alzheimers news-baceless

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-BACELESS

in the amyloid theory of alzheimers disease
beta amyloid accumulates in the brain
this accumulation leads to brain cell death

many of the new drugs are aimed at
1 removing the amyloid thats accumulated in the brain
or
2 preventing it from being deposited
or
3 preventing it from being produced in the first place

the drug biogens aducanumab that i receive in my monthly infusions
at ucla if i am getting the real drug instead of the placebo
is an antibody that goes in and does 1 and 2
it removes the accumulated amyloid from the brain
and
it prevents it from being deposited in the brain by binding it
up before it can be stuck in the brain

as aside
i have now done 1 year of these infusions
in 6 months i will be switched to definitely getting
the real aducanumab for at least 2 more years
so
i am hoping that ive been on the real drug so that by
septermber 2018 i will have received 20 doses of the
real drug

if that is so my amyvid pet scan for the amyloid that was
in my brain 1 year ago should be all clear
fingers crossed

now there is a lot of research going on to block the
bace gene or beta secretase gene in the brain that
cleaves the beta amyloid to make the stuff that sticks in the brain

there is a tablet produced now that is taken regularly
is called a bace inhibitor
which means it blocks the gene
so the bad protein amyloid is not produced

by preventing the amyloid from being made it cant be
deposited in the brain


studies using this bace inhibitor are ongoing now
in patients

who are prealzheimers
which means they have no memory issues but they have
positive scans like that above for the bad beta amyloid in the brain
eg
if i had a scan 20 years ago it probably would have been positive
for the bad beta amyloid

who have mild cognitive impairment or early alzheimers

so by stopping or reducing the amyloid production in the brain
alzheimers disease would be slowed or stopped

recently researcheres were able to remove the bace gene
totally in rats with alzheimers disease
the rats memory improved back to normal
so there was no bad beta amyloid in the brain

so by removing this gene or inhibiting it with drugs
alzheimers disease could be prevented or slowed down

so
maybe in the future
folks will take a bace inhibitor pill to prevent the
bad amyloid from being produced
then
add a drug like aducanumab that i am on
to remove any beta amyloid that was produced or deposited
then
you could treat
or
if we are lucky
cure alzheimers disease

lets hope we are this close

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-in memoriam

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-IN MEMORIAM

i thought about these two guys a lot last week
both were from arkansas

one was my brother joe who died 4 years ago
in the final stages of alzheimers disease

here is the blog i wrote about him after his death
he was the mirror i looked into
as
i saw myself
knowing that this is where i will be sometime in
the future
when i dont know
im doing what i can to slow it down

here is the blog
THE SMILE


the other person
also had that same smile
it was glen campbell
who died last week in that final stage of alzheimers disease

now i have read some criticism of his family
sending him on his tours
when he struggled so much at times trying to remember his lines
however
he was doing what he loved to do
he was able to do it longer than most would have

may he rip
when you get to that final stage of this disease
death brings peacefulness
to the person
and
their family

hopefully they are at peace


this last week i had my first visit at ucla
the worse part was the traffic
its like worse than than the worse austin traffic

i had to undergo reevaluation and reintroduction to
the aducanumab study
i am able to just pick up where i left off at ut southwestern

i am about the fifth one in the aducanumab study by
biogen here at ucla

i chose ucla instead of a private neurology group
since i wanted the connections to a research facility
in case i need to be in other studies in the future
i have found it makes a difference knowing the folks
and
knowing what new stuff is out there
when it happens
it will be happening here at ucla

they have the mary easton alzheimers disease center here
that does the different research
eg they are also doing one of the bace inhibitor studies
that will probably benefit folks who have no symptoms

they could be used like the statin drugs are being used
to prevent stroke and heart attacks
these bace inhibitors may help slow down or prevent alzheimers
time will tell on that one

the aducanumab study that i am in
has more promise for us with symptoms
although if it works it will probably be given
with the bace inhibitor before folks
develop symptoms

so i went down to the infusion center
got all hooked up again
took my two hours it took to get all set up
and
get in my infusion #6
then out the door into the throngs of the traffic

12 more to go until they put everyone
placebo and real drug on the real drug for another 3 years
then soon after we will find out if this study really works

next
more blood work and an mri of the brain at ucla in two weeks

so far
i have just some daily fatigue i experience
thats hard to separate whether its the infusions
or my aricept (donepezil) or my sleep issues or my chronic iritis
i am hoping its my infusions
since that would mean i got the real deal stuff
and
not the placebo

time will tell

i also volunteered for a substudy of this one
which does extra amyvid pet scans for the
bad stuff beta amyloid
to see if it really all got cleared out after a year
that is
if i got the real stuff

however i will never know if i got the real stuff
this first 18 months
thats part of the deal
they will know but i wont

remember
we need financial support to fight this disease
and
emotional support to deal with it

join us as we walk this year


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

yes we will be in georgetown for the above walk
as we walk with our austin friends and family
do join us
come say goodbye to us

