alzheimers news-its near you

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-ITS NEAR YOU

yesterday
i went to the alzheimers disease center at ut southwestern to get my
third infusion of the aducanumab drug from biogen
if it works or if it partially works
it will slow down the disease some

yesterday
i discussed with the center that i would be moving to santa barbara soon
they said i may have the option to switch to a site in california that is
participating in the study
eg like ucla

so
we are thinking about changing if its approved by biogen
if not
we plan to continue going to dallas each month to get the infusions
this study
for me
is too important not to do all i can to get this drug
it will be the only chance i have
to get something to help slow down the disease
since
when the drugs that are in the works now get here
my disease may be too far to take something to stop it

ie
now is my time
i have to maximize things

all this made me think of
those who have contacted me in the last month
via this blog or after my talks or in random encounters

the jest of what that say is
my family has alzheimers disease
i dont have any symptoms
i know i am going to get it one day
can i get in a study like yours

my answer is yes

for research folks are classified as
prodromal or prealzheimers-they have normal memory but have a positive
          scan called amyvid for the beta amyloid and positive spinal fluid
          levels of beta amyloid and tau
          this means they will probably develop alzheimers disease

mci or mild cognitive impariment due to alzheimers disease-they have
          mild memory loss and these biomarkers ie postive amyvid scans
          and positive spinal fluid levels of beta amyloid and tau proteins
       
alzheimers disease-they have more advanced memory loss and their
          biomarkers are positive

then
alzheimers disease is either mild moderate or severe
          or early mid or late

most of the new treatment studies are looking at
prodromal
mci or mid cognitive impairment
mild alzheimers

these are the three levels that may benefit the most since
there is not as much damage done yet in the brain
so the treatments may work to slow down or if we are lucky
to stop the disease

so those of you who have asked me
is there one of these studies i can get in to get treatment
even though i am not having symptoms

yes there is
you have to willing to know that you will probably get alzheimers

most of my readership lives in arkansas  texas  california

so if you live in these states
its in your family
you want to know if youre next
you want to be proactive and get pretreated
then
heres the links below for each state

there are 3 companies
there are others that are on the way

lilly  solanezumab-the study is called A4

genetech/hoffman-la roche  crenezumab-its the drug that was on
          60 minute and pbs recently

biogen  aducanumab-this is my drug    it will be doing studies soon on
          those with prodromal alzheimers disease

you can go to www.clinicaltrials.gov to search for these studies
or
click on the links below

in arkansas
look under arkansas near the bottom
there are three sites
jonesboro little rock and fayetteville

crenezumab study


in california
look under californa near the bottom of the page
there are multiple sites

crenezumab study

solanezumab study or A4


in texas
look under texas near the bottom of the page
there are multiple sites

crenezumab study

solanezumab study or A4   

if you are interested in being proactive
call the sites even though they may be listed as
not recruiting yet
sometimes they really are

good luck

our moving sale is happening tomorrow
rain or shine
everything is for sale
unless its a heirloom item that stays in the family
or
if the new homeowner has bought it
or
if we can stuff in our two cars

if you are a lover of chicken stuff or donald duck stuff
there is a lot to pick from

everything is priced to sell

here is the link to our rain or shine moving sale on saturday may 20th
country n moving sale

the organicgreen doctor

hope for the future

HOPE FOR THE FUTURE

these kids and their generation and the generation
just above them
are the hope for the future
for everything but especially for
a cure or preventative treatment for
alzheimers disease

i can see it like way over there in the horizon
like when you travel in the dessert in the early evening
or early dawn
way off in the distant you see those glittering lights
and those areas of green

hope is out there but its way out there

the cure and treatment will probably come too late
for my generation
but
it will be there for these little guys and their soul mates

a new study i read about this morning was done on women
who took multivitamins with minerals long term
they had a 35% decrease in their risk of dying from
heart disease

now i know from all my reading on alzheimers disease
that generally whats good for the heart is good for the brain

there right now are so many exciting potentially game changing
studies with different new drugs and treatments


the A4 study
folks will be given the new alzheimers vaccine  who
have positive scans that show they will probably get
alzheimers disease but have no symptoms
the vaccine will remove beta amyloid from the brain
thats the bad stuff that is thought to be the culprit in
alzheimers disease
if it works they wont get the disease or will slow down its
progression


the apoe4 studies
folks who have the double apoe4 gene like i have
which puts them at high risk for developing alzheimers disease
will be given the alzheimers vaccine

other folks will be  be given a bace inhibitor which stops
the brain from producing the bad stuff beta amyloid


colombian studies
folks who have the dominant gene for alzheimers disease
and all yes all of them will get it in their 30s to late 40s
and die from it
they will get the vaccine also

