new alzheimers study

NEW ALZHEIMERS STUDY
as many of you who read this blog know i was diagnosed with
early mild cognitive impairment anmesic type when i enrolled in a
research study at the university of texas at southwestern medical
center in dallas

during the initial evaluation it was discovered that i had some short
term memory loss not noted by other people but looking back i
had noticed some problems
no one my wife she, patients, my nurse d, friends, fellow doctors,
clinic employees or family noted any problems

i was to be in the normal control group but after my diagnosis of mci
i was started on aricept because of the changes and my family
history of alzhiemers and was not accepted in that study

now that i have been on my medication for 2 months and am on a
stable dose i have the opportunity to start on a new study

the new study is called the alzheimers disease neuroimaging
initiative-2(adni-2) and is sponsored by a grant from the national
institue on aging
i will be one of 10 persons in this national study from this institution
i will be in one of four groups being studied
the group i will be in is the early mild cognitive impairment group
the other groups are cognitive normal (where i was going to be
when all this started), late mild cognitive impairment, and
alzheimers disease

i will be followed for 54 months and will have serial neuro-
psychological exams(thats what caught mine), blood work to
include dna analysis to see if i have the genetic gene for
alzheimers(apoe gene with apoe 4 being the sucky gene),
spinal taps to check for amyloid protein levels(theory is thats what
is deposited in the brain that causes all this @#&*) and tau protein
levels (a protein that becomes unraveled in the brain),
mris, two different pet scans that shows amyloid deposits and one
that shows labeled sugars(fdg) utilized in the brain.
as the disease progresses the scans gradually become more abnormal
the pet scans that are used are only available in research studies

my progress will be monitored with these tests over this
period of time and any progression will be easily detected
the problem is some of the testing will not be available to me
to review
i will do extra spinal fluid analysis myself and the dna analysis
separately as those results i will not be able to see from the
research study

the neuropsychological exam results will be generally be reported
as the same, worse, or better

the scans may be partially reviewable

at the end of the 54 months i will know if i have progressed and
whether or not i have alzheimers or will develop alzheimers

at my death a brain autopsy will be done to compare the changes
that have occurred in the brain with the results seen on the scans

why do this study
although much of what is done is not reviewable by me i will still be
able to have my progress monitored and will generally know where i
am with this disease
i want to feel like i am contributing to the research for the cure and
treatment of this devastating disease that will affect everyone who
reads this blog in some way and may be the disease that breaks
the bank on our health care system

i will blog as i go along with this study which starts in april

the organicgreen doctor

know the 10 signs # 5, riders not ryders, apoe gene, ask not

KNOW THE 10 SIGNS # 5
5     trouble understanding visual and spatial relationships

for some people having visual problems is a sign of
alzheimers     they may have difficulty reading, judging
distance and determining color or contrast     in terms of
perception they may pass a mirror and think someone
else is in the room
they may not recognize their own reflection

whats typical
vision changes related to cataracts

as i read these and write these signs each day i reflect
back on my moms journey with this disease and see
things that we did not recognize as a problem early on

later on in her disease these were very obvious to everyone

RIDERS NOT RYDERS
from yahoo.com
a high school whose mascot is the rough riders bought
new jerseys for their high school basketball team
the company that made the jerseys misspelled the name
of the team      they spelled it ryders instead of riders

the company admitted the mistake
problem is the school has to send the jerseys back first
then the company will send the corrected jerseys

the problem is the team is in the district basketball play
and cant send in the jerseys      besides they are the best
team in the district

one    know where those jerseys were printed
two    maybe they could get ryders to sponsor the team
three  dont change the jerseys while they are winning
          would be bad karma

 APOE GENE
the gene called apoe produces a protein called apolipoprotein e
it occurs on chromosone 19 and has been associated with
alzheimers
there are several forms(alleles)
apoe 2, apoe 3, apoe 4

apoe 2 is rare and may protect against the disease

apoe 3 is the  most common  it has a neutral role in the disease
           maybe it affects it or maybe it doesnt
           if lucky it doesnt

apoe 4 is the sucky one     am afraid thats the one i have and
           my mom had and my close relative has
           40% of people with this gene gets alzheimers
           more people with alzheimers have this form than
           people without the disease
           1/3 of the people with alzheimers do not have the
           apoe 4 form

next month i will be tested for this gene and will let you
know what the results are

the final diagnosis of alzheimers can only definitely be made
at autopsy
at my death i will  agree to have my brain donated to
ut soutwestern alzheimers research so they can compare
what was found clinically with the final pathology of my brain
this is how research scientists can definitely know their diagnosis
was correct

ASK NOT 
fifty years ago yesterday jfk gave his inaugural address that
launched the new frontier
it included the famous phrase

ask not what your country can do for you
-ask what you can do for your country


remember its a good football weekend

the organicgreen doctor