alzheimers news-i agree

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-I AGREE

when i read what she said
i turned to my wife she as she drank her morning tea
as she sat
in what i call our spin around chairs in the morning sun
looking out over the courtyard of our condo

i said
did you read that article
did you see what she said
i agree
i told her

please be the drug

thats the title of this time magazine article this week
on
inside one couples experimental treatment to battle
alzheimers disease

lets say before i go further
these studies are available all across the usa to those
who have early alzheimers and mild cognitive impariment
and those who dont have memory issues yet

these as of right now may be the drugs that will slow down
the disease

when reading this article and like this weekend on the
alzheimers panel i was on with other patients
i am definitely no where near the stages that they are at

this couple is on infusion #15
i am on infusion #13

the stuff called aducanumab is an antibody thats given monthly
it was discovered in elderly folks who didnt get alzheimers disease
the lab produced it in large quantities to be used in this study

it works differently than the others you may read about
its more aggressive at removing the amyloid plaques in the brain
than the others
in the initial study the amyloid was removed and the study subjects
memory improved

after the 18 month infusion
for me that will be in september 2018
i will definitely start receiving the real drug for at least 2 more years

i like peter hope that i am getting the real drug
but
like him if not
im ok with it
at least im early in the disease
earlier than he is
my our participation hopefully will make a difference in the
future for others

all this was not available ten years or so ago when my
younger brother was diagnosed
or
15 years ago when my mom was diagnosed
there was no potential treatments out there being researched
that had any promise

now there are quite a few
that work differently to slow things down

there are 2700 of us in the study across the world
i think we may be the lucky ones to get treated so that the
alzheimers disease gets slowed down
we be the first to have this happen
ever

2/3 of us are getting the real aducanumab
1/3 of us are getting the placebo ie saline

i feel like im getting the real drug based on side effects i have
i sure hope so
as
what a difference these 3-4 years of treatment could make in
our lives
my wife she and i

sometime in about 2020 when all this is published i might actually
find out whether i got the placebo or not the first 18 months

some thoughts as i read this article and watched the video
if you are worried or have a loved one with it
you should read it and watch the video

ok so i cried twice
once watching the video
i could see my wife she and i sitting on that bench looking
out at the water wondering what lies in the future for us
and
then again when i read the article

he mentions driving
he cant drive by himself as he gets lost
ive made the decision to not be a statistic
getting injured in a wreck or injuring someone else
or
being one of those elderly alerts that shows up on the interstate
nope
if i have issues
im done
take my keys

he carries the genetic gene the apoe 4 gene for late onset alzhiemers
25% of you carry that gene
it increases your risks about 5 x for getting alzheimers disesase

i carry the apoe 4/apoe 4 gene the double version or homozygous
3% of you carry that gene
it increases your risks about 10-20 x for getting alzheimers disease

to get into this study you have to have a positive amyvid pet scan
for beta amyloid in the brain the hallmark of alzheimers disease
im in the study so you know what that means for my scan

the national institute of health nih has been given a doubling of their
alzheimers research funding
bill gates from microsoft has given millions for research now since
his dad has alzheimers disease
mark zuckerberg from facebook has also agreed to fund millions
for alzheimers research
both are emphasizing the mid level alzheimers researchers since thats
where all the drugs and probably the treatment will come from

so
as they hung this infusion #13 this last week at ucla
my lucky number
under mary easton alzheimers centers guidance
i looked at the nurse
i said
i want the real deal

she looked down at me
smiled real big
and
said
it is
;)

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-diagnose before any symptoms

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-DIAGNOSE BEFORE ANY SYMPTOMS

this is world alzheimers month
its the 6th leading cause of death in the us
some think its number 4
in the county we are living in it is the 4th leading cause
of death here
there are 5,000,000 folks with the disease in the us
by 2050 there will be 16,000,000 folks in the us with this disease

i read this article from the wall street journal titled
an alzheimers diagnosis-before any symptoms

now i found the article interesting
if you want to know about getting diagnosed earlier
for yourself or your family
you should read this article
heres the link to it

now i didnt need to read this article to learn about
all of this
as
i have lived this the last 7 years

as i have meandered through the private neurology world
then the alzheimers research world as a patient

