Like his other physicians, Scoggan's long-term dentist witnessed his mental decline. Dr. Lawrence Howell saw a replication of the ravages his own mother with Alzheimer's had faced.

"It was becoming more and more difficult for him to sit in the chair and process what we were talking about, the work that needed to be done," Howell said.

Scoggan also lost all interest in activities he once enjoyed like hunting, gardening, and even eating. He began spending most of his time in bed.

Searching for Help

Nita Scoggan prayed desperately for a way to help her husband. Once a crack researcher at the Pentagon, she put those skills to work digging for information on what's good for the brain.

First, that led her to put Scoggan on a low-carbohydrate diet devoid of potatoes, corn, bread and pasta. Her research -- coinciding with the opinion of many leading brain experts -- led her to conclude that starchy carbs make the brain sluggish.

"His favorite foods that I've been trying to fix for him all these years we've been married is making him worse," she said.

In the process Mrs. Scoggan also found a nutrient produced in the body called phosphatidylserine, or PS. The body makes less and less of this fat with age, but PS is in health food stores for about a dollar a capsule.

Phosphatidylserine boosts the brain by increasing the movement of nutrition into and the waste out of nerve cells. In several European countries, doctors prescribe PS for dementia and Depression in the elderly.

Nita began giving Bill three PS capsules, 300 milligrams, every day. Two months later his mind started showing evidence of clarity.

"When she'd say, 'Well, you know, we're going to have breakfast,' the thought was that we need cereal bowls or we need milk or whatever it was that we needed. And I just kind of got up and started doing those things," Scoggan recalled.

Signs of Improvement

His improvement continued especially as they added other brain boosters like fish oil, coenzyme Q10, carnitine and magnesium.

Within a year after starting PS, Scoggan was back driving their van around town and eventually on highways back to visit in the D.C. area. Dental visits became a more pleasant experience for both doctor and patient.

The thinng I noticed was the dentist's part in it all. I wonder how much mercury was in his body.

There were some good tips in there. Thanks.