organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-new drugs that are on the horizon

organicgreendoctor: alzheimers news-new drugs that are on the horizon: ALZHEIMERS NEWS-NEW DRUGS THAT ARE ON THE HORIZON this aarp article is about 7 drugs that are on the horizon that may be effective in slowi...

alzheimers news-new drugs that are on the horizon

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-NEW DRUGS THAT ARE ON THE HORIZON

this aarp article is about 7 drugs that are on the horizon that may be effective in slowing down or if we are lucky to prevent alzheimers disease

topping the list is my drug aducanumab
it is the one that is the closest to being approved for use
it could happen this year
the alzheimers association is pushing the fda to approve this drug aducanumab for use in slowing down the disease
why
there is no other choice right now
we have aricept (donepezil) that i have been on for 10  years
it doesnt treat the disease it just slows down symptoms for awhile
then it quits working
unless
you start it early in the disease process
thats why i think it may have helped me since i started it earlier than most patients do
thus getting more benefit than most patients do

my guess is that if it aricept was seeking approval for use nowadays the fda might not approve it

even if aducanumab is approved we as a nation may not be able to afford it
there may not be enough infusions centers to give the amount of treatments that would be needed across the nation
you can see whats happening with the covid 19 vaccines
the aducanumab infusions will be backlogged and slowed just like the vaccines
it will cost over $5000 an infusion
can we afford it as a nation and can we afford not to give it

donanemab is a monoclonal antibody that works similar to aducanumab but at a different site on the amyloid molecule
it is in early studies showed it caused a decline in memory loss
ie a persons memory decline slowed down a lot
it wouldnt be available for 5 years or more

alz801 is an amino acid derivative given orally
it works by stopping the formation of amyloid plaques in the brain
presently the studies are being done on patients with  the apoe 4 apoe 4 gene
apoe 4 is the late onset alzheimers gene

this study i plan to keep an eye on since i have the apoe 4 apoe4 gene

another interesting one is atuzaginstat
the dentists should like this one

the germ called p gingvalis found in the mouth makes a substance called gingipains which can enter in the brain and damage brain cells
this drug stops the bacteria from releasing gingipains in the brain
flossing brushing your teeth and regular dental care helps also

there are other drugs on the horizon mentioned in the article
here is the link

so i should restart my infusions of aducanumab hopefully next month after i redo my screening evaluation to make sure i still am ok to receive the infusions

i will get at least 18 months of the infusions and possibly longer since the company will probably do a long phase 4 study if it gets fda approval
that may happen soon 

all these others may be too late to help me
it would have been nice if they were around 10 years ago
but
many of you or your loved ones may have access to using these to prevent or slow down alzheimers in the future

i am not apposed to taking more than one drug

the thinking in the alzheimers world is that alzheimers patients will probably end up on more than one drug to treat or slow down the disease

so keep your eye on these drugs they might be available in the future

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: made it to a million

organicgreendoctor: made it to a million:   MADE IT TO A MILLION this blog was started in august 2010 about 4 months before i was diagnosed with mci that has turned out to be due to ...

made it to a million

 MADE IT TO A MILLION

this blog was started in august 2010 about 4 months before i was diagnosed with mci that has turned out to be due to alzheimers disease

here is some history of my blog called

organicgreendoctor.com

the name came from the fact that i am a family doctor
i enjoy organic gardening
i try to live as green as possible

while living at the country n north of austin we lived as green as we could

we had a 1000 square foot raised bed all organic garden
i made my own compost
we had chickens for eggs and bug control and for compost building
they did all the work on our compost pile
we had a complete rainwater system for irrigation and home use
man we sure miss that rainwater
we also had a solar system that produced most of our electricity
we recycled all of our trash either by composting it or sending it to a recycle center
we were left with a small grocery store bag of trash every two weeks

so thats where the name of the blog came from

organicgreendoctor

sorry since i  enjoyed ee cummings writing style i dont use any caps or punctuation

it originally was about organic living and medical stuff and interesting topics
eg ive written a lot of blogs on duct tape

later when i was diagnosed i added the topic of alzheimers disease to my blog
along with telling my story with that diagnosis as its developed over the last 10 years

