A study involving 73 people with mild cognitive impairment or early dementia found that tailored treatment plans targeting nutritional deficiencies, infections and other factors led to significant cognitive improvements after nine months. Participants in the intervention group saw their overall cognitive scores rise by 13.7 points, while the control group declined by 4.5 points. The approach combines medical interventions with lifestyle changes like diet, exercise and cognitive training.
Kat Toups at Bay Area Wellness in Walnut Creek, California, led a team that recruited 73 participants, averaging 65 years old, diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment or early-stage dementia, including some meeting criteria for Alzheimer’s. The researchers tested for contributors like inflammation, infections, hormonal or nutritional deficiencies and environmental exposures such as mould. For 50 participants, they created bespoke plans, including supplements, a plant-rich diet, six days of aerobic and strength training weekly, daily cognitive games for memory, attention and processing speed, plus sleep and stress management tips. The other 23 continued standard care and habits. [](https://www.newscientist.com/article/2475699-symptoms-of-early-dementia-reversed-by-bespoke-treatment-plans/ After nine months, the intervention group's CNS Vital Signs cognitive scores improved across domains: memory by 10.6 points versus a 2.7-point drop in controls, executive function by 9.8 versus 2.2 down, and processing speed by 6.9 versus 1 down. Toups noted over 90 per cent showed statistically significant gains. “The approach is: let’s find all the things that are hurting the brain [and] get rid of those,” Toups said. Ana Daugherty at Wayne State University called the findings promising for addressing multiple risk factors personally, though larger studies are needed. No changes appeared in Alzheimer’s blood biomarkers or brain scans for either group. Experts like Christin Glorioso at NeuroAge Therapeutics praised it as the most rigorous evidence yet from a trial, but noted the unblinded design and lack of placebo limit attribution to specific elements. Thomas Holland at Rush University emphasized cumulative effects from layered interventions. The preprint is available on Preprints.org (DOI: 10.20944/preprints202512.2694.v3).
