Six Steps to a Better Brain

Majid Fotuhi, MD PhD

 New Discoveries

2
“This book may be the most important you’ll ever read. Certainly,
what Dr. Fotuhi teaches in this book has changed my life.”
Michael Roizen, M.D.
Chairman of the Wellness Institute- The Cleveland Clinic

3
 “Dr. Fotuhi has summarized the latest discoveries that
show how we can grow our brains bigger and
stronger…”
Mehmet Oz, M.D.

The Dr. Oz Show

4
 Objectives
 What happens to our brain with
aging?
 How to reverse age-related brain
atrophy?
 Brain Fitness Program

5
 Memory lapses or Alzheimer’s?

Memory Lapses

Age-Associated
Memory
Impairment MCI
Alzheimer’s

6
 Short-term: Hippocampus
Long-term: Cortex
Cortex Hippocampus

7
 Hippocampus

8
 Beautiful Neurons in Hippocampus

9
 With Aging,
Hippocampus Atrophies Faster
than the Rest of the Brain
 Hippocampus shrinks by about 0.5% per
year after age 50

 That is the reason memory lapses become

more frequent after age 50

10
 Overlapping Causes of
Atrophy in Hippocampus
Obesity
Diabetes Stroke
Hypertension Sleep Apnea

Stress

Concussion AD

11
 Less Brain Volume in Patients with
Sleep Apnea

Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2002; 166:1382–7

12
 Vascular Risk Factors Shrink the
Brain, Especially the Hippocampus
No Multiple
Vascular Vascular
Risk Factors Risk Factors

Hippocampus Hippocampus

13
 Obesity Shrinks the Brain

 Associated with reduced

brain volume
Ward, et al., 2005

 Slows cognitive function

Debette, et al., 2011

 Brains of overweight and

obese individuals
appeared 8 and 16 years
older, respectively
Raji, et al., 2010

Brain Research Volume 1280, 14 July 2009, Pages 186–194

14
 Stress Shrinks
Brain Cells in Hippocampus

Control Stress

15
 Alzheimer’s:
Plaques and Tangles

 Plaques: gum-like
collection of a protein
called Amyloid
 Tangles: abnormal
aggregation of a protein
called Tau
 Inflammation

16
 Why do we forget names?
 Hypertension  Poor sleep
 Diabetes  Too much work
 Alcoholism  Information overload
 Depression  Too many responsibilities
 Heart failure  Fatigue
 Obesity  Poor attention
 High cholesterol  Poor diet
 Head trauma  “Can’t do it” mentality
 Aging

17
 Exercise
Cognitive Stimulation
Meditation
Sleep
Diabetes Diet - DHA
Hypertension
Obesity
Sleep Apnea
Head Trauma
Genetics
Stress

18
 Objectives
 What happens to our brain with
aging?
 How to reverse age-related brain
atrophy?
 Brain Fitness Program

19
 6 Steps to Grow Your Brain
1. Get Fit
2. Tease Your Memory
3. Eat Well &Take DHA
4. Sleep
5. Relax Your Mind
6. Start Early

20
 1. Hippocampus Grows Bigger
with Getting Fit

Erikson, PNAS 2011

21
 Brain is a Highly Vascular Organ

Zlokovic et al. Neurosurgery 43(4), 877–78, 1998

22
 Hippocampus Grows Bigger
with Exercise, Even After 3 Months

Before

After

Arch Gen Psychiatry, 2010

23
 2. Hippocampus Grows Bigger with
Memorization Training

Draganski et al. J Neurosci 2006; 26:6314–7

24
 3. Hippocampus Grows Bigger with
Eating Well & Taking DHA

25
 4. Hippocampus Grows Bigger with
Treatment of Sleep Apnea

Canesa, American Journal of Respiratory Medicine, 2011

26
 5. Hippocampus Grows Bigger with
Relaxing Your Mind

Holzel , Psychiatric Research, 2011

27
 6. Hippocampus Grows Bigger
When You Start Early

28
 Objectives
 What happens to our brain with
aging?
 How to reverse age-related brain
atrophy?
 Brain Fitness Program

29
 Brain Fitness Program
 A multidisciplinary program devoted to:
• Improving memory and brain performance
• Enhancing long-term brain health
• Reducing risk for dementia, Alzheimer’s disease
and stroke in the future

 Each patient receives a comprehensive baseline assessment

followed by a personalized treatment plan

 This program is based on latest research and has shown

remarkable results

30
 NeurExpand’s Unique Integrative Approach
Comprehensive Customized Treatment
Diagnostics to Program to Maximize
Evaluate Brain Health Brain Performance

31
 Remarkable Results
Before

Hippocampus

After

33
 Diabetes
Hypertension
Obesity
Sleep Apnea
Head Trauma
Genetics Exercise
Stress Cognitive Stimulation
Meditation
Sleep
Diet - DHA

33
 THANK YOU!
INFO@NEUREXPAND.COM

WWW.NEUREXPAND.COM
443-842-6333
34