{"id":2217,"date":"2016-04-27T11:07:29","date_gmt":"2016-04-27T15:07:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/?p=2217"},"modified":"2025-01-28T09:18:51","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T14:18:51","slug":"the-fight-against-alzheimers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/2016\/04\/the-fight-against-alzheimers\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fight Against Alzheimer\u2019s"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spurred by a personal connection, neurologist Vincent Fortanasce \u201965 has searched for ways to slow the devastation of the disease.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A neurologist by training, Dr. Vincent Fortanasce\u2019s life\u2019s work became intensely personal when his father developed Alzheimer\u2019s disease in the early 1980s.<\/p>\n

\u201cI watched for nine years how he deteriorated and there was nothing I could do,\u201d he recalls. \u201cHere I am, a neurologist, and I can\u2019t treat my own dad. The medications that we had were completely useless, and I knew it from my experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was one of the most painful things you can possibly imagine, being completely helpless as a physician and seeing my mom try to deal with it. She\u2019d be dancing with him later on in life, but he didn\u2019t know where he was.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fortanasce\u2019s father died in 1991, at the age of 80. Since then, the disease\u2019s toll has become only more pronounced. The condition affected 5.1 million Americans aged 65 and older in 2015, according to the Alzheimer\u2019s Association. The total is expected to surge to 13.8 million by 2050.<\/p>\n

\"Fortanasce1\"<\/a>With no cure in sight, Fortanasce, who runs a suburban Los Angeles medical practice and for 30 years has been a clinical professor of neurology at the University of Southern California, has doubled down his efforts to further understand and slow the unremitting devastation of the disease. In 2010, he published The Anti-Alzheimer\u2019s Prescription, which provides dietary, exercise and lifestyle recommendations that Fortanasce believes will help cut a person\u2019s chance of acquiring the disease.<\/p>\n

While science hasn\u2019t discovered a way to unravel the mystery, Fortanasce says he\u2019s found success with a pair of programs that he designed to improve cognitive performance. The first is called DEAR \u2013 for Diet, Exercise, Accentuating the brain\u2019s reserve (or \u201cneurobics,\u201d activities such as brain teasers and puzzles), and Rest and Recovery.<\/p>\n

Like never before, diets rich in high-fructose corn syrup are influencing brain chemistry and making it difficult for the body to expunge toxic substances, he says. In 1965, the United States produced 6,000 tons of high-fructose corn syrup; by 2010, the total had skyrocketed to more than 6 million tons, Fortanasce says. \u201cEvery time you take a piece of chocolate, every time you take a doughnut, they\u2019re all infused with high-fructose corn syrup. It\u2019s one of the major causes of Alzheimer\u2019s,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

A second Fortanasce-created program is called TEAM, (Treat Early Alzheimer\u2019s and Mild Cognitive Impairment), which emphasizes physical exercise or, specifically, isometric workouts in which muscles tense without moving. Physical activity stimulates insulin-like growth factor, which is secreted by the liver and helps create new cells and connections in the brain.<\/p>\n

For years, researchers have been working to develop a vaccine to stop Alzheimer\u2019s, but to no avail. And until a cure is found, Fortanasce is pushing the limits of treatment.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has kept hope alive for a lot of patients, that\u2019s the most important thing,\u201d says Dr. William Preston, a Laguna Hills, Calif., neurologist and former president of the California Neurology Society. \u201cHe draws from personal experience. It\u2019s really caused him to have an understanding and empathy beyond most individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Stan Alexander, an Arcadia, Calif., rheumatologist who has known Fortanasce since the pair were on the medical staff at Methodist Hospital of Southern California, calls his friend and colleague his \u201cfirst and foremost\u201d reference for neurologic disorders.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Fortanasce not only clarifies Alzheimer\u2019s disease, he clarifies how to separate it from other forms of dementia in order to focus therapy or prevention,\u201d Alexander says.<\/p>\n

At 72, Fortanasce is a year younger than the age at which his father was diagnosed with Alzheimer\u2019s. His own prevention efforts start at breakfast, when he eats a bowl of oatmeal with blueberries and turmeric, an Indian herb thought to decrease Beta-amyloid plaques, clumps of protein that block brain cell functioning. He also adds a dash of pepper, which can increase absorbability of the turmeric.<\/p>\n

