What can be done for a person who has a high risk of developing Alzheimer’s?

I'd also check to see if there's any experimental drugs being tested too. Somewhere there's someone testing a new product that they hope will cure or help or slow this disease down.

The absolute no-no drugs for LBD, which my husband's doctor has listed as allergies on his medical records, are thorazine, mellaril, stelazine, and haldol.

For a helpful article about LBD, including a chart of drugs that are recommended for various symptoms (about in the middle of the article) look here: http://www337.pair.com/lbda2007/sites/default/files/dlb-boevecontinuum04.pdf If this url gets deleted, type "brad boeve continuum" into the Google search box.

You stated that there are certain drugs that people with LBD should absolutely not take. Which ones are they? Thanks

The Mayo Clinic has a 10-day (5 hours per day) course for persons with early stage dementia and their care partners, to learn about ways to compensate for and delay the progression of cognitive decline. (Not a cure!) I am not suggesting that you and your mother sign up, but I'd say this is evidence that the Mayo thinks there are things that can be done. Topics include wellness through diet, supplements, exercise, brain exercises, group counseling, relationship building, and lots of other goodies. I know a couple who are scheduled to take it in October and I can't wait to hear about it!

In general, the time to intervene is at the beginning. That has the most promise of being effective, whether you are trying improved nutrition or exercise or counselling or drugs. As you know, there is no cure, but improving quality of life is a very worthwhile goal.

Also, while certain healthier practices probably apply to any form of dementia, others are more targeted to specific kinds of dementia, especially drugs. For example, Aricept is much more effective for people with Parkinson's with Deentia or Lewy Body Dementia than it is for AZ, and there are certain drugs that people with LBD should absolutely not take.

So, if your mother seems to be heading in the direction of dementia, I'd suggest that early evaluation would be a great first step.

Best wishes to you and to your mother.

My Dad's doctor put him on Aricept about 6 months ago alone with having him take B12 and recently I had him retested and his memory score improved. I removed all the junk food from my dad's diet about the same time so what exactly helped him to improve is unclear but I am more inclined to believe in a healthy diet and the B12 before the drug. Many people aren't aware that a deficiency in Vitamin B12 can cause memory issues. Also the majority of us are low in this vitamin.