Naples, FL.
Street Address Here - Pending
Tel. # Here - Pending

The Better Brain Book
Co-Author

Date of Account:   February, 2008

Account

My father, now 80 years old, began exhibiting overt symptoms of dementia around 2001. At that time there were few books available targeted specifically to ameliorating such symptoms naturally through supplementation, careful eating and nutritional choices, brain exercises, and other natural modalities of brain care. Dr. Perlmutter's book, The Better Brain Book, was one.

I quickly purchased the book and began to read it, with hope. After all, this book was written not merely by a PhD, but an actual neurologist, nutritionally-oriented, with a medical practice. Moreover, the book itself implies a promise of, if not a cure, certainly substantive improvement.

This was not to come, however, at least not in the form advocated and presented by Dr. Perlmutter in his book. As I began trying to purchase the manifold supplements the book recommends, in the dosages recommended, I began to realize that most were not available in those specific dosages. Dr. Perlmutter himself sells two brain-related products at high cost, but enigmatically neither of them contain all the supplements included in his book-based regimen.

I called the Perlmutter Health Center and was told that Dr. Perlmutter will respond without charge to brief inquiries, so I pared down the extensive letter I had written detailing the problems I was having implementing his regimen. I sent the radically pared-down version, but the doctor would not respond. Repeated attempts proved futile, as his intermediary Annabelle asserted falsely that the doctor did address my concerns. He plainly did not. Moreover, there was a period of time when his office stopped responding to my emails, completely.

I believe this man did not want to deal with me because in taking his book and regimen so seriously I had discovered its flaws, gaps, omissions, and ultimately its non-viability. He probably perceived correctly that there was no way he could he possibly address this. Thus did he declare me persona non-grata.

(Remember my remarks on my homepage regarding how companies will attack you, starting by ignoring and blacklisting you, if you dare point out their flaws, inadequacies, and broken promises?)

Over the course of my email correspondence and telephonic communication with Dr. Perlmutter's office I was made aware that the good doctor would provide a telephone consultation for a fee of $400.

Analysis

Perhaps Dr. Perlmutter intends his book as a kind of teaser to recruit patients for his Florida practice. Or perhaps he has not fully worked out or thought through how people taking his regimen seriously can get a hold of the supplements he recommends, in the dosages recommended. Whatever his omission or failing, I can tell you that his regimen as presented in The Better Brain Book is absolutely not workable in the real world--and thus the purchaser and reader of this book is provided false hope, a despicable--and potentially legally actionable--deceit.

Providing false hope to dementia victims and their families--I can think of few worse kinds of offenses, and few more deserving of the appellation "Nightmare Company," and thus do I declare Dr. David Perlmutter, MD. Not to mention the potential injury to the dementia-sufferer as desperate family members attempt their best effort at implementing this essentially un-implementable health regimen.

However, this is a rare occasion where I will declare a company a Nightmare Company, but will not necessarily or categorically issue a judgment of Not Recommended. This is because, though I have found the regimen as presented in his book unworkable, as described, the book still does contain important information for brain health. Perhaps more to the point, however, it is possible that the patient-specific regimen someone would receive and undergo were they actually seeing Dr. Perlmutter at his Florida clinic might be helpful (whereas the regimen in the book is not). Though it pains me to write this, I realize how desperate dementia sufferers and their families can become, seeking anything that may work, so I do not categorically assert a judgment of Not Recommended for this doctor, provided you see him at his practice (or via his $400 telephone consultation).

I will, however, issue a judgment of Not Recommended for the Perlmutter dementia/Alzheimer's regimen as presented in his book.

I recommend that the Florida or other District Attorney's offices investigate Dr. Perlmutter. And if someone sees fit to deliver a good punch in his nose, you won't hear me complaining.

PS. I will soon be posting here all or much of my correspondence with Dr. Perlmutter's office.

Katz, Avery, MD

Mount Prospect Avenue
Clifton, NJ

December 22, 2007

I brought my father to see this shoemaker about a year or two ago, and though I'm just writing this review now, I remember that visit fairly clearly--it's hard to forget a doctor who informs you that your dear father has dementia the way he probably tells his kid to go throw out the garbage.

In giving me the bad news--my first time hearing it from any doctor--he displayed no emotion, no sympathy, no compassion--nothing.