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-are these three the ones

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-ARE THESE THREE THE ONES

i am waiting for the one
that will carry us to the promised land
that promised land of no more alzheimers disease

it might be within our reach now
if these three drugs pan out to work
to slow down or stop alzheimers

aducanumab

thats my drug
that i get monthly infusions of

its undergoing clinical studies now that will be completed in 2020
it works by
removing the bad beta amyloid from the brain
removing the plaques from the brain
stimulating microglial cells to clean up damaged areas in the brain

it showed much promise in phase one studies
it removed all the measurable amyloid plaques fron the brain in those studies
those folks also noted memory improvements

if this stuff works then this will be one way to treat folks with
the early symptoms of alzheimers disease or those with no
symptoms yet but who are in that prealzheimers state that can last
15-20 years before alzheimers symptoms start

bace inhibitors

these come in pill form
they block the formation of the beta amyloid in the first place
so there is none to be deposited in the brain
thus
alzheimers disease will be slowed or prevented
those studies are ongoing now in folks with mild symptoms
and those with no symptoms yet but who are in that prealzheimers state

eg
my brother would have started in that state in his late thirties
or early forties
i would have started in that state in my mid forties to early fifties

gamma secretase modulator (gsm)

this article describes who rudolph tanzi is
he is called the rock star of science
a well known alzheimers researcher
i have seen him on ted talks and on many of the alzheimers specials
that have been on tv

he and fellow researchers have developed this brain in a petri dish
that develops alzheimers disease
it the brain in a petri dish develops amyloid plaques then develops
tangles the hallmark those two of alzheimers disease

adding the gsm drug to this petri dish
makes the amyloid plaques go away or not form and there is no
formation of tangles

its the amyloid accumulation and the tangle accumulation that causes
brain cell death in alzheimers disease

the theory is
give this gsm pill to folks and none of this stuff will happen
no amyloid accumulation
no tangles
no alzheimers disease

studies will start on this drug in 2018 on humans
if it works in humans
its a huge discovery in helping in ending alzheimers disease

so
if these three things do work
we will know in about 3 or more years
then
i will get up each morning
take my bace inhibitor pill
then
take my gsm pill
then
once a month i will go to an infusion center to get my
infusion of aducanumab
and
if it really works all this stuff
i wont ever get alzheimers disease
which
i must add
i really fear like you of having that happen to me

remember
we need financial support to fight this disease
and
emotional support to deal with it

join us as we walk this year

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

things that may help

THINGS THAT MAY HELP

a recent study showed that drinking 3-5 cups of coffee
a day
may reduce the chance of getting alzheimers disease
by 20%
could it be that easy
dont know
but
im bumping my coffee intake back up to 3 cups a day
after reading this one
even though the extra caffeine does interfere some with
my sleep
but
ill just learn how to deal with that


then i read about drinking milk every day may
decrease the chance of getting alzheimers disease
by 40%
maybe by supplying a lifetime of vitamin b12 and
vitamin d

so thats
60% so far

then there are studies especially in europe
since they keep better records than we do
that making life style changes
that ive written about here before
can lower your risk by as much
as 40%

so then if this is true
that makes me at
100% decreased risk of developing
alzheimers disease

say it aint so

well i dont like milk so that lowers down my
percentage some
to 60%
but ill take that


running more than 15 miles a week may reduce the risk
by 40%
running slightly less reduces the risk
by 25%


controlling your cholesterol with that statin
may lower the risk of dying from alzheimers
by 40%

i dont run but i walk so give me say
15%
then i control my cholesterol with statins
so give me back
that 40%
that not drinking milk took away from me

so now im back at
100% risk reduction



then new drug studies moving forward

there is a drug a bace inhhibitor thats in phase 3 studies
azd3393
sounds like something from star wars

it blocks an enzyme that is involved in making that bad sticky
stuff that accumulates in the brain in alzheimers disease
beta amyloid
by stopping the production of beta amyloid the levels
drop in the brain
thus slowing down or preventing alzheimers disease
its a pill
so we are closer to knowing if this stuff works
phase 1 studies imply it might

speed it up please
im awaiting

then
another alzheimers vaccine is closer 
aducanumab its called

it will enter phase 3 studies soon
it works by antibodies that bind the beta amyloid
and
removes them from the spinal fluid
thus slowing down or preventing alzheimers disease

so probably within 5 years we will know if these work

so in summary
drink coffee
get milk
run a lot or walk fast a lot
control cholesterol with a statin if indicated
do life style changes we have been recommending
control blood pressure diabetes cholesterol weight depression
anxiety stress be happy listen to music eat a mediterranean diet
sleep good

then

if you are at risk like i am
be saving your money to get those new alzheimers drugs
a pill and an infusion