as i have written this blog researching what i write about

as i have given lectures on alzheimers disease

as i have answered questions from folks at q and a sessions

i have learned all this stuff thats in the article
first hand i must add

i read today about a new research study thats starting up
it will run for 8 years at usc and other universities
folks who are diagnosed with

prealzheimers disease-folks with  no symptoms but with positive tests
or
mild cognitive impairment due to alzheimers disease-folks with mild
symptoms but with positive tests

will be given one of these
an infusion of a vaccine like the one i am getting now at ucla
or
a pill that prevents the bad amyloid from being produced and
deposited in the brain
or
those unlucky ones will get that placebo thing

the question of whether identifying folks before they get symptoms
or when they get early early symptoms
then giving them treatment long term
will it make a difference
we will find out in 8 years

although
studies like the aducanumab study i am in or the crenezumab study thats
on going now will partially answer that question in 5 years

we are on the brink
of finding an answer

in this article all the testing they write about
has oozed over from the research world into the private medical world
such that these tests may get done by a private neurologist
seeing you or a loved one for the workup for memory loss

so in 2010 if you could fast forward that to 2017
if when i went to the neurologist
even before i had a memory test done

i could have had
memory tests which would have showed short term memory issues

genetic blood tests for the early onset or dominantly inherited gene
and for the late onset alzheimers gene the apoe 4 gene

spinal tap analysis for the beta amyloid and tau
these levels become abnormal as the disease progresses

an amyloid pet scan that would show if the beta amyloid was present
if you have even early alzheimers it will be positive
if it is negative you probably dont have alzheimers

we are almost there now to be able to identify if you have it
before symptoms start
these studies like the ones i have been involved in will show
if this is true

now
a lot of thought and preplanning needs to be done
before you have these done
especially if you are in the prealzheimers state

it can be i must say quite overwhelming to get the results
i liken it to finding out
that you have huntington disease
or
that you have a terminal cancer

it requires a lot of soul searching and contemplation
to get these diagnoses
the end result is the same
all ending in death from the disease
some quicker than others

this may be the limitation of folks having the testing
for alzheimers
they might not be ready to know

organizations like the alzheimers texas and alzheimers association
and us against alzheimers can help with the process

you
can take care of your health
can get involved in the support of research and education
by
volunteering with these groups
helping us with our walks to raise money to help the fight

go to the alzheimers texas site www.txalz.org to find the central texas
location of their walks

go to the alzheimers association site www.alz.org to find their walks
located all across the us

we cant do it without your help

my walks


alzheimers texas williamson county walk september 23rd


santa barbara walk to end alzheimers october 28th

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-theres is more of it now

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-THERE IS MORE OF IT NOW

i read this article
well several articles in fact
about how alzheimers disease is increasing in numbers
its starting to steamroll its self to the top of the charts
not a good thing

this week
on wednesday

i boarded a plan in los angeles to fly to dallas
to get my infusion #4 of aducanumab or placebo
in the promising biogen aducanumab study
i have 14 more to go before a decision is made to continue
the study for another 42 months
i hoping for good results in 18 months and that we all in the study
can get the real stuff for the last 42 months

well
so
i had a lot of time to think about alzheimers disease
about those articles
about my family tree
about what this all means for all of us
my family and yours in the future

i thought about my family tree
i have tried to piece our history our dementia history
from talking to siblings and cousins who remember stories
of our family
some i remember

what
for our family
both parents definitely my mom and maybe my dad had alzheimers disease
my younger brother had it
my older brother has it now
i am early in the process
so far
no other sibling has shown any signs or symptoms
i will say they are all doing the aggressive stuff you need to do
to slow it all down
take care of your health
eat healthy

then i moved to my moms family
all 5 of her siblings had some type of memory loss
her mother had dementia in her 60s
her grandfather had dementia
thats as much as i know of her familys medical history

my fathers family had some dementia
his sister died from it
his mother had dementia when she died
i dont know more than that
his dad died from other causes in his 60s

so why would our family have all this in our medical family tree
well
i thought about it
what would make this happen

first i know that i have the double apoe 4 gene
so i got one from my mom and one from my dad
so both sides of the tree carry this gene
double it and the risks go up 20x
single it and the risks go up 5x

high cholesterol is rampant in both sides of the family
i call it the heart attack stroke kind of cholesterol
now
we know that also it may be the alzheimers kind
whats bad for the heart is bad for the brain

