New Hope for Alzheimer’s

By Nora Simmons

Some five million Americans already suffer from Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), and experts expect that number to reach 16 million by 2050. But recently, a group of Japanese scientists may have found a way to slow that incidence down. They managed to isolate two compounds from the medicinal mushroom Hericium erinaceum, commonly known as Lion’s mane, that impact two primary causes of the disease—too little nerve growth factor (NGF) and too much amyloid peptide. One of them, hericenones extract, boosts production of NGF, and the other, amyloban extract, protects against cell death caused by amyloid peptide—a major contributor to the plaque that causes inflammation and neural degeneration. Small clinical studies have shown consistent but varied improvement in Functional Independence Measure (FIM) scores in Alzheimer’s patients who supplemented with 5 g H. erinaceum each day for six months. Both extracts are available in a supplement from Maitake Products called Amyloban 3399. $89.95 for 90 tablets; maitake.com

—Nora Simmons