Neurodegenerative Disease Is The Fastest-Growing Cause Of Death

Neurodegenerative disease has been surging around the world for the past 30 years. It’s the fastest-growing cause of death and it will soon be the leading cause of death. Scientists have finally confirmed that Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of neurodegenerative disease are forms of prion disease, which means that they are highly infectious. Caregivers, family members and billions of innocent people are caught in the crossfire of this explosive epidemic. It’s killing many mammals.

Alzheimer’s disease alone is taking the lives of 50-100 million people around the world now. Millions will die of the disease this year, while many millions more will be diagnosed, misdiagnosed and undiagnosed. The epidemic is more severe in some countries than others. Supposedly, no one knows the scope of the problem. The evidence swept under the rug and the global misinformation campaign suggest otherwise.

Until recently, few have considered the possibility that Alzheimer’s disease is a transmissible disease. As it turns out, all evidence suggests that it is a prion disease (infectious proteins). In fact, there is no evidence to the contrary. This denial and misinformation has been fueling a public health crisis around the world for years. It’s gaining momentum.

Dr. Stanley Prusiner, an American neuroscientist from the University of California at San Francisco, earned a Nobel Prize in 1997 for discovering and characterizing deadly prions and prion disease, also known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE). The operative word is “transmissible.” President Obama awarded Prusiner the National Medal of Science in 2010 to recognize the importance of his research. Unfortunately, Prusiner’s science is being ignored and we all are facing a public health disaster because of the negligence and reckless disregard for public health.

Prusiner claims that all forms of TSE are caused by infectious proteins known as prions (PREE-ons). The prion spectrum varies in severity. It also varies depending on which region of the brain is impacted first. When the presenting symptom is memory loss, the diagnoses flow along the chart above.

Learn more about Dr. Stanley Prusiner and the Nobel Prize for prion science and prion disease.

Diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease is not a science

Confirmation requires an autopsy and most families never have autopsies conducted. Most hospitals don’t recommend one because the procedure can expose equipment, facilities, staff and patients to an unstoppable pathogen.

An Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis is more of a process of elimination based upon symptoms and personal history. The diagnosis essentially is conducted with the flip of a coin. Once the doctors conclude that there is no other explanation, including malnutrition, heart disease and cancer, most doctors diagnose the condition as Alzheimer’s disease, while the more educated physicians might diagnose the more severe forms as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). Most doctors can’t tell the difference.

Because of this imprecise diagnostic process, and because both Alzheimer’s and CJD are essentially the same disease, caregivers, family members and others who are in contact with patients with either diagnosis, must be very cautious. Patients are contagious via skin, blood, saliva, urine, feces, mucus and cell tissue.

Items such as drinking glasses, forks, spoons should not be shared because they cannot be sterilized. Many other protocols demand reform at homes, hospitals, hospices and other environments where patients (even those not yet diagnosed who appear perfectly healthy) can spread the unstoppable prion pathogen.

Autopsies are rarely conducted on CJD and dementia victims because families don’t want to incur the expense and doctors and most regulators have no incentive to recommend one. The lack of autopsies makes it very difficult to pin down solid numbers and trends. It also makes it easy for detractors to dismiss questions and recommendations from health advocates. No autopsy. No evidence. No statistic. No troubling trend. No smoking gun. No problem.

The spinal fluid and blood examinations help physicians make a clinical diagnosis while the patient is still alive. However, this preliminary report will not impact a death certificate. Confirmation of prion disease requires an autopsy. After death, pathologists and medical examiners are reluctant to conduct an autopsy because they are concerned about exposing themselves to a deadly infection.

Without an autopsy, the cause of death is classified as unknown or natural causes. Without an autopsy, the death becomes a non-event that impairs research on one of the great medical mysteries of all time. If you demand an autopsy, the statistic becomes part of the greater brain trust.

There are proven strategies to help avert neurodegenerative disease, including smart nutrition, exercise and prion aversion. There is not a cure for prion disease, but smart nutrition can ease the symptoms. Smart nutrition also can help you and your family avert neurodegenerative disease. Preview and order the eBook now to defend yourself and your family.

Gary Chandler is a prion expert. He is the CEO of Crossbow Communications, author of several books and producer of documentaries about health and environmental issues around the world. Chandler is connecting the dots to the global surge in neurodegenerative disease, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, chronic wasting disease and other forms of prion disease. The scientific name for prion disease is transmissible spongiform encephalopathy.