118 Achieving pH Balance to Treat Specific Ailments
most convincing evidence against eliminating these plaques is that only
those beta-amyloid plaques that have become infl amed destroy brain cells.
The important question then is how amyloid plaques become
infl amed in the fi rst place. Here is a likely scenario. The highly selective
blood-brain barrier in the brain’s micro blood vessels develops leaks.
These leaks exude harmful substances such as acid waste, which depletes
oxygen. In the absence of oxygen amyloid plaques become infl amed.
When brain cells come in contact with these infl amed plaques, they also
become infl amed and die off. With the death of a critical number of
brain cells, Alzheimer’s becomes symptomatic.
One plausible reason that acidic wastes infl ame amyloid plaques is
that a brain injury has disabled the respiratory machinery so that there
isn’t enough energy to dispose of acidic waste debris in the brain. Other
causes were discovered in a study conducted by Kunihiro Uryu, Ph.D.,
at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Neurodegenerative Dis-
eases.^15 The study found that both mild repetitive head injuries and
serious single head injuries increase the chances of developing Alzheim-
er’s. The study found that, in the case of men, serious head injuries
increase the chances of developing Alzheimer’s in old age. Of the 1,800
male marine and navy veterans who were the subjects of the study, 548
had suffered a head injury and 1,228 had not. While family history,
tobacco, and alcohol abuse played a small role in the disease, the veter-
ans with serious head injuries—especially those who were unconscious
for more than twenty-four hours—and mild repetitive injuries had four
times the risk of developing Alzheimer’s or other types of dementia as
opposed to the men who had suffered no head injuries. No matter where
in the brain the head injuries occurred, they resulted decades later in
some form of dementia—particularly Alzheimer’s—rather than some
other brain disease such as Parkinson’s or obsessive-compulsive disor-
der. According to the research scientists involved in the study, the symp-
toms of Alzheimer’s—increased free-radical damage and the proliferation
of amyloid plaques—are more likely to occur in areas of the brain, such
as the hippocampus, that are involved in the most complicated tasks.
Physical trauma and acid particles from putrefi ed food waste are
hardly the only infl ammatory factors that are likely to lead to Alzheim-
er’s. Heavy metals in fl u shots, such as thimersol (a mercury-derived
preservative) and aluminum, are also suspect. Hugh Fudenberg, M.D.,