our family tends to have high bad ldl cholesterol
and
high triglcerides
diet places a part in this as some of my siblings on a
plant based diet have reduced their numbers to normal

i have come close but require a statin to get them down
to where they need to be

high blood pressure is also rampant on both sides of the family
both parents had it
many siblings have it

having not well controlled blood pressure
the way i think of it
is
you know how you have a big roll of bubble wrap
the kind you can pop
well thats the brain or the heart
well
not controlling your blood pressure or cholesterol
just gradually pops those little bubble wrap cells
gradually making the whole wrap unusable

well
in my mind
thats how i visualize the brain when you dont take control
of your lipids and your blood pressure

obesity and diet
both parents were overweight
some relatives are and some arent

diet a typical southern diet is not a good one
now for a lot of our life we commonly ate a lot of
vegetables etc but its what we cooked them with
lard etc was not necessarily good for you
eating off the farm is usually a good way to eat
though

so
all these factors
genetics well we cant change that
high cholesterol
high blood pressure
obesity
diet
maybe environmental factors
these all contribute to this high incidence
in our family

if you notice
the only risk factor that our family cant change
is the genetic one
the rest
is totally under our control

so i thought about all this this week
as i read how the incidence in the us and the world
is starting to skyrocket
as we start defunding research on this disease that
will be the number one killer in the us soon

we and all of us
can do something to slow it down

bug your congress person
help raise money
take good care of your health

support
our alzheimers walks to help raise money to fight this disease

we will be doing the
alzheimers texas walk in georgetown texas
on saturday september 23rd
team name is organicgreendoctor

i also will have a team in the
santa barbara walk to end alzheimers 
on saturday october 28th
team name is organicgreendoctor.com

join us

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-protect your heart protect your brain

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-PROTECT YOUR HEART PROTECT YOUR BRAIN

it appears that if you protect your heart in middle age
then you are actually protecting your brain later on in later life
against the development of alzheimers

there is a saying
whats good for your heart is good for the brain

there is an amino acid called homocysteine that is associated with an
increased risk of heart disease and stroke and maybe alzheimers disease
if it is elevated that is

if the level is elevated its easily treated with folic acid and vitamin b12
mine was quite elevated
its now normal using these supplements

like a lot of things in medicine not everyone agrees with homocysteines
relationship to heart disease stroke or alzheimers disease
i personally believe in it
since
if i dont and im wrong then not correcting it can add to my risk level
for alzheimers disease

it seems so easy to fix
so i fixed it

this week i wrote this blog called 23andnotme
about the 23and me company doing these 10 genetic tests
one is for the gene that puts you at risk for
late onset alzheimers disease

the gene the apoe 4 gene
increases your chances of developing
late onset alzheimers disease
by 10-20 times if you get the homozygous apoe 4 apoe 4
by 3-5 times if you get the single apoe 4 gene

whether it does lead you to getting alzheimers disease
is determined
by how well you take care of your health
by environmental factors
by other health issues you may have

some folks with the apoe 4 gene never get alzheimers disease

so i was asked by several folks if they should get tested
i usually say no since if you dont really understand what it means
then you think you got the kiss of death if yours is positive

but
i thought about it some since i was asked
maybe just maybe
if they are positive
that it will scare the beejeevers out of them
to take real good of their health
so the risks from having the gene will be diminished

i must say it worked for me

now dont confuse this with
the dominant gene for early onset alzheimers disease
like the folks on the 60 minute show and the pbs show had

if you get this gene
you are 100% going to get alzheimers disease
at an early age like in your early 50s or younger
this gene represents less than 1% of alzheimers cases

so a recent study looked at risk factors for heart disease
in middle age
obesity   lack of exercise   high blood pressure   high cholesterol
and diabetes
these folks were followed into their elderly years

those folks with these risk factors in middle age
had higher levels of the bad beta amyloid up in their brains
in the elderly years
which is associated with the development of alzheimers disease

so
if you do get tested for the apoe 4 gene
and or
if you are middle age
and
if you
are overweight
and or
lack exercise
and or
have high cholesterol
and or
have high blood pressure
and or have diabetes
thats not well controlled
then you are probably destined to a retirement
that you will not remember

