the apoe gene provides the information to make a protein called apolipoprotein e
this protein apoe combines with fats in the body to form molecules called lipoproteins
these lipoproteins package up cholesterol and fats and lipids and transport them through the blood stream to keep the levels regulated in the body
these are important in preventing the development of disorders that lead to heart disease and stroke and maybe alzheimers disease
here is a nih article that explains the apoe 4 gene
there are 3 types of apoe
apoe 2
apoe 3
apoe 4
you want apoe 2 since its the best
the chances of getting alzheimers disease is decreased if you have this one
apoe 3 is the most common version
apoe 4 is the worse to get
i think of these like a dump truck thats full of fat and cholesterol that is driving through our vessels cleaning up the accumulation of the fat and cholesterol in the blood vessels
the apoe 4 truck i think of it as one of those overloaded trucks you see on the highway without a cover on top and with stuff just oozing out the back leaving a gooey mess on the highway
the apoe 4 version is also called the late onset alzheimers gene
if you have the double version apoe 4/apoe 4 like i do thats even worse
we all have double versions
apoe 4/apoe 4 is the worst
apoe 2/apoe 2 is the best to have
apoe 3/apoe 3 is the mid range one
i got an apoe 4 from my mother and an apoe 4 from my dad
which means they both carried the gene which put them at risk for late onset alzheimers disease which they both had
statistically the way genes usually work is if mom and dad each only had one apoe 4 gene
then
25% of their kids would have not gotten the apoe 4 gene that would be two kids
50% of their kids would have gotten the apoe 4 gene single version that would be 4 kids
25% of their kids would have gotten the apoe 4/apoe 4 gene would be two kids
my parents had 8 kids
i have the apoe4/apoe4 gene
my guess is my younger brother had it also
so that leaves 2 of my siblings who may not have the apoe 4 gene
so that leaves 4 of my siblings who may have the single version
two of us have had ours checked
i got the double versions apoe 4/apoe 4 gene
the other kid doesnt have the apoe 4 gene
so statistically one of my other siblings has no apoe 4 gene
the other 4 siblings would all have the single apoe 4 gene
if one of my parents had the double gene and the other just had the single gene apoe 4
then
all of the kids would have at least one apoe 4 gene
50% or 4 of us would have the apoe 4/apoe 4 gene
if both parents had the apoe 4/apoe 4 then all the kids would have apoe 4/apoe 4
so far three of us have been diagnosed with alzheimers disease
for each of us with the apoe 4/apoe 4 gene our kids would have the apoe 4 gene
like 25% of the general population does
only if our spouses had the apoe 4 gene would be they at risk for getting the apoe 4/apoe 4 gene
wouldnt it me nice for my family if we could change all our apoe 4s to apoe 2s
then
the apoe 4 gene would not be present in us anymore
our risk for alzheimers would decrease significantly
what if we could then pass it on to our family this new apoe 2 gene
wouldnt that be great
here is the link to the article about a new study that is trying to change people with the apoe 4 gene to the apoe 2 gene
it also does a good job of explaining the apoe 4 gene
i suggest if this interests you you should click and read this article
basically at cornell medical center they plan to find people like me who carry the apoe 4/apoe 4 gene
do a spinal tap
inject a bunch of virus by the thousands into the spinal fluid of the patients to infect the brain
these virus all carry the apoe 2 gene
by flooding the brain with the apoe 2 gene they may be able to overtake the apoe 4 gene in the brain
if it were to work then
the patients risk for alzheimers disease would be greatly decreased
it worked in mice when they tried it
they are trying now in one of the monkey species
humans are next
i can tell you that if i would qualify i would be the first in line for this study
it may not work but its worth a try
of course
i would have to drop out of the aducanumab study and wait for awhile usually 6 months before i can enter a new study
that would be a tough choice since we are so close to finding out if the aducanumab infusions are working
my guess this is something that you would want to do on say me when i was in my 40s or early 50s are maybe younger
ie
before symptoms start
we do seem to be getting closer arent we
the organicgreen doctor
No comments:
Post a Comment