The component is called the Th1/Th2 ratio.
The study authors made several key observations.
First, they found that patients with moderate-to-severe Alzheimer’s disease had very high Th1/Th2 ratios (Th1 dominant), which had never been observed in this patient population before.
Second, the Alzheimer’s patients’ Th1/Th2 ratios were compared to healthy adults and found to be (statistically) significantly higher for all six values that the study authors measured.
The Alzheimer’s group was given a dietary supplement consisting of a natural aloe polymannose multinutrient complex (APMC) for 12 months, which resulted in “an overall rebalancing of the Th1/Th2 ratio.”
What Is the Th1/Th2 Ratio?
The “Th” in Th1 and Th2 stands for T Helper cells—a type of immune cell vital to a healthy immune system. Th1 and Th2 cells are expressed via different immune pathways, each producing a distinct immune response.Th1 is the pathway affecting innate immunity—the body’s first line of defense. Th2 affects adaptive immunity, which creates antibodies specific to the virus, bacteria, or toxins that it encounters, strengthening over time.
The Th1 pathway tends to produce pro-inflammatory responses, essential defenses needed for fighting intracellular pathogens such as viruses and bacteria. These responses can, however, be harmful if they remain active after the threat has passed and can lead to various diseases and autoimmune conditions. The Th2 pathway tends to inhibit inflammation and exert a protective effect. It stimulates the production of antibodies to combat extracellular threats such as bacteria, allergens, parasites, and toxins.
A balance in these two pathways (Th1 and Th2) is thought to be essential for a healthy immune system.
Th1 and Th2 also produce cytokines—protein messengers that help control inflammation throughout the body. Whether the Th1 or Th2 pathway is activated depends on which cytokines are present.
Th1/Th2 Imbalance in Other Conditions
An imbalance in the Th1/Th2 ratio has been observed in other conditions, particularly those that exhibit a high level of inflammation, such as multiple sclerosis and cancer.The authors found that the Alzheimer’s patients in their study had an imbalance in their Th1/Th2 ratios, with much higher levels of Th1—the pathway associated with inflammation—especially compared with the healthy adults.
Supplement Effects on Th1/Th2 Ratios and Cognition
The study analyzed two different groups—one consisted of Alzheimer’s patients and the second of healthy adults.The first group was made up of 34 patients who were, on average, a little younger than 80 years old. Each had been diagnosed with moderate-to-severe Alzheimer’s for at least one year but had the disease for an average of three years, and most had varying comorbidities.
The second group consisted of 20 healthy adults who participated in another study. These participants had a similar assessment of their immune system function to that of the Alzheimer’s patients. They were not obese, had no known heart, liver, or kidney disease, Type 2 diabetes, active infections, cancer, or mental illness.
The Alzheimer’s study participants were given the APMC dietary supplement—composed of polysaccharides, antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, and other phytonutrients. Each participant took 2.5 grams, or one teaspoon, four times daily for 12 months.
The addition of the dietary supplement represented the only change to the Alzheimer’s patients’ lives throughout the study, and patients continued with any prescription medications, diet, and social and physical activities.
The study authors noted that they observed “remarkably high” ratios in all six Th1/Th2 values in the Alzheimer’s patients compared with the healthy adults in the study, suggesting that their sample of Alzheimer’s patients had an immune system profile that was Th1 dominant.
John E. Lewis, the study’s lead author, received his doctoral degree in educational and psychological studies from the University of Miami in Florida and has spent much of his career researching the effects of nutrition on many aspects of human health—particularly the brain and immune system. He told The Epoch Times that the Th1/Th2 paradigm suggests that a balance between the two ratios is required for a healthy, balanced immune system. This theory was first suggested in the mid-1980s as a way to help understand problems associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and has ultimately been described in other diseases and disorders.
“While the Th1/Th2 paradigm has been criticized for overly simplifying immune function, these ratios still provide useful information. This information gives us a way of comparing the pro- and anti-inflammatory components of the immune system, and it helps us to better understand the clinical profile of disease,” Mr. Lewis said.
When the Alzheimer’s patients took the APMC supplement, five of the six Th1/Th2 ratios rebalanced—toward the Th2 or anti-inflammatory profile. These positive changes were also associated with improvements in cognition using multiple assessments throughout the 12-month study period.
Mr. Lewis explained the significance of this rebalancing in the Alzheimer’s group:
“We not only characterized for the first time the Th1/Th2 ratios in Alzheimer’s disease patients, but we also showed that the APMC dietary supplement was effective in lowering five of the six ratios toward more balanced values. Their Th1 dominant values provide additional information about the role of inflammation in this tragic disease. The APMC dietary supplement demonstrates efficacy in shifting these ratios plus results in a correlation between rebalanced Th1/Th2 ratios and improved cognitive function.”
Dr. Judi Woolger, an internal medicine physician and chief medical officer at the Agatston Center for Preventive Medicine in Miami Beach, Florida, is a co-author of the study. She explained the significance of the findings for Alzheimer’s patients, telling The Epoch Times:
The Role of Inflammation and Immune Dysregulation
One of the factors involved in an unbalanced immune system is uncontrolled, chronic inflammation. When the body encounters an infection or trauma, the immune system’s initial response involves initiating short-term inflammation, which is a normal, necessary response for healing and survival. Once the threat has passed, however, the inflammatory response should be switched off, and the body should return to normal—or a state of equilibrium.Dr. Reg McDaniel, an anatomical and clinical pathologist, researcher, and the study’s co-author, explained this effect of the dietary supplement on the immune system, telling The Epoch Times:
“That’s what the active ingredient [in the APMC supplement] that we were giving the Alzheimer’s patients did. Their immune systems came back to balance—it brought the immune system, or the Th1 and Th2, back to balance, or homeostasis.”
If the immune system is not functioning properly and unable to turn off this inflammatory response, it can rage out of control, eventually leading to a cascade of health problems—including autoimmune disease.
Although Alzheimer’s disease may be an extreme example of ongoing, uncontrolled inflammation, external factors can keep our inflammatory responses from taking over.
“These issues are exacerbated by poor nutrition, sedentarism, smoking, drug and alcohol use, insomnia, stress, and other consequences of modern life,” Mr. Lewis said. “Dysregulated immune function ultimately leaves us more vulnerable to disease, as the body’s first line of defense will not function optimally. In this study, the APMC dietary supplement demonstrates a useful tool to help calm down chronic inflammation in a patient population with a disease commonly acknowledged as having a strong inflammatory etiology.”