Nor did he mention anything about alternative approaches, such as the spice turmeric, for example, which is shown to reduce the size of amyloid plaques in 50% of sufferers. In fact, standing outside his inner office door after just having come out, I had to mention to him the possibility of alternate approaches such as weight and stress reduction, and dietary changes, to which he grudgingly indicated they may have some value. And as mentioned above, he was insensitive in the way he informed me that my father had dementia. Then after leaving the inner sanctum of his office, my Dad had a question for him, and the doctor was standing right there but refused to answer the question, telling me "You'll have to make another appointment." (!)

(I actually don't recollect if he was as courteous as my reconstruction of his instruction indicates).

As you might expect, I wasn't thrilled with his arrogance and stupidity, so I pushed a bit (meaning I was courteously assertive) in attempting to persuade this putz to just take one second and answer the question. My dad at that time was probably about 78 years old, and was not looking for a medical treatise. A ten second explanation would have likely sufficed for him.

About a year later upon accidentally reading through his medical report from that visit, I saw that he noted of me that I had acted "inappropriately" in his office.

I acted inappropriately? The fact is, at no time in his office did I use or even imply any physical violence, nor did I employ any vulgarity. In reading through the list of gaffes of this man as described in this review, I leave it to you, the reader, to decide which of us acted inappropriately.

This man is apparently just another assembly-line, pharmaceutical-company-shill, MD.

Analysis

Even insofar as the standard allopathic modality can effectively address dementia--which at present it generally can't--you should at least seek a practitioner of said modality who is broad in their thinking and sensitive to patients and loved ones. In my direct experience, this man is not. Avoid him.

January 24, 2008

It's been three full days now since I requested that Dr. De Fazio call me back, and he has yet to call. This is a good introduction into the simply-average medical practice of this practititioner.

No call back from Fran re sleep apnea Friday when she shaid she'd call back, or the following Monday. She said she told defaz about it while he was going from room to room, and he said well we have to take care of the toher stuff first.

01-22-08 Linda from DeFazio's office took my request that defazio call me back after hours. No call lback today.

01-22-08 no call back today so far from defazio.

When my mother and sister brought my fahter to him a week ago, my mother told him we had a prepared document listing and explaining his symptoms and problems. He listened to my mother read from it, but declined to actually look at it.

01-24-08

Still no call back from defazio. Third day no call back.

the day he castigated me for using the Internet for research on medications, and told me, essentially, to shut up and just do what the doctor instructs. The day his covering doctor called back but said he could off er no advice re my father since he didn't have his records.

Gee, I'm so glad he wrote very truly.

Analysis

I have to believe that there are a plethora of general practititioners in the Northern New Jersey area; there's no need to settle for this kind of perhaps well-meaning but ultimately mediocre practice and practitioner. What really clinches my disfavor here however, is Dr. De Fazio's apparent utter disregard of my father's sleep apnea--a potentially fatal condition.

And by the way, doctor, given the apparent lack of technological advantage to your practice, and the fact that both you and your medical assistant Fran advised me to keep away from the Internet for health and medical research or information--why don't you have an ounce of integrity and rename your practice?

I should also mention that a physician who himself is probably about forty or fifty pounds overweight, cannot be seen as an exemplar of good health. One has to wonder how seriously he, himself, takes the notion of health. The days of doctors smoking cigarettes on television are long behind us. Or are they?

Old-fashioned, insensitive, and cowardly.

Del Gaizo, Anthony, MD
Practice Name Here
Essex Street?
Bloomfield, NJ

January 24, 2008

girl taking the urine holding urine cup, with gross band aid

hadnt seen my father for baout three years, yet didnto examine his penis or testciles.

then, not only didnt wipe my father, even a purfunctory wipe would have been appropitaet, professional, and appreciated, but he had an attitude about it.

hadnt been too thrilled with this bozo in the first place, ever since he made a deregotory reamrk about my fathers mental illness, and even disapreged him somewhat again now.

recommended an herbal formulation for my father, then when time to give me the ordering informatino for it, made an error and provided the information for the wrorg product!

incident with his girl who came to get my father; misleading remark.

just started erading about how to clean an uncricm penis; reading about smegma. i honestly dont tnhik this guy aveer reviewed any fo this with me and my father.

Analysis

Frankly, a total jerk, running what I've experienced as a questionable practice.