my most read blog has been the one about the article that was written by the austin american statesman telling my story 
it was picked up by the associated press and was published all over the united states
i got messages from folks all over the us
some former patients and colleagues and friends and relatives spread out over the us

my other popular blogs were the ones i wrote in december of 2010 documenting the story of how i got diagnosed
one was the blog where i wrote a thank you blog to my patients
those were along with the newspaper blog the most popular blogs i wrote

another top blog was one i wrote about a former patient named abbie who was born without a lower arm 
the blog was about how she was able to deal with it
it seemed to touch the heart of a lot of folks

at one point i started to monetize my blog but later dropped the idea since i just wanted to write the blog for myself and for the readers of the blog

now 10 years later i have reached my goal of 
1,000,000 page views
thats the measure of how well your blog is doing
when you reach about 10,000 a month then your blog is there in the blog world
my blog is there now since i usually am around that number each month

in the last two years i have started reviewing my old blogs on my story with alzheimers and rewriting my thoughts about what i wrote years ago
i  presently am reviewing those blogs that are 8 years old
see my last blog yesterday for my latest 

so i am pleased with my blog
i write it most weekdays
for now i write at least one blog a week on covid 19 since i keep up with whats happening with covid 19
i deal with the truth on that topic and none of the weird stuff you hear about
i get a lot of questions from folks on that topic

i write about one of my old blogs on alzheimers called my story revisited one day a week

i write about gardening usually once a week usually on thursday

i write about other topics once day a week things like duct tape or bernies mittens or whatever triggers a blog in my head

i try to stay away from politics and religion and some social issues since we all hear enough about them 

then
on fridays i write on alzheimers news since i keep up with whats going on in the azheimers world
i get contacted frequently from folks seeking help with the diagnosis 
i also document my journey with the alzheimers diagnosis on fridays
eg tomorrow ill probably write about the most promising new treatments that have the potential to be effective against alzheimers
one of course is the monoclonal antibody infusions that i will restart next month
the biogen aducanumab

you can follow this blog by clicking on the links to twitter and facebook on the right side of the page
there also is a link where you can sign up to have my blog sent to your email

there is a search button also on the upper right side of my blog where you can do a google search of my blog
eg you can do a google search of abbie to read my blogs about her

also at the top of the blog are links to my facebook page called organicgreendoctor and links to the video done on my story and articles done on my story

i hope that
i trigger your brain to do some thinking when you read them 
i can trigger a smile occasionally
i can educate you about alzheimers disease and covid 19 

heres hoping i can keep going for the second million

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #72-born too soon

organicgreendoctor: my story revisited #72-born too soon: MY STORY REVISITED  #72-BORN TO SOON this morning when i was reading my old blogs from 8 years ago this blog called born too soon caught my ...

my story revisited #72-born too soon

MY STORY REVISITED  #72-BORN TO SOON

this morning when i was reading my old blogs from 8 years ago this blog called
born too soon
caught my eye
why
its where my story with mci due to alzheimers disease intersects with mr hudsons story with his kidney transplant

there is a product called intravenous immunoglobulin or ivig
it is antibodies that are collected from plasma donors
these are given for various medical conditions
the product is scarce and expensive

in 2012 an alzheimers research study was being done where patients with alzheimers disease was given this ivig to see if it would slow down alzheimers dosease
the thinking was there was something in the brain of alzheimers disease patients that these antibodies would work against to slow down alzheimers disease
in the study the higher dose of the ivig seemed to slow down the disease
so there was something in the body that these antibodies was working on 
some thought it might be anyloid plaques

i tried to get in the study but my disease was way too early to qualify
i tried to get my younger brother to enter the study but time and distance didnt allow that to happen
the study was stopped after 3 years

enter about 4 years later i was able to enter my biogen aducanumab study receiving infusions of biogens monoclonal antibody against amyloid
this next month i should restart my infusions for at least about 2 years
there is still a push to get it approved for use by the fda

