Sonora, CA…Many factors contribute to the rising risk of Alzheimer’s dementia. An estimated 20% to 30% of people in the United States have one or two copies of the APOE-e4 gene that increases risk for Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. More than 71% of adults in the U.S. are overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, conditions shown to increase risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

There are dozens of other known risk factors for Alzheimer’s, many of which can be modified or eliminated.
Building a Better Brain is a physician evaluation and treatment plan that offers hope for individuals who are concerned about their risk for dementia, such as those with a family history of Alzheimer’s disease.

Based on the Bredesen protocol to prevent and reverse Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline, Building a Better Brain is a comprehensive program that includes individual evaluation and counseling, full laboratory testing, group classes and brain exercises. It also provides recommendations for overall lifestyle changes, such as eating a nutritious diet, participating in aerobic and strengthening exercise, reducing toxins and getting adequate sleep.

Building a Better Brain is being offered by David Allen, MD, an internal medicine physician who has been caring for patients in the Sonora area since 2004. Allen has completed training in the Bredesen protocol, which has been shown to increase brain volume on serial MRI studies and improve mental function.

Dale Bredesen, MD, has held faculty positions at the University of California San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. He has spent more than 30 years researching the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and published the first paper on the reversal of cognitive decline in patients with early Alzheimer’s disease and its precursors.

The Building a Better Brain physician evaluation and treatment plan are covered by Medicare and most private health plans. More information is available and requests to register for the program may be submitted at www.AdventistHealthSonora.org/BetterBrain.

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About Adventist Health Sonora
Adventist Health Sonora serves nearly 100,000 residents in Calaveras and Tuolumne counties with cardiology, imaging, home health, hospice, intensive care, long-term care, obstetrics, oncology, orthopedics, rural health, surgical services, wellness education, and a large network of primary care, rapid care and specialty clinics. Adventist Health Sonora provided care for 5,138 hospital admissions, 545 deliveries, 33,481 emergency room visits, 201,682 physician/provider visits, 142,166 outpatient visits, and 24,804 home care visits in 2018. Staffed by more than 250 physicians and providers, 1,375 associates and 150 volunteers, Adventist Health Sonora is the largest private employer in Tuolumne County. For more information visit www.adventisthealthsonora.org.

About Adventist Health
Adventist Health is a faith-based, nonprofit integrated health system serving more than 80 communities on the West Coast and Hawaii. Founded on Seventh-day Adventist heritage and values, Adventist Health provides care in hospitals, clinics, home care agencies, hospice agencies and joint-venture retirement centers in both rural and urban communities. Our compassionate and talented team of 37,000 includes associates, medical staff physicians, allied health professionals and volunteers driven in pursuit of one mission: living God’s love by inspiring health, wholeness and hope. Together, we are transforming the American healthcare experience with an innovative, yet timeless, whole-person focus on physical, mental, spiritual and social healing.