Fortanasce also lifts weights and performs the isometric exercises he preaches (\u201cIt\u2019s very easy to do at a table. You can almost say your prayers while you\u2019re doing it.\u201d) Exercise always has been part of his life\u2019s routine. He wrestled and played third base for the Seton Hall baseball team, and would have competed in weightlifting in the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics had he not been sidelined by an injury.<\/p>\n

(For the record, his personal-best bench press is 510 pounds. And while he\u2019s no longer approaching such lofty marks, \u201cI still lift a lot more than any of my medical students,\u201d Fortanasce says with a laugh. \u201cI always tell them that when they get as old as me, then they\u2019ll be as strong.\u201d)<\/p>\n

Medicine wasn\u2019t his first career choice. At 6, Fortanasce wanted to become a priest. He attended Cathedral Preparatory School and Seminary in Brooklyn, but later became interested in studying psychological disorders.<\/p>\n

On the advice of a friend, Fortanasce, after completing his pre-med education at Seton Hall (majoring in biology and minoring in languages and philosophy), went to medical school at the University of Padua in Italy, where he studied psychiatry. He then completed a residency in psychiatry at The Institute of Living in Connecticut, and later in neurology at USC.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the residency, it became very apparent to me that Freud didn\u2019t have the answers, so I said, \u2018You know, science has the answers,\u2019 so I went into neurology. In the end, I realized that it really is God who has the answers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seton Hall played no small part in Fortanasce\u2019s personal development.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was an expectation of excellence,\u201d he says, adding that he appreciated the \u201ccamaraderie\u201d on campus. \u201cIf you could succeed there, you could succeed anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the battle against Alzheimer\u2019s, Fortanasce remains a high-profile presence. He\u2019s been featured on 60 Minutes<\/em>, Dateline<\/em> and The Today Show<\/em>, in addition to being quoted in numerous newspapers. His practice also treats spinal pain, and patients include recently retired quarterback Peyton Manning, former baseball manager Tommy Lasorda and actor Sylvester Stallone.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s one patient who stands above the rest: Pope John Paul II.<\/p>\n

Fortanasce was attending a papal Mass in Rome in 2000, when he was surprised to see the pontiff walking with a cane. He turned to the pope\u2019s secretary, who was sitting next to Fortanasce. \u201cI asked, \u2018What\u2019s he doing with a cane? He\u2019s going to trip over it,\u2019\u2009\u201d Fortanasce recalls. \u201cI said, \u2018Does anybody know he has Parkinson\u2019s?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Fortanasce, who was in Rome volunteering his medical expertise through the Order of Malta, an organization that offers emergency medical care around the globe, was summoned the next day \u2014 and escorted by eight Swiss Guards \u2014 to meet the Holy Father.<\/p>\n

Fortanasce examined the pope for 30 minutes, learning that he was taking L-dopa, a chemical used to shore up the brain\u2019s dwindling supply of dopamine, a neurotransmitter essential for movement and memory. Fortanasce prescribed an additional drug to aid absorption of the L-dopa. He also recommended an exercise regimen.<\/p>\n

The two parted after the pontiff blessed a bottle of water Fortanasce brought with him from Lourdes, France, where the Virgin Mary is reported to have appeared 18 times. The town is hailed for its visions and miracles. Fortanasce still keeps the bottle in his refrigerator, and he occasionally gives vials of the water to his sickest patients.<\/p>\n

Fortanasce lives out a deep faith. This year he will host a weekly talk show on the EWTN Global Catholic Television Network, in which he will discuss medicine and ethics and touch on issues that include eugenics, euthanasia and, of course, the spiritual implications of Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Brain science, for its part, remains a riddle wrapped in a mystery, something for which Fortanasce is well suited.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a neurologist means you\u2019re the Sherlock Holmes of medicine,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Fortanasce hopes to crack the case.<\/p>\n

Andrew Faught is a freelance writer in Fresno, Calif. He has written widely on issues and ideas of higher education.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Spurred by a personal connection, neurologist Vincent Fortanasce \u201965 has searched for ways to slow the devastation of the disease.<\/p>\n

Continue ReadingThe Fight Against Alzheimer\u2019s<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":2241,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,258,9,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-articles-2015-2019","category-catholicism","category-features","entry"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2217"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2248,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2217\/revisions\/2248"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}