why this ivig blog caught my eye is
mr hudson is now 6 months out from his kidney transplant from a live donor
he is a typical 2 year old
he loves the dirt he loves trucks he love cars he loves ms b and mommy and daddy and gma
his development was delayed prior to his transplant
but
now since his transplant he is back to normal development for his age
he is a rambunctious 2 year old
you would never know he had issues unless you see his big ole scar down his belly or his gtube button that he uses to keep the kidney hydrated all day and to take his meds

recently he has developed a viral infection in his kidney that is a virus that you and i are exposed to but we are able to corral it and control it with our immune system
this virus if not controlled can kill the kidneys
mr hudson is immunosuppressed from his kidney rejection meds

these drug doses were lowered enough to try to let his immune system kick in enough to kill the virus but not so low that his body wouldnt reject the kidney
this is working but not wiping out the virus
so
in the next week
mr hudson will enter the hospital and receive a several hours of infusion of ivig or intravenous immunoglobulin that should wipe out this virus

i sit her thinking about how these antibodies im taking a monoclonal antibody against amyloid may be helping me slow down my disease
then
mr hudson will be getting ivig with its antibodies against the virus thats attacking his kidney 
the end result should be those anitbodies should kill that mean ole virus

i wish he and i could lay in the bed together getting our infusions of antibodies at the same time
mine helping my brain and his helping his kidneys

i know he would love if that could happen
__________
07-20-2012
WAS BORN TOO SOON

if you have a family member or friend with alzheimers

or have a strong family history of alzheimers then 

you might want to read this

yep think i was born too soon 

wished i was born 15 years later

why

the studies on alzheimers showing promising findings

is starting to steam roll

although im participating in one of the biggest and

most important studies on alzheimers ever done

i wish i were younger so that i could some day 

benefit from these findings

at least those of you are younger than me and my kids

and my nieces and nephews and one day my grandkids

will all benefit

those who would have gotten alzheimers will actually 

be dying from something else since treatments will be

available to prevent and treat this disease

nothing we have available does this except we are

getting close

ivig (intravenous immunoglobulins)-they take the plasma 

from plasma donors and remove all the immunoglobulins that

fight inflammation disease and infections including antibodies

against that on bad sticky stuff beta anyloid and it is given in 

a vein as an infusion

you know some of you when you were younger in college

needed money so you donated at a plasma center 

thats where this stuff comes from

its not new and is actually available now

its used now against certain neurological diseases as 

multiple sclerosis myasthenia gravis some demyelinating 

polyneuropathies eg

its not approved by fda for use in alzheimers

the supply is limited

and its very very expensive 

they gave this ivig to patients with alzheimers then followed them 

for several months and those who received the higher doses

got good results

with alzheimers when you have it and show symptoms the decline

is noticeable over 3 years

everyone in this study showed a noticeable decline in progressive

symptoms

those who received the higher doses did not have any 

worsening of their alzheimers  in 3 years

if you have anyone in your family who has alzheimers you know

this is an important result

my mother went from driving her car although she shouldnt have 

to being unable to care for herself in three years

the same happened to my younger brother

now the problem is this stuff is available now

it can be given to someone and they may not progress in their

disease

they dont get better but they dont get worse

on the horizon and in the final stages of studies are at least three

infusions that contain either man made antibodies or something 

that induces the patient to make antibodies against beta amyloid

those results will be published soon so well 

know whether this approach will work against alzheimers

the ivig study implies that it will

if i have alzheimers i would be a good candidate for use of one of

thiese iv infusions since im so early in the process

and only a small amount of damage has been done so far

the progression of the disease could be stopped and i would

not develop full blown alzheimers

another important study is the genome project

luckily i am one of 800 people in this study 

using dna obtained in the adni study that im in

basically they will take blood and will do a whole genome

sequencing (all 6 billion letters in my dna) that will take 4 months to do 

they will basically map out all of my dna and genes

they then will take this information and compare it to my 

neuropsychological exams my mris my beta amyloid pet scans

and other tests done in the study

and scientist all over the world will use this information for 

research 

this genome project may end up creating a world without 

alzheimers according to one researcher

we  sure hope so

yep i was born 15 years too early 

__________

maybe i wasnt born too soon after all since i will be getting infusions again
mr hudson we will all be with you in that hospital room this week

the organicgreen doctor

organicgreendoctor: a once in a lifetime poet

organicgreendoctor: a once in a lifetime poet: A ONCE IN A LIFETIME POET   every generation has its lifetime poet or author my generation the baby boomers have maya angelou as its lifetim...

