alzheimers news-thanks bill

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-THANKS BILL

one of the goals of alzheimers researchers besides the main one of finding a  treatment or cure of this disease is to be able to identify folks with alzheimers early in the disease or even before symptoms start

if you can get to folks before symptoms start or before damage has been done
then you have a better chance of slowing or stopping the disease

once the damage is done
its done
its not repaired

thats why you see so many drugs fail
they are started too late
they cant fix whats already been broken
its like a vase dropped from a roof onto a sidewalk
its smashed to thousands of pieces that cant be put back together

so it is with an alzheimers brain

so if i really have alzheimers disease then its being going on for at least 15-20 years
it just hasnt taken over enough brain cells yet to make me have noticeable symptoms
that damage cant ever be repaired even if they find a treatment or cure

so thats why early detection then treatment even if there is no symptoms is so important

ive read for the last 8 years since i was diagnosed
that an early blood test to tell you if you have alzheimers is almost here
they seem to say that each year
its not here yet


now
enter bill gates
one of the richest men in the world
who has given lots of his money away for good causes
basically he got his money off us all who bought his products and now he is giving it to more needy folks

he recently donated well over 100 million just for alzheimers research
now
he has donated 30 million just to find an affordable test like a blood test for early detection of this awful disease
here is his statement

“Imagine a world where diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease is as simple as getting your blood tested during your annual physical.”

well i can imagine it
this money was put into a venture fund
he calls it diagnostic accelerator

we the federal government should be doing this by spending our money for a disease that is programmed to totally break our healthcare system in the near future
it will cost us billions of dollars

thanks bill
for doing what our federal government wont do for us

he is the definition of a philanthropist


on another note
biogen will be presenting data form the aducanumab study that i am in and one similar to it on sunday at a large alzheimers conference
expect to see news reports on their findings

expected approval for use by the fda if its approved will be 2020 or 2021
please hurry since i am scheduled to come off the aducanumab study in spring 2020
i dont want to lose anything ive gained

this aducanumab will not be a cure for alzheimers
it will be a treatment that will slow it down

the organicgreen doctor

thanks

THANKS

thanks to the hundreds of you who read this article from the
austin american statesman yesterday
doctor keeps alzheimers at bay
and
responded with your kind words

why i may have alzheimers
i had a normal mental status evaluation that changed in 3 years to
being abnormal
i personally noticed those changes
my parents and younger brother had alzheimers disease
i carry the apoe4/apoe4 gene that carries up to a 20x increased risk
of getting alzheimers disease
the levels of beta amyloid and tau protein in my spinal fluid are
abnormal
the pet scan for beta amyloid or amyvid will be done soon


for those who asked
here are the studies i am in

the alzheimers disease neuroimaging initiative or adni study
the largest most important alzheimers study ever done
i get lots of blood drawn neuropsych tests mri scans pet scans for
glucose metabolism pet scans for beta amyloid or amyvid and
spinal taps for beta amyloid and tau protein

a study of the new alzheimers blood test which may be 90%
accurate in predicting if you will get alzheimers disease
itprobably will be available in 5 years

then hopefully in december
a study of solanezumab an alzheimers vaccine infusion that may
remove beta amyloid from the brain


first
i am not doing anything different really than thousands
of americans who volunteer to help other folks every day
i know at the habitat builds and the meals on wheels there are
those dedicated folks who are always there doing their part

there are many ways to volunteer
even helping an older neighbor or friend
a disabled one
or
someone temporarily in need

do volunteer
i can speak from experience now after 4 years
the one that benefits the most from volunteering
is that person in the mirror
you

what i am doing to ward off alzheimers disease is not some
secret treatment
its been researched and documented and written about
for years
its mainstream medicine

now one thing to remember is that
in my opinion this doesnt really stop alzheimers disease
once it get rolling
its going to win eventually
but
it slows it down a lot and hopefully makes the symptoms
that you see in people less severe
kinda like
a snowball going down a hill that hits against obstructions
along the way to slow it down
but
eventually it will get to the bottom of the hill
but
it will not be as big

i do think that if a person can start all this preventative stuff
when they are young
even when they are babies and infants and toddlers and
little kiddos and teenagers and young adults
they can maybe prevent themselves from getting alzheimers disease
or
slow it down so much that they will die from something else
when they get real old

eat a heart healthy diet or mediterranean diet
or
if you  are so inclined a gluten free diet sorry i cant do that one
or be a vegetarian or vegan

dont do excesses in your life like eat too much gain weight
drink too much smoke at all use drugs

exercise

get an adequate sleep each day
this one is turning out to be important

control diabetes blood pressure cholesterol

be happy stay mentally active stay socially active

do this and we are talking about a lot of disease prevention
besides alzheimers disease

i have also got a lot of questions about this vitamin and supplement
thing im doing

if you arent going to do this stuff above then dont worry about the
supplement and vitamin thing

i first read the article on the research that was done
here is the full article
then
i discussed this with my primary care doctor and my neurologist
then i had screening labs done looking for problems

i found a low vit d and low b12 which i wasnt expecting
and am taking replacements for them
had my levels not been low i wouldnt have taken those supplements

my homocysteine level was quite elevated
it may be associated with an increased risk of alzheimers disease
its not definitely proven but i as i have said before i dont have
time to wait for it to be proven
so im taking folate  b12 vit b6 each day to lower that number

since i know that i have abnormal levels of beta amyloid in my
spinal fluid and will soon know if my amyloid pet scan is positive
i have elected to take stuff that may lower beta amyloid levels

remember this isnt proven these supplements do this yet
but in animal studies they do