(im sure they will be awfully expensive
but cheaper than a nursing home)

to slow down or prevent
alzheimers disease

yes
it wont be long before we will be able to say this

the organicgreen doctor

there youve done it again

THERE YOUVE DONE IT AGAIN
thats what i said yesterday as i finished the last part of the exam
im done for another year
maybe

huffingtonpost.com

we are at a crossroads now
in alzheimers research
we now have collected information for several years on folks
like me
eg in the adni study alzheimers disease neuroimaging initiative
we know how to identify folks early with testing to know with
a certain degree of certainty that alzheimers is present
now
its time to move to the next phase
lets treat it slow it down or cure it

i am in the fourth year of the adni study
the hope was it would be continued so that these
folks like me could be followed long term
but
no the funding has not been made available
thank you so much mr or ms congressperson for stopping
us in our tracks
youve done a lot for our country the last few years

not

so ill still be followed by the research center but in less detail
since the funding isnt there
so yesterday i started this new journey
still an adequate one but not one that had as much national significance

i am also still in the study where they are developing a new alzheimers
blood test as evidenced by all that blood they withdrew from my
arm yesterday
my wife she didnt faint but she didnt watch either
sometime in the future they will do this  blood test on you and be
able to tell if you will get or have alzheimers disease
they already know the answer on me

i still have the annual mental status evaluations
thats the one that really tells me where i am

theres the mmse 
a commonly used in the office test thats quick and easy
it will show if you are more advanced
you flunk this one and you definitely have a problem
i get all of it correct
not a helpful test for the future as we will be looking for people who
have minimal symptoms or none at all

then the mocatest
this one will pick up abnormalities earlier than the mmse
eg theres part of the test i have trouble with and i did again
yesterday so that my score for that test is off slightly
if it was in a doctors office they would send me for the neuropsych
test to better delineate my problem

then theres the full blown neuropsych test that really really tells
you where you are
it will tell if you have memory loss and if its short term or not
thats the hallmark of alzheimers disease
and im sorry to say thats where my deficit is in my short term memory
its still there maybe the same but probably slightly more advanced
most  people will not notice it in me
but i do and i have already developed some coping mechanisms
to help out

so here i am tested
know where i am
now wtf am i going to do now

stay active physically mentally and socially
check on that
control my weight blood pressure cholesterol
check on that
take my aricept (donepezil) the only medication that really at this
stage may help
check on that

now im at that crossroad
im sorry but i want more
i am doing all i can but i want more

research is now entering in that phase
where medications are developed that show promise
and
i want to be part of finding out if that stuff is going to work

the three promising ones are
the alzheimers vaccine solanezumab
being used in several studies now and in the next year

bace inhibitor will be used soon in new studies
it prevents the body from making beta amyloid the bad stuff

nasal insulin will be used in new studies soon
it will help by increasing glucose to the brain cells in the
hypothalamus where alzheimers starts
hopefully it will slow things down some

then there are lots of others in the works

so alzheimers research is at a turning point
i am at that peak with them
i dont want to fall off now
i want to go along for the ride

the organicgreen doctor

its that time again

ITS THAT TIME AGAIN
this will be the fourth time i go through all these tests
i did them when i started 3 years ago
then i do them every year


i am a study subject in the early mild cognitive impairment
group in the largest alzheimers disease research study ever
done
its called the adni or alzheimers disease neuroimaging initiative
its a multicenter center study that takes the data it collects and
once its all entered each year it is readily available to researchers
all over the world
hundreds of research studies have been written from this data

much of the newer stuff thats known on alzheimers disease
comes from this study
the new treatment studies that are starting up now uses the
information from the adni study to guide their studies

today i will have done
blood work like you usually will get at a doctors visit like a cbc
and a metabolic profile and a urinalysis
as part of another study they will run a new alzheimers blood test
they are working on that will identify folks who will get alzheimers
looking at protein markers and inflammatory markers comparing
what they find with the other tests and scans i have done
right now the test is about 90% accurate


a full neuropsychological test that takes about 2 hours to do
its the hardest test to do for the study and the one i dread the
most
i jokenly call it the torturre test
i dont even mind the spinal tap
this will be the 6th neuropsychological test that i have done for
this study
so i know when i take them if i have gotten worse or just stayed
the same
so far my results have been fairly stable
i know that if i have alzheimers disease that there is a point in the
future when a drop off will start to occur
they dont even have to look at my results
i can tell them the results when i walk out of the room

this year i dont get an mri
i have had 5 mris so far in this study
they all have been normal
they are looking at the under surface of the brain at the hypothalamus
to see if it has shrunken at all
thats where alzheimers disease all starts
right there

i also dont get the glucose metabolism test pet scan or the
amyvid pet scan this year
both these will show abnormalities in glucose metabolism or
in beta amyloid accumulation in the brain if alzhiemers is present
i dont get these pet scan results as they are protected by the study

then i dont get the spinal tap this year
they check for beta amyloid and tau protein accumulation in the
spinal fluid
abnormal levels of these two proteins occur in alzheimers disease
i had my fluid tested three years ago and its abnormal
last year when i had my tap done i donated the fluid to an ms study
that they desperately needed fluid for
forgoing a 2 year followup at a private lab which would have
given me another point on the curve to look at

this year i will discuss with them
about trying to qualify for one of the new treatment studies that
are starting up using one of the new alzheimers vaccines
called solanezumab or one using nasal insulin or one using bace inhibitors

these are three of the new ways that if they work a patient could
be treated early on in the disease or even before symptoms start
a lot of hope is put into these studies

plus i will always continue doing those things we all should be
doing to stay healthy
and keep taking my aricept (donepezil)

the organicgreen doctor