that could be a combo thats almost as bad as having the dominant gene

so my advice to you
if you have a family history of alzheimers disease
if you want to do what you can to not get it
then
in your middle age years
do what i did aggressively at 60 when i was diagnosed
wish i had been this aggressive at 40 or younger


go on a MIND DIET or consider a vegetarian diet

my sister and brother did that and have lost over 50 lbs
and have been able to completely get off all their
blood pressure meds and cholesterol meds
well all their meds
i still have to take mine though
im ok with that

exercise regularly

maintain a normal body weight

maintain
a normal blood pressure
a normal cholesterol
a normal blood pressure

if you dont do all these
then you may be doomed

for those of you who read my blog
who are genetically kin to me
that
is you

yes
i know
new preventions and treatments are coming down the road
but
it may be 15-20 years from now
hopefully my aducanumab stuff will be one of those

as of now
thats what you need to do to slow down the disease process

thats my answer
i give to folks when they say
what i can i do


i will be doing a presentation on
clinical trials in alzheimers disease
at the

5TH ANNUAL ALZHEIMER'S SYMPOSIUM
friday april 28th
at
the mayborn convention center
temple texas

join us
its free
lunch is provided
registration is required
just
click here

the organicgreen doctor

23andnotme

23ANDNOTME
6 and a half years ago when i got my diagnosis
i began searching to solidify what it was due to
eventually it seems its due to
alzheimers disease

one of the tests i did was a genetic test
i had it done as part of the adni 2 alzheimers disease study i was in
however
as ive written before
i couldnt get those results from the study
so
if i wanted to know what they were
i would have to have blood redrawn and sent into a private lab

so
my neurologist gave me the form from the lab
where she sent her diagnostic neurological tests

so
i took the form
checked the box for alzheimers blood tests
sent it in with my blood
i got a phone call
you need to get your doctor to sign this form
verifying that you have been counseled about these tests
and
that you are having symptoms
so
i did that

they then ran the tests

they understood the significance of counseling about these tests

one was a genetic test for the dominant alzheimers gene
you get that one you are going to get
early onset alzheimers disease
100% of the time

mine was negative
now
even though i was a doctor i really didnt understand
that much about this early onset alzheimers gene
it represents less than 1% of the alzheimers cases

then
the other test was the one that tests for your risk for
late onset alzheimers disease
its called the apoe 4 gene

again
i really didnt understand the significance of this test
then when it was done
i surely do now

mine was positive
i was devastated
taking this as the final answer as why i was having some
short term memory loss
then
as i read more and started to understand the apoe 4 gene
it took several years to really understand what it means
i finally do

if your apoe4 gene is positive
especially if it is the apoe 4/apoe4 gene
it doesnt mean you are gonna get alzheimers disease
like with the dominant genes

it just means you are at a higher risk for getting alzheimers disease
how you live your life taking care of your health
decides usually how severe if at all the disease is

some people with the apoe 4 gene never get alzheimers disease
those with the gene though are at a higher risk
maybe 10-20 times increased risk

in my case
the apoe 4/apoe 4 put me at risk for getting the disease
and
it looks like i have it


23andme.com

so as i read THIS ARTICLE about
23andme being allowed to do these 10 tests
i sort of feel uncomfortable
they mention there is a test for late onset alzheimers disease
in the 10 test panel
its the apoe 4 gene test they are talking about

ive known folks who had that done
they think they are doomed
they arent though
they just have increased risk
some of that risk they can alter

it is unlikely that most folks who do that 10 panel test
have the knowledge that i have about the apoe 4 test
which i have learned by reading a lot of about the test
i am able to put the test in its true perspective

for me
its one piece to my alzheimers puzzle
add
a strong family history
a normal memory test followed by abnormal memory tests
an abnormal levels of beta amyloid and tau in my spinal fluid
that is alzheimers levels
a positive amyvid pet scan for beta amyloid

all these together make my diagnosis what it is now
mild cognitive impariment due to alzheimers disease
with some degree of certainty

the apoe 4 test alone doesnt mean as much

the 23andme panel results
really if you do this
any positive test should be repeated in a reputable lab to make
sure it is really positive
any positive test should be discussed with a specialist in that field
or a geneticist
who can really explain what the test means

so far me
its 23andnotme

dont willy nilly do lab tests because you can
there is harm
emotionally
and
financially that can happen

get it in your medical record
you are now a high risk patient
you may not get
life insurance
long term care insurance
disability insurance
based on what happens with the health care
you may not get health insurance

be careful

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-the final answer is....