so using the vaccine and the bace inhibitor will be thoroughly
tested and we will know in 3-5 years if this approach will
work
if it does we will see this form of treatment get fast tracked
to folks who are early like me or who are at high risk
like
eg my siblings who arent affected yet
they can be screened with scans and spinal fluid analysis
if they are positive
then they could be started on a lifetime of treatment

so maybe this is the hope for the future we are looking for

of course if it doesnt work we are knocked back to ground zero
but
there are lots of other studies being done


the noble t-817ma study just got fast tracked some because of some
promising new studies showing it may help
basically this chemical promotes the new growth of new nerve cells
and
inhibits brain cell death


the sniff study just started one that i might get involved with
basically insulin is sprayed up the nose
goes up the smeller nerve thats the olfactory nerve to the
part of the brain where alzheimers disease starts
it increases glucose to the brain cells some damaged and some not
preliminary studies shows that folks who use this
have an improvement in memory

i expect this will work some and will become part of a
treatment regimen for folks

so these studies above are ongoing now
in humans
and will be available in 5-10 years if they help

some hope for the future

there are lots and lots of studies in animals usually rats or mice
that seem promising
like the stanford study studies on multiple older meds like
citalopram bexarotene etc


then
there is the reversal of cognitive study from ucla that was published
last year that use 36 points
half were healthy things like blood pressure cholesterol diabetes control
exercise diet sleep mental activity meditation for me thats gardening
and making sure your numbers are ok like thyroid b12 homocysteine
vitamin d hormones
then the rest was supplements based on human and animal studies
that showed promising results

he had 9 of 10 people with memory loss get better
the one that didnt had more advanced alzheimers disease
most had memory loss documented on memory tests
some had abnormal scans
when they went off the regimen they got worse again
so
theres something in what is in that 36 point study

maybe some it will be related to the new study referenced above in
women with lower heart disease rates who took multivitamins with minerals

so
in summary
there is hope for the future
for
we always have to have hope dont we


fyi
there are only 12 tickets left for the special showing of still alice
they are along the back row of the auditorium
thats actually where we always like to sit at the alamo drafthouse

the organicgreen doctor

important day

IMPORTANT DAY
this is an important day today for me
in my fight against the possibility of having alzheimers disease

this morning i leave at 500am to make the 3 1/2 hr drive to
the alzheimers research center at ut southwestern in dallas
for my first of several appointments today


the first one is a follow up on my annual visit for the
adni study or alzheimers disease neuroimaging initiative study
where i have several annual tests done
i had mentioned two months ago that funding was delayed or
discontinued for this study long term
this is the largest and most important study thats ever been done
on alzheimers disease
hundreds of research articles have be published from the data
yes some of my data is in there from this adni study

so today i get to repeat a lot of what was done in august
lots of questions especially memory questions
lots of blood drawn for rna and dna analysis chemistry lab tests
alzheimers blood test etc
an examination by a neurologist
then
i am so lucky
i get to repeat the much dreaded torture test
the neuropsych test
the examiner and i have become friends she has given
me this test so often

then
on another date next month i get an mri scan of the brain to see
if any brain shrinkage has occurred or especially if the area
where alzheimers starts the hippocampus has shrunken at all


then sometime this morning i do an interview for a new research
study called the A4 study
AntiAmyloid in Asymptomatic Alzheimers study

basically they are looking for folks 65-85 yrs old
normal mental status
with positive biomarkers-abnormal pet scan for beta amyloid
(they do this scan on all volunteers)

then the selected folks will receive what i call the alzheimers
vaccine solanezumab as an infusion for 36 months
or a placebo
no placebo for me please

if it works it will remove beta amyloid from the brain and the
disease process will be slowed down or stopped
several other studies are going on similar to this all over the world

you would think folks would be jumping in line for this study
a potential game changer in alzheimers treatment and prevention
but
no they are having trouble finding folks to join the study

me im el numero uno in line for this study
up front i am

if you are even remotely kin to me you probably are a candidate
for this study

please if you know someone who may qualify
click on this link for more information on how to volunteer
we cannt find an answer unless you volunteer
in texas its ut southwestern and baylor college of medicine houston
in california its ucd, uci, ucla usc, ucsd, ucsf etal
in okla its tulsa university
look your state up for the nearest locale
ark its ut southwestern in dallas or tulsa university in okla


then after lunch today i meet with the neurologist that sees me
at ut southwestern for my annual followup visit
this is not a research visit
its the real deal like when you see your doctor
i chose to be followed there instead of in austin since it has
worked out better for me coordinating my care

i mainly go to get my refill for my aricept (donepezil) which
may be slowing down my symptoms i hope


