Alzheimer’s – A Very Profitable, Oversold Disease
Dr Vernon Coleman MB ChB DSc FRSA
The commonest diagnosis for all patients alleged to have dementia is Alzheimer’s disease. It is widely reputed that two thirds of patients with dementia are suffering from Alzheimer’s. Indeed, Alzheimer’s has in many countries become the default diagnosis. If a patient has dementia then they will be assumed to be suffering from Alzheimer’s and little or no effort will be made to find any other diagnosis. The drug companies, the big charities, the media and even some doctors seem to promote the view that the words `dementia’ and `Alzheimer’s’ are pretty well interchangeable.
Alzheimer’s disease is very big business and enormously profitable.
The prognosis for those diagnosed as suffering from Alzheimer’s disease is a gloomy one for, despite many promises, there is still no cure for this disease, nor is there any sign of a cure on the horizon. Drug companies have produced a number of prescription only drugs recommended for use with Alzheimer patients and alternative health care practitioners produce new remedies on an almost daily basis.
Despite all the promotion given to Alzheimer’s disease, there is however, clear evidence that many so-called dementia sufferers who have been diagnosed as suffering from Alzheimer’s disease have been misdiagnosed. They are suffering from something quite different and could be cured – often completely and frequently within weeks or even days.
My short book `The Dementia Myth’ is intended simply to draw attention to this scandal and to provide pointers for those who feel that a loved one may have been misdiagnosed. My aim is not to provide a comprehensive guide to any of the diseases which cause dementia but, rather, to offer direction for those who might otherwise be led into a fateful diagnosis when other more hopeful possibilities might exist.
Some patients who have dementia will, of course, have Alzheimer’s disease, and will be incurable. But if just one patient can be rescued from a faulty diagnosis and returned to an active, productive life then writing `The Dementia Myth’ will have been well worthwhile.’
Taken from `Dementia Myth’ by Vernon Coleman, now available as a paperback and an eBook on Amazon. `Dementia Myth’ explains why and how dementia is misdiagnosed – and describes the three diseases (vitamin B12 deficiency, normal pressure hydrocephalus and the overprescribing of tranquillisers) which are most commonly mistaken for Alzheimer’s disease.
Copyright Vernon Coleman May 2023
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