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-THE FINAL ANSWER IS....

for those who dont know
my story
here is a brief summary

my mother and younger brother died from the disease
my father may have had it when he died
my older brother probably has early alzheimers disease

8 years ago i had a normal memory test when i was seeking my
long term insurance
6 years ago while seeking to be in the normal group for a large
research study called adni i was found to have short term memory loss
on memory testing

this is when i quit working and started the alzheimers drug
aricept or donepezil which slows down the symptoms
but doesnt stop the disease process
if started early it has better and longer effects in slowing these
symptoms

testing done that was positive were

i carry the apoe4 apoe4 gene that puts me at high risk
maybe 10-20 x increased risk of developing alzheimers disease

testing on my spinal fluid reveals i have low beta amyloid
and high tau levels
this was done 6 years ago
this is associated with alzheimers disease

my mri scans and glucose metabolism pet scans are all normal
early in the disease these can be negative but later
they become positive

i have low b12 levels low vitamin d3 levels
high homocysteine levels
homocysteine if elevated is associated with an increased risk
for heart disease stroke and alzheimers disease
maybe

these levels are corrected by taking replacement supplements
under the care of my primary care doctor
my levels are now all normal

i aggressively take care of my health
i follow dr bredesens protocol from his study
reversal of cognitive decline
again under the care of my physicians

so i have been stable now for 6 years
probably no one notices i have a problem
maybe not even my wife she
but i do

i know that i have alzheimers
deep inside my body tells me
that i do

so all of the things i am doing now
i realize they dont stop the disease
it just keeps marching on from one brain cell to the next
they only slow things down some
i know
that in the end this disease wins

unless
i can find something to stop this disease from marching on
so
for the last 6 years i have been keeping a close eye
on all the research thats going on
looking for the drug that might treat the disease
or at least
slow it down significantly

oh theres real promising stuff out there
but
it may be a decade or more away
too late for me

beta amyloid is a protein that accumulates in the brain of
a person with alzheimers disease
many feel like its the cause of the disease
remove it or prevent it from accumulating may
prevent or slow down the disease

so three years ago i spotted the aducanumab study
here is a good review of it from ucsf memory center

so for me
it seemed to be the one i was looking far
it seemed to work in a preliminary study called phase 1
folks with my diagnosis had all the bad beta amyloid
which is thought to be the cause of alzheimers
removed from their brains
ie
their amyvid pet scans for the beta amyloid which showed
beta amyloid throughout the brain
after a year of treatment it was all cleared out
then
these folks memory also improved
thats the true measure
does it make things better

so if this stuff works
it should stop the disease in its tracks
or
at least remarkably slow it now
so
that
a person with it may die from something else
like maybe old age

so
this was where i was at about a year ago
when i heard this study was coming
i knew i wanted to be in this one

i started the five step process last november
requiring multiple visits to work through the steps
some involving my wife she
i passed all the tests
meaning some of them were abnormal
then
last week i went up the fifth step
the amyvid pet scan for beta amyloid in the brain

if its positive
i have alzheimers disease for sure
im in the study

if its negative
i am not in the study
i just got a big time reprieve

are you nervous
anxious
scared
sad
waiting like this

no i said
this has been going on too long
i also have been open and written and freely talked about
all this
i think it has helped
plus
it has helped to get educational stuff out to folks
many who have now volunteered for research studies

now i did cry when i heard i was accepted just to be considered
to be in the study

so
yesterday
as i pulled up my email
there it was from the
alzheimers disease center at ut southwestern

i am sorry to say dr nash
but
your amyvid pet scan shows that you have amyloid deposits
throughout your brain
i knew this was going to be that way
so it means i have alzheimers disease
especially when you add up my history and other testing

thats the bad news
but
the good news is that qualifies you to be in the
aducanumab study

as soon as we get all the official confirmations
we will set you up for the infusions of
aducanumab monthly for 18 months then another 3.5 years if it seems
to work
i realize i also may get the placebo for those 18 months
my chances are 33% i will get the placebo
but
after that i will be able to get the real stuff
either way i am fine with
because eventually i will get the real drug

so in this slide above
on the right is what my scan looks like
all the red stuff is amyloid
then
if i get treatment
in a year my scan will look like that on the left

so am i sad
yes and no
its sort of sad to get this final answer
like being told you got a noncurable cancer
remember alzheimers is usually the true cause of death for those who get it

did i cry
yes i cried yesterday
like when my mom died and my brother died

am i happy
yes i am happy but sad at the same time
i know that i might be able to do something now to slow this down
be involved
with something that may change a lot of folks lives

as of right now
i feel some hope
i am ready to face this new stage in my our lives

i feel like i just won a million dollars
or maybe the lottery

the sad but happy
the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-would you want to know