examiner.com

then
i plant to discuss a new study from ucla
i mentioned it in last fridays blog
its called
reversal of cognitive decline a novel therapeutic regimen
by dr dale bredesen
i plan to do a longer more involved blog on this on friday

basically its using life style changes ive written about before
then based on evaluation and labs using vitamins and supplements
i counted 16 of them total

his results
9 out of 10 folks studied got better
the one that didnt was a more advanced alzheimers patient in a later
stage of the disease
the other folks were early like me or more advanced then i am

so i think it may be beneficial and worth trying
whats to lose right

i will discuss my getting on this regimen with her
even i think if it means i cant do the A4 study or the adni study
thats how important this may be

so today is an important day for me
a crossroads maybe
a cure probably not but more of a way to slow down
and delay things

the organicgreen doctor

habits can be good, A4 study we need help

HABITS CAN BE GOOD
i frequently give presentations on alzheimers disease
or question and answer ones which i like to do since
people can get their answers about this disease from someone
who is
a doctor and has treated alzheimers patients
a family member of parents who had the disease and a younger brother
a patient himself who may have the disease

one of the areas i always talk about in my presentation
and
an area i make sure i talk about in the q&a sessions
is
things to do to slow down or prevent the disease
so
im always on the lookout for articles on how to do this
that may add to my list

recently i found an article from abc news
on 5 healthy habits that can cut your risk of alzheimers disease

go organic
a lot of our vegetables come from foreign countries that have
not banned ddt
ddt breaks down to dde which has been found in alzheimers
patients at levels 4 times those found in persons without the disease
going organic means no dde

eat healthy
even if you start in your 50s and even if you have a genetic
predisposition to get alzheimers disease like i do
you can slow down the progression of the disease
or
even in some of you prevent the onset of the disease
by eating a healthy diet like the mediterranean diet
fruits berries veggies nuts milk products lean meats fish olive oil red wine
in moderation of course
and
by maintaining a normal body weight

the risk can be decreased by as much as 90% according to recent
research by eating healthy

speak another language
and you can delay alzheimers by 4 1/2 years
speaking that extra language develops parts of the brain that
handles executive functions and attention tasks

sleep right and read
sleeping greater than 8 hrs or less than 6 hrs plus not reading
increasing the risk for cognitive impairment by 2.6 times
in a recent study
thank goodness for my naps each day so i can stay in that sweet
spot between 6-8 hrs sleep and i read every day



feed your hippocampus
thats where alzheimers disease starts
by atrophying that underneath area of the brain

those folks who had a genetic predisposition to alzheimers
if you are kin to me thats you
had a 3% drop in the size of that area over an 18 month time period
if they did not exercise
adding exercise those who were susceptible maintained the
volume of the hippocampus ie it did not shrink

if you do ancestry.com and get a dna hit to me
i highly recommend that you do the exercise every day
as well those other things above
and
all those other things we recommend

the trifecta of controlling your blood pressure cholesterol and diabetes
controlling stress anxiety depression
being happy
being socially active
listening to music
dont smoke

so yes there is something you can do to slow this down
most of it doesnt involve medication or special treatments

A4 STUDY-WE NEED HELP!!!

antiamyloid treatemt in asymptomatic alzheimers study
they are looking for

people age 65-85 years old
who have normal thinking and memory

patients will have the new amyvid pet scan i have written about
so many times
it identifies those who have that beta amyloid in the brain
patients with alzheimers disease have beta amyloid in the brain

for those with postive scans  some will be given an infusion of a
new alzheimers vaccine
that will hopefully bind to the accumulated beta amyloid
and remove it from the brain
and hopefully remove it also before it can get stuck in the brain

if this all works then you wont get alzheimers disease or if you do
it will be much milder

folks i would jump at this in a minute as its right now my only hope
to slow things down beside those healthy things i mentioned above
i would be first on the list
except im too young to qualify

what if i told you
you can have a test that may show you may have alzheimers disease
but you could take this new drug that may make it go away
would you do it
no doubt i would

and i know that its really about helping your kids and your grandkids
your nephews your nieces
im afraid to say but it appears that once you get  alzheimers disease
and have symptoms then this stuff may not work as well

take to the time to go to these two links
look for your state
and consider joining the study

researchers have to sort through a lot of volunteers to find those
at risk
they desperately need volunteers!!!

so dont give me this crap about you dont want to know
were talking about your kids their kids and future generations
being able to be treated for this disease years before it hits them

just think of your family member or friend who has or has had
this terrible disease
what if you could have prevented it from happening to them

it can only happen right now if you folks help us out in finding a cure

click here
a4 study
and
a4 study now is the time

to read more about it and to find one near you
they need more volunteers

please pass this information on to those who might qualify

the organicgreen doctor