Implication of the nutritional and nonnutritional factors in the context of preservation of cognitive performance in patients with dementia/depression and Alzheimer disease

Abstract

It has been postulated that Alzheimer disease (AD) is a systemic process, which involves multiple pathophysiological factors. A combination of pharmacotherapy and nonpharmacological interventions has been proposed to treat AD and other dementia. The nonpharmacological interventions include but are not limited to increasing sensory input through physical and mental activities, in order to modify cerebral blood flow and implementing nutritional interventions such as diet modification and vitamins and nutraceuticals therapy to vitalize brain functioning. This article highlights the recent research findings regarding novel treatment strategies aimed at modifying natural course of the disease and delaying cognitive decline through simultaneous implementation of pharmacological and nonpharmacological modulators as standardized treatment protocols. © The Author(s) 2013.