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-WOULD YOU WANT TO KNOW

there are diseases that you can be tested for
to find out if you have them
like
huntingtons disease

the problem is
there are no real treatments for the disease

so
why get tested
right

there are test for dominant genes for alzheimers disease
that you can have done
if they are positive
it means that you will 100% get alzheimers disease

now the apoe 4 gene that i have
you can get tested for
but if its positive
that doesnt mean you will get the disease
but you are at a higher risk

if you get the double version apoe4/apoe4 version
then your risks are even higher
but
its not 100% that you will get alzheimers disease

im afraid for me though
that i didnt beat the odds
i am a few days to a couple of weeks
from finding out where i stand
for sure

yesterday
my wife she and i sat and watched a dvred tv show
from pbs
it was shown on wednesday night on pbs at 900pm
pbs the tv network trump is trying to get rid of

as we watched the show
yes i teared all through the show
well these shows are getting harder for me to watch
still alice just about did me in on watching this stuff
but
i made myself watch this one
alzheimers every minute counts

here is the link to watch it online
its is 50+ minutes long
the video online also is broken into segments

heres the gist of the video
folks
we are in trouble in the us and the world
alzheimers disease is going to devastate us
financially and emotionally

without a treatment or cure
none exists as of now
we will soon spend 1trillion dollars a year on alzheimers disease
its treatment and care of those affected
thats more than what we spend on defense and the military

it will break our budget and overwhelm the healthcare system

just for these reasons we should all watch this video

in the video there is a woman who shut down her business
to take care of her 60+ year old mother in the later stages
of this devastating disease

she has devoted her life and her finances to caring for
her mom
she is hispanic which is common with hispanic families
to care for their elderly
she is overwhelmed

then
she agrees to get tested herself
for the dominant gene
she is positive
she feels like she is looking in a mirror every time
she looks at her mom
she knows her day is coming soon in the next 10-15 years


i always said that thats the way i felt
every time i saw my younger brother as he progressed
through his disease
a mirror of what was to come for me
yes im in that 10 year window like she is

now she is in a research study using the antibody stuff
thats similar to the one i am hoping to enter
she gets monthly shots in the abdomen of the antibody to
the bad beta amyloid that
if it works
will slow down or prevent her from getting alzheimers

this one is similar to the colombia study that was shown on
60 minutes recently

the one i hope to get in soon uses intravenous infusions
monthly to do the same thing

these potential treatments have the best hope of
doing something to slow this disease down

we hope

if you want to know what its like
to care for someone with the disease
to face the financial and emotional hurdles of this disease
to see what its like to find out you are going to get the disease
to hear from researchers and politicians about this disease
then
watch this show
lucky i guess is that this disease is apolitical

here is the link again

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-concussions and alzheimers

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-CONCUSSIONS AND ALZHEIMERS

whenever i am interviewed for an alzheimers study
they ask if i ever had a concussion
if i say yes
they go into greater details on each event
for me
thats three

the thinking is that concussions may put you at risk for
developing alzheimers disease

recent researchers looked at afghanistan and iraq war veterans
who had sustain one or more concussions and compared them to ones
who didnt have concussions

they looked at areas of the brain that are the first to
show atrophy in alzheimers disease
they also looked at areas of the brain as controls
that arent usually affected by alzheimers disease early on

what they found was that in folks who had been concussed
there was lessening of the cortical thickening of the brain in the areas
that alzheimers disease attacks first
to cause shrinkage as the disease progresses

the average age of these vets is 32

so these concussed vets brains now have thinner brain cortex
in these areas
implying that if alzheimers attacks the atrophy may be worse
also
if you are genetically programmed to get alzheimers
like with the apoe 4 gene or the dominant alzheimers gene
you would be at an even higher risk for developing alzheimers in those areas

