe it's so simple, and yet so powerful — is to get enough Vitamin E," Perlmutter says. "It has been shown to significantly reduce memory loss, but there isn't enough being done to make people aware of that."
The challenge is getting information of the latest advances into the public, and he suggests there has been a failure to keep up with the knowledge acquired from research. "We're rapidly reaching the point where $60 billion a year is being spent treating patients suffering from brain disease," he says. "That figure is only going to go up unless we take a new approach."
Perlmutter has put his findings and recommendations for improved brain health in Saving Your Brain, a book to be released by Putnam Publishing. He also will address the subject this fall at the first international symposium on Alzheimer's disease. Perlmutter has been invited to make a keynote speech along with another person with impressive credentials — the Surgeon General of the United States. "My focus is to demonstrate that we can fight brain disease with methods that are based on hard science and peer review," Perlmutter says. "I'm going to spread the message."