a once in a lifetime poet

A ONCE IN A LIFETIME POET 
every generation has its lifetime poet or author
my generation the baby boomers have maya angelou as its lifetime poet or author
other generations had robert frost
i can still hear maya angelou as she so eloquently read her poems
leaving a lasting impression on my brain and in my heart

so now
enter amanda gorman
this generations lifetime poet
the harvard graduate national youth poet laureate 
she also like maya angelou has left a lasting impression on my brain and in my heart

i want ms b and mr h and mr n to know who she is and to appreciate her artistry
listen to what she wrote 
and
listen to her read those words
and
follow what she wrote
for us all to make our lives better

she spoke so eloquently even though she started her life with a speech impediment
she overcame that as she also overcame a lot in her life
to be
the next lifetime poet or author of this generation

i sat down and watched the video below of her speech
as she spoke
i read the words that are posted below her video
to make it easier to appreciate what she is saying

this is the answer to what ails us as a society 
this twenty-two year old gives us the road map to the future
its up to us to follow it

ms b read and enjoy

click this link to the video if it doesnt show on your feed 

the hill we climb

 

“When day comes we ask ourselves,

where can we find light in this never-ending shade?

The loss we carry,

a sea we must wade

We’ve braved the belly of the beast

We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace

And the norms and notions of what just is

Isn’t always just-ice

And yet the dawn is ours before we knew it

Somehow we do it

Somehow we’ve weathered and witnessed

a nation that isn’t broken

but simply unfinished

We the successors of a country and a time

Where a skinny Black girl

descended from slaves and raised by a single mother

can dream of becoming president

only to find herself reciting for one

And yes we are far from polished

far from pristine

but that doesn’t mean we are

striving to form a union that is perfect

We are striving to forge our union with purpose

To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and conditions of man

And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us

but what stands before us

We close the divide because we know to put our future first

we must first put our differences aside

We lay down our arms

so we can reach out our arms to one another

We seek harm to none and harmony for all

Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:

That even as we grieved, we grew

That even as we hurt, we hoped

That even as we tired, we tried

That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious

Not because we will never again know defeat

but because we will never again sow division

Scripture tells us to envision

that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree

And no one shall make them afraid

If we’re to live up to our own time

Then victory won’t lie in the blade

But in all of the bridges we’ve made

That is the promise to glade

The hill we climb

If only we dare

It’s because being American is more than a pride we inherit,

it’s the past we step into

and how we repair it

We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation

rather than share it

Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy

And this effort very nearly succeeded

But while democracy can be periodically delayed

it can never be permanently defeated

In this truth

in this faith we trust

For while we have our eyes on the future

history has its eyes on us

This is the era of just redemption

We feared at its inception

We did not feel prepared to be the heirs

of such a terrifying hour

but within it we found the power

to author a new chapter

To offer hope and laughter to ourselves

So while once we asked,

how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?

Now we assert,

How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?

We will not march back to what was

but move to what shall be

A country that is bruised but whole,

benevolent but bold,

fierce and free

We will not be turned around

or interrupted by intimidation

because we know our inaction and inertia

will be the inheritance of the next generation

Our blunders become their burdens

But one thing is certain:

If we merge mercy with might,

and might with right,

then love becomes our legacy

and change our children’s birthright

So let us leave behind a country

better than the one we were left with

Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest,

we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one

We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the West,

we will rise from the windswept Northeast

where our forefathers first realized revolution

We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the Midwestern states,

we will rise from the sunbaked South

We will rebuild, reconcile and recover

and every known nook of our nation

and every corner called our country,

our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,

battered and beautiful

When day comes we step out of the shade,

aflame and unafraid

The new dawn blooms as we free it

For there is always light,

if only we’re brave enough to see it

If only we’re brave enough to be it.”

by
amanda gorman

 
the organicgreen doctor