one resveratrol was used in a big study whose results will be out
later this year or next year which will say yes or now if this works
this is the stuff from grapes
it takes tons of grapes to get enough for a daily dose so  thats why
its been put in a pill
if its disproved with this study i will probably stop taking it

some of the supplements i cant tolerate like melatonin
and ashwaganda which may lower beta amyloid and help
some with sleep
i got these god awful disturbing dreams with it

there are 7 things to do that we all should be doing anyway
like those mentioned earlier

so i didnt just start taking this stuff without looking at each
one individually as to whether it fit my circumstance
i look at the side effects and interactions with my medications
like my blood pressure medication or cholesterol medication

if i could access nilvadipine for my blood pressure i would
change to that drug
see last fridays blog

plus
remember there are not many options right now for me
except to do these things
if im wrong this may help then i havent lost much
if im right this may help then ive done myself and my family
some good

please do not just start taking this stuff without looking
at each one closely discussing it with your medical providers
remember these are as much medicines as those prescriptions
you are taking

and also remember this is not a cure for alzheimers disease
its like aricept (donepezil) it slows down the symptoms
but probably doesnt stop the disease

so what do i notice
i feel better
i feel more alert
i have gained more sleep
i dont get leg cramps like i did ( a side effect from the aricept)
i dont feel as tired later in the day
i have less morning nausea

so something is helping in this regimen
im not sure what it is
but its enough i plan to keep on taking it

so again i say
thanks for the interest
dont worry if a cure comes i will be overposting about it


vote tomorrow even if you dont vote like i do

the oganicgreen doctor

alzheimers blood test

ALZHEIMERS BLOOD TEST
many of you saw the news on tv and the internet
last night about the new alzheimers blood test
ive gotten several emails facebook messages and personal
questions about this

the researchers have found 10 lipids that are in the blood
that if you test positive for them you may now have a test with  90%
accuracy that you can tell you that you will get alzheimers disease

lipids that we know about and many of us get tested for annually
are in the lipid profile for cholesterol
looking for our ldl bad cholesterol good hdl cholesterol and triglyceride levels

the ten lipids in this alzheimers test are not those same lipids

the lipids alzheimers test may be available as soon as two years in
doctors offices

so you as a middle age person will be able to go in to your
doctor and get a blood test that says you may get alzheimers
with 90% accuracy

eg if you go to a doctor for a sorethroat and they swab your throat or
stick that stick up your nose that hurts so dam much
testing for strep throat and the flu
those tests are 90% accurate

every year when i make my trip to the alzheimers research center
at ut southwestern in dallas
i have a series of tests done
i am in three different studies

one the adni study i have neuropsych tests mri scans amyloid pet scans
and spinal tap analysis done
another study that i cant remember the official name of it
involves a large quantity of blood to be drawn
my wife she cant watch it being done
this is the trip where she got real woozy when we were talking
about doing my spinal tap

the blood is sent off for a lot of rna and dna analysis regular lab tests
but
in one of the studies they are testing things in the blood that
are associated with alzheimers
i think they are testing proteins and inflammatory markers in the blood
and in their preliminary studies it appears thats the test
will predict whether you will get alzhiemers with
yes 90% accuracy

these results have been duplicated all over the world at different
research studies

so this published work yesterday that was on the news
didnt come as a surprise to me
since i knew these studies were ongoing
and already knew that the test was 90% accurate

the problem for me is yes again i dont get to see the results

if one of these tests becomes available at your local doctors office
soon
the question is
do you want it done
are you ready to know the answer

it does have a lot of implications for people
like for those folks who have huntingtons disease
they are both fatal diseases
one your body gives out and your brain stays intact usually
the other your body stays mostly intact your brain gives out

not sure which is worse

once you are diagnosed
insurances like long term disability and life insurance are no longer
obtainable
luckily now with obamacare you can get health insurance
some jobs may not be available to you
eg airline pilot surgeon president air traffic controller
promotions may not happen
a stigma may get attached to you

i know sometimes i feel people look at me a lot differently since
ive been labelled

that doesnt bother me i just move on and keep talking about my
story and alzheimers disease

if you get tested in the future you mainly need to be able to handle
the diagnosis mentally
are you ready to know you have a fatal disease that for right now
there is no treatment available no cure

a disease that will move quickly or real slow
but commonly at the end it picks up speed in that downward slope
to death

i personally like the researcher interviewed for the news story
want to know
and i am glad i know

i think what it would be like not knowing right now
i eg have this urgency deep inside me that makes me have a drive
to do things and to appreciate things more than
if i didnt know

when i sit and talk with my wife she in the mornings in our nice
comfortable chairs looking over the sunrise me with my coffee
and she with her tea
or
in our hot tub listening to the birds the owls ahooting
the turkeys agobbling down by the river the roadrunner darting
across the front yard or the deer floating across our pastures
i have this deeper appreciation for the moment
that i might not have if i didnt know

seize the moment is our motto

then theres the preparation for the future thats so necessary for folks
so many put it off
i dont
i have time to slowly get it all in place so when that time comes
its all ready
so many people dont know they have it
it slips up on them and they are  not ready
i am and will be ready

then i feel this urge to tell people about alzheimers disease
knowing that my days are limited to how long i will be
able to talk about it

i also have this knowledge about gardening and alzheimers and
being a patient and being a physician thats all mixed together
that will be lost in the future
i need to get the messages out as much as i can while i can

thats why i want to know
i want to know what my status is
do i have it
then if i do i accept it
and move forward with my life knowing what im up against

and you
would you want to know
will you

think about it

the organicgreen doctor