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STEVE NEWPORT – COCONUT OIL CASE STUDY
UPDATE – FEBRUARY 2011
By Mary Newport, M.D.

It has been more than 32 months since Steve improved after taking coconut oil in May 2008. A lot has happened since then and there have been some setbacks and recoveries, but overall Steve has retained most of the improvements we saw during the first months. There was a big improvement in quality of life for both of us and I believe we have gained at least two more relatively good years.

How is Steve doing now?
People often ask how Steve is doing now compared to July 2008. Here is an update:
MRI: Steve had an MRI in June 2008, about three weeks after he began taking coconut oil; 22 months later in April 2010, he had another MRI at the same location and this was reported as “stable” compared to the earlier study. Considering that his MRI had undergone a major change from normal to showing marked atrophy between 2004 and 2008, we were pleased to learn this process has appeared to stabilize.

Here are some of the improvements we have seen, including a comparison between what was reported in my “September 2009 Update” and Steve’s current status as of February 2011:

• Reported Sept 2009: His gait has become normal. Feb 2011 – Steve’s gait is still normal.
• Sept 2009: He was unable to run for more than a year and can run again. Feb 2011 – Steve can still run; he enjoys taking 20 minute fast walks with me.
• Sept 2009: He had a visual disturbance that prevented him from reading. He describes it as the words moving around erratically on the page. This stopped after 3-4 months on the oils. Feb 2011 – this problem has not returned. He does not spend much time reading, however can read accurately out loud, even complex words.
• Sept 2009: He has a mild tremor that only appears if he is late getting his oil. Feb 2011 – The same.
• Sept 2009: He no longer feels depressed and believes that he has a future. He says he feels like he “got his life back.” His libido also returned shortly after he started the oil. Feb 2011 – Steve’s father passed away in spring 2010 which set off some depression, however his mood is much improved in the past few months.
• Sept 2009: He is much less distractible and able to stay with a specific task, such as yard work or vacuuming. Feb 2011 – He is still able to do vacuuming, operate his rider mower, and will spend an hour or longer shredding old medical records for me.
• Sept 2009: Family members, who talk to or see Steve every couple of months, report that his conversational skills have improved each time they have contact with him. Feb 2011 – Steve has retained his ability to carry on a conversation pertinent to the ongoing discussion.
• Sept 2009: His shoes used to get separated and he would very often wear only one shoe or sock. We used to have piles of the same sided shoes and no match by the doors and in his closet! He would remove one shoe in his garage and they would accumulate there. He is no longer having this problem. Feb 2011 – Steve still keeps his shoes on and keeps them together.
• Sept 2009: Within the past 6-8 weeks his memory for recent events is improving. He often brings up events that happened days to weeks earlier and relays telephone conversations with accurate detail. Feb 2011 – He still remembers major events, such as our out of country trips; this is about the same
• Sept 2009: He used to spend many hours rearranging his garage, but recently became “bored” and wanted to do something more. He now volunteers twice a week at the hospital where I work, helping in the warehouse with boxes and stickers, and working with someone to deliver supplies around the hospital. Feb 2011 – He volunteered for about a year at the hospital, but became a bit obsessed with wanting to have a paying job. He currently attends a 4 hour social program for people with dementia twice a week, sponsored by Catholic Charities. He is a client but does some shredding and vacuuming for them while he is there. He still doesn’t get a paycheck!
• Feb 2011 – Certain features of Steve’s personality became more evident shortly after he started taking coconut oil. Steve’s sense of humor is still very much present and quite unique.
• Setbacks and Recovery:
Everything is not always rosy. Steve has had some setbacks along the way and I am quite certain he would not score in the 18-20 range on the MMSE test. Compared to September 2009, in the evening he is sometimes more confused and needs help finding certain rooms in the house. Also, in the evening, he is disturbed by some of the images he sees in dark windows; he says he feels like extra people (strangers) are in the room when this happens.

These setbacks occurred while he was sick with a viral infection, and recently when he was taking prednisone for a flare up of gout. He had problems getting to sleep, some confusion about who I was and where he lived while he was taking prednisone. This has improved considerably since then. Also, for more than 18 months, Steve participated in the Eli Lilly gamma secretase trial that was stopped this past summer; when they evaluated the data, they learned that people receiving the drug had accelerated worsening of their disease compared to people on the placebo; this was a crossover trial, meaning that, at some point after 14 months in the study, people on the placebo were switched to the actual drug. Due to certain common side effects, we suspect that Steve was only on the actual medication a short time, but I wonder if some of the new problems could be explained by this drug. It is ironic that his MMSE scores would improve enough to allow him to qualify for a clinical trial, only to receive a drug that could potentially make him worse.

To be continued…..