so
this may be another reason to think about
playing concussive sports
especially
if you are potentially programmed genetically to get alzheimers
thats at least 25% of our population

tennis anyone

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-it fights worms

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-IT FIGHTS WORMS

the apoe 4 gene
if you have it increases your chance of developing
late onset alzheimers disease
what that means is that
you tend to get the disease later in life
in your late 60s or 70s or sometimes in your 80s

if you get the single variant apoe 4
your chances are doubled or some say increased 5 times
same as someone who has diabetes they dont control

if you get the double variant apoe 4/apoe 4
your chances are increased from 5-20 times
based on which source you read

i have the double variant apoe 4/apoe 4 gene
putting me for high risk of developing late onset
alzheimers disease

those with the apoe 4 gene also have
elevated cholesterol levels
leading to more heart disease and strokes

the percentage of the apoe 4 gene is about 25%
in the white us population

the percentage of the apoe 4 gene is about 33%
in norway

so
why did evolution have this gene be so prevalent
in our population

usually bad genes kill you off early
so
its prevalence stays low

so why evolution did you create this damn
apoe 4 gene to cause us and our families such misery
why
was it naturally selected to be here now

now years and years and years ago
well
folks didnt live to be 70 and 80
they died in their 20s and 30s
so
the apoe 4 gene causing alzheimers disease
well
it was a non factor

so
scientists have found in the amazon
no not the drone people
the amazon river place in brazil
there is a population of folks
isolated from the world
that go about their business as they have for
hundreds or thousands of years

they get intestinal parasites or worms real bad
it seems that those with the apoe 4 gene
for some reason
seem to have better memory as they age
the apoe 4 gene provides some protective measure
to these individuals brain

scientists think that the apoe 4 carries the cholesterol
to the brain but keeps the worms from getting any of it

so
isnt fate strange
a gene protects folks in a primitive tribe
but
kills folks in a more advanced society
where there is sanitation clean water and refrigeration

now the natural selection is going the other way
there is less advantage to have the apoe 4 gene
i say none
there is now more advantage to have the milder gene apoe 2 or apoe3

makes you wonder huh

here is an article that discusses this 

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-they had it will i get it too

ALZHEIMERS  NEWS-THEY HAD IT WILL I GET IT TOO



well
if they had early onset alzheimers disease or familial alzheimers disease
the answer may be
yes

if a parent carries the gene for this which is dominant
there is  a 50/50 chance you will get the gene
if you get the gene you will probably get the disease
usually

these genes are thankfully rare and represent only less than
1% of the cases of alzheimers disease
thank goodness

now if you carry the apoe 4 gene like i do
if you get the apoe 4 apoe 4 version you are at increased
risk for developing the late onset alzheimers
the much more common version than early onset

if like me you get the apoe 4 gene
it doesnt mean you are going to get alzheimers disease
you are just at a higher risk

how you live your life healthwise may determine if you
get it

like control blood pressure cholesterol diabetes stress anxiety
sleep problems physical activity obesity mental activity diet
social activity etc

its been shown in studies that folks who take care of their
health as above may decrease the risk of developing
alzheimers disease by as much as 40%

if alzheimers runs in your family
you are at increased risk to get it
but
that doesnt mean you are going to get it
unless you inherit that dominant gene

if a parent or family member had early onset alzheimers disease
you can have the gene test for alzheimers
but
you must be sure you want to know you have it
it is a life changer
especially if you are young

the nih and i also recommend that these folks seek
genetic counseling prior to having the testing done

for me
if i was in that situation i would have it done
then
face what was dealt me
so
i could plan my life accordingly
but
a lot of people dont feel that way

now in my case
i am one more test away from knowing as well as i can
know
if what i have is alzheimers disease

i want that information to plan my life
others
in my situation would not and dont feel that way

it may be i guess my medical training

here is the link to the nih booklet with
if someone in my family has had alzheimers disease
will i have it too in it

read it if you are worried


join us tomorrow for the
travis county alzheimers texas walk
at camp mabry in austin texas

we will be walking with the austin regional clinic team
you can
donate to and or join our team at this link 

the organicgreen doctor

the fog

THE FOG
when we were growing up we were always outside
especially in the summer
we would stay out late into the evening after sunset


