Affiliations: [a] The Birchall Centre, Lennard-Jones Laboratories, Keele University, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, UK | [b] Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, The Barberry Centre, Birmingham, UK | [c] North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust, Harplands Hospital, Stoke-on-Trent, UK | [d] Life Sciences, Keele University, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, UK
Correspondence:
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Correspondence to: Christopher Exley, The Birchall Centre, Lennard-Jones Laboratories, Keele University, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, UK. Tel.: +44(0)1782 734080; Fax: +44(0)1782 712378; E-mail: c.exley@chem.keele.ac.uk.
Abstract: There has been a plausible link between human exposure to aluminum and Alzheimer's disease for several decades. We contend that the only direct and ethically acceptable experimental test of the ‘aluminum hypothesis’, which would provide unequivocal data specific to the link, is to test the null hypothesis that a reduction in the body burden of aluminum to its lowest practical limit would have no influence upon the incidence, progression, or severity of Alzheimer's disease. Herein we are testing the hypothesis that silicon-rich mineral waters can be used as non-invasive methods to reduce the body burden of aluminum in individuals with Alzheimer's disease and a control group consisting of their carers and partners. We have shown that drinking up to 1 L of a silicon-rich mineral water each day for 12 weeks facilitated the removal of aluminum via the urine in both patient and control groups without any concomitant affect upon the urinary excretion of the essential metals, iron and copper. We have provided preliminary evidence that over 12 weeks of silicon-rich mineral water therapy the body burden of aluminum fell in individuals with Alzheimer's disease and, concomitantly, cognitive performance showed clinically relevant improvements in at least 3 out of 15 individuals. This is a first step in a much needed rigorous test of the ‘aluminum hypothesis of Alzheimer's disease’ and a longer term study involving many more individuals is now warranted.
Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, aluminum, body burden, cognitive function, copper, iron, mineral water, silicic acid, silicon, urinary excretion
