MY STORY REVISITED #205-THE FUTURE IS BRIGHTER
when i spoke last year at the santa barbara walk to end alzheimers i mentioned there was hope for the future for alzheimers patients
when i wrote the blog below in 2015 there was hope
now that hope is brighter
instead of guessing if one has alzheimers and instead of doing a spinal tap to find out for sure or doing an amyloid pet scan for amyloid plaques real soon a blood test will be used instead as part of the workup with a high degree of accuracy to help diagnose alzheimers
that spinal fluid result in the blog below is my spinal fluid test for amyloid and tau
that * shows i am just at the borderline of being positive for alzheimers disease in 2010
i was in the mild cognitive impairment stage which correlates with my neuropsychological memory tests
my amyloid pet scan if i had it done in 2010 would have been positive
in 2024 my amyloid pet scan is negative after taking 34 months of aduhelm
then in 2015 the antiamyloid antibodies were just entering the initial phase of clinical trials
i was two years away from starting aduhelm an antiamyloid infusion that removes amyloid plaque from the brain
now leqembi and soon donanemab which both work better than aduhelm are or will be available for treatment only in the early or beginnings of the disease
if you wait too long they dont help
now in clinical trials available in many alzheimers research centers they are giving an antitau drug that removes the tau tangles from the brain
we have made progress since 2015
by 2030 we will be diagnosing using blood tests and will probably be treating alzheimers with 3 types of drugs
antiamyloid drugs
antitau drugs
antiinflammatory drugs
this trifecta will probably slow down the disease
__________
09-04-2015
ALZHEIMERS NEWS-A BRIGHTER FUTURE
i think thats true
the future is brighter than it was 5 years ago
progress has been made
as i am preparing for two large presentations on alzheimers disease
i stopped
and
contemplated how much things have changed in the
last 5 years
and
how much potential there is for the future
for
those with memory loss due to alzheimers disease
when i was diagnosed with amnestic mild cognitive impairment
that may be due to alzheimers disease five years ago
it was sort of overwhelming
i could only think of what it was like as my mother and
younger brother were at my stage
they probably werent as aware like i am of the problem
and
what the future held for them
an awful one
all i could think was what course they had
and
how bad it was for the family and friends and
for themselves
i worried a lot about my future
my wife she and i our future
what it would be like
now as i look back and can look forward
i feel more hope
and
thats important
hope
personally i feel better both physically and mentally
my cholesterol and blood pressure are under good control
my weight and physical conditioning is under good control
my diet is the best its ever been
i take a boatload of supplements that have been implied
to help slow things down but not definitely proven to help
yet
i stay very active socially mentally and physically
i drink red wine each night and 2-3 cups of coffee each morning
both may help
i dont sleep well at night 5-6 hours of sleep is all i get
but
luckily since im retired i am able to do an afternoon nap
which helps immensely
maybe we all should be doing this
im happy and contented
i still take aricept (donepezil) and plan to continue it long term
and
i am afraid to stop it as i might deteriorate some with my memory
if do
then
looking forward
for myself and others
memory issue folks can now get a very thorough evaluation
done
so that they will know why they have memory loss
and
if its alzheimers disease
by
a good history and physical
labs for anemia chemistry abnormalities like electrolytes kidney
and liver functions and glucose vitamin b12 vitamin d folate
homocysteine levels which are associated with an increased
risk of alzheimers stroke and heart attacks
thyroid levels
these lab abnormalities are all treatable
bloomberg.com
memory tests easily done in the office and online
mri scans
genetic tests for dominant alzheimers and for apoe 4 gene
spinal fluid analysis for the bad beta amyloid and tau protein
amyvid pet scan of the brain for the presence of beta amyloid
if yours is positive there is a good chance you will get or now have
alzheimers disease
coming soon within maybe 2 years a blood test that may be
90-100% accurate in telling you if you got it or not
so soon
like now you can find out if you have it if you have symptoms
but
some of the tests arent covered by insurance
then once diagnosed
if not sooner
get your self motivated to do those things to stay healthy
get on medicine like aricept as it may slow down symptoms
but at times the side effects suck big time
then
look into the future
as
real soon
there may be a pill called a bace inhibitor that you take
and or
a vaccine given as a regular infusion
both if they are proven to help
will prevent or slow down the disease
you will be able to take them long term
so
i see hope in the future for myself my siblings
and
those of you affected now or soon to be
__________
its number one
do all those healthy things mentioned above
then
get diagnosed early maybe even before symptoms start
then seek treatment
as time goes on more and more treatments will be available
i probably will be at a stage in the disease where i will be able to receive treatment with antitau drugs or antiinflammatory drugs before my disease takes off
note the bace inhibitor drugs mentioned in the old blog above didnt work
in fact they made things worse
i dont do all of the supplements i use to take
i only take those based on abnormal labs
eg b12 folate vitamin d
i aggressively treat my cholesterol and blood pressure
note i am off blood pressure meds since i stopped drinking caffeinated coffee
i eat a mind diet mostly
i stay active mentally physically and socially
join us in helping to fight this disease
we have a much brighter future ahead
the organicgreen doctor
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