i can remember playing outside with friends and my siblings
when someone would yell
hey here it comes
the fog machine
we would watch it come up the street with its fog being
sprayed back behind it
as it would pass us we would take off running behind it
running in all that fog

it would eventually outrun us but we would catch it as
it went one block over and came back our way

we would repeat this until it got further then we were allowed
to go this late at night

running so hard
breathing so hard to keep up
we sucked in an awful lot of that fog into our lungs
and it seems now we sucked a lot in
that ended up in our brains

now possibly leaving some of us in a fog as we get older











the fog had stuff in it to kill mosquitoes
i dont know for sure
but that was the time that ddt was used to kill mosquitoes
so im presuming thats what it was or some other
bad chemical like that

it ddt has since been banned in the united states
thanks monsanto for designing such a deadly poison
that affects us still
and will for hundreds of years

researchers have found that those who were exposed to
ddt when they were younger
may have a higher incidence of alzheimers disease

in my immediate family of 10 people
that appears to be 40%
my mother
my father
my younger brother
and
probably me

did sucking in all that fog somehow speed up
the process for my younger brother
and maybe me

even though ddt was banned in the us in 1972
80% of the patients in this study who had alzheimers had ddt
still in their body

thats at least 40+ years ago this exposure could have happened
unless they were still exposed from contaminated areas and animals
and drinking water

wonder if those west virgina folks need to be worried about
something like this happening to them in their later years

then in those patients who have the apoe 4 double gene
(that would be me and i presume my younger brother
had that bad combo also)
had 4 times the level of dde the breakdown product of ddt that
persists in the body compared to those without that gene

this ddt and dde seems to cause an increase in the production of that
protein called beta amyloid that is associated with alzheimers disease

its that sticky gooey stuff that sticks in the brain
and starts that chain of reactions that
ends in alzheimers disease

what is bad is that its not banned in all countries
some of the fruits and vegetables we eat from those countries
may have the ddt and other chemicals on it

i guess if you are kin to me you shouldnt eat fruit and vegetables
from those countries

pesticides like ddt have been shown to cause parkinsonism
so the link to alzheimers is not surprising
and
as mentioned above
it may be inducing the body to make this beta amyloid

thanks again monsanto etc
you did it to us all again

so in my youth i entered into that fog in the summer
now in my later years
i again enter that fog
maybe caused by the same chemical
ddt

folks this is more reason why we and why i should stay organic
in what we eat and do in our landscapes

who know what else is out there

the organicgreen doctor

apoe

APOE

i carry the apoe4 gene that increases the chances of developing
alzheimers disease
since i have the homozygous or double version or apoe4/apoe4
version my chances are increased 30 times
the single version or heterozygous or apoe4 increases ones chances
by about 5 times

if you have uncontrolled high blood pressure and or uncontrolled diabetes
and or uncontrolled cholesterol your chances of developing alzheimers is
the same as mine

so take care of those things please
its something you can do to help prevent the onset of this awful disease
in yourself


examiner.com article on the study

in a recent study they looked at infants who had the apoe 4 gene
now why on why would they know that these infants have this gene

they took these infants and did mri scans of the brain
now in alzheimers there are areas in the middle of the brain and
the rear of the brain that are affected by this disease

in these infants with the apoe4 gene those areas were found to
have decreased brain growth compared to infants
who didnt have the gene

there was no difference in the infants in their overall development
whether they were apoe positive or not

the question is is this apoe4 gene providing a foothold for the
disease that will show up 50-80 years later

25% of the us population carry this gene
60% of all alzheimers patients have this gene

the gene regulates cholesterol which is used to grow the brain
it also regulates the amyloid that over accumulates in the brain
with alzheimers

in these infants lifetime
this will all be worked out and well or theyll know what it all means
they will have access to a cure
they will know what to do over a lifetime to prevent this awful disease
this alzheimers disease

all we can do for now is to support the research
take care of ourselves
by doing all those things  needed to stay healthy
control blood pressure
control diabetes
control cholesterol
maintain a normal body weight
exercise
eat a healthy diet like the mediterranean diet
control anxiety depression
sleep normal
be happy
stay active mentally
avoid alcohol abuse drug abuse tobacco abuse

the organicgreen doctor