alzheimers news-get rid of this word

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-GET RID OF THIS WORD

i was determined to make it for this alzheimers panel this
weekend
last week i had what i think was the flu for several days
on friday as it was better
the gi stuff set it
i knew that this could happen with the flu
then
when i recovered from that
a tooth began to hurt
having had a lot of root canals i knew what that meant
another one in my future
so
i found left over meds from my oral surgery two years
ago and started them

by saturday morning i was all maxed out on those meds
i timed the pain pill so it would be almost wore off
by the time i started the conference

this saturday
the alzheimers greater los angeles had an all day conference
on early memory loss
they had an elder lawyer talk
they had a well known alzheimers researcher from usc talk
then
they had the panel that i was on
all folks with early alzheimers except for me
since my diagnosis is
early mild cognitive impairment probably due to alzheimers disease

i only stayed around for our panel
since i needed more pain meds afterwards

now i have been on a lot of alzheimers panels with
researchers neurologists caregivers social workers writers etc
i was usually the only patient on the panels
but
i dont ever remember
theres that word
remember
having seen a panel of just patients
telling their stories of
how they were diagnosed
how it affects them and their families

i will say there was a lot of crying going on
on the panel and in the audience

near the end of the hour and half
we were all asked by the moderator
what would you like to tell those of us here in the audience
what would you like to tell others

this one man with early onset alzheimers disease
said
please get this word out of your vocabulary
remember

dont ask me if i remember
i dont he said
please dont ask

all of those on the panel agreed
no more remember questions

let that sink in
if you have a loved one affected
dont ask


also
when asked
what good is there in getting diagnosed
we all said there was some good

i said i was able to prepare for the future
i said now i know where i stand
i said i can handle that

others said he is much closer to his wife now
others said he is taking better of his heatlh
others said he is exercising more taking long walks
others said he is enjoying life more right now
i said i understand that
others said he renewed his hobby of writing and raising orchids
others said he married his long time partner
others said he continues to exercise and not let this slow him down

i said to my wife she as i left
thats the best most memorable panel that i ever
remember

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

why so early

WHY SO EARLY
it can hit early
this alzheimers disease


if you watch the new movie
still alice
thats what its about
alzheimers disease hitting at too young of an age
way too young


my younger brother was stricken early
like still alice
he was still joe

but like still alice
he looked so healthy and alert
you really didnt notice it unless you were really around
him a lot
then over time it all got worse

i watched a video recently of my parents 50th anniversary
from the late 1980s
i looked closely at my mom and dad
dad died just a few years later he was probably stricken even then
then
my mom was my age i am now
she was just 10 years away
i looked at her closely for signs in the video
for the disease was rampant as she smiled
and
as she seized the moment
then
still joe
was there at 40 years old
laughing and joking pulling pranks on me
having a good time
it was sad to think that at that moment in time
he was just about 10 years away also
the disease had been working on him for several years now
then
i looked at my older brother
handing my parents their 50th anniversary plaque
thinking as i watched all of us
he also was affected even then
he didnt know it

then i looked at myself
wow it was just starting on me that year
i just didnt know it either

it was like with the movie
hard to believe  still joe had alzheimers
he looked so healthy
look hes driving was working
doing a lot of the things he was doing before he was diagnosed
but
like alice
he got worse

tragic it is when it strikes so young
its not fair
cant life just let them live another 10 years or so
to finish up their productive years
but
no life is not fair is it
early onset alzheimers disease

i feel like if i do have alzheimers disease that i am lucky
i got to finish my career
enjoy some of my retirement
have a chance to squeeze all out of each day
something
i wouldnt be able to do if i was
still alice or still joe

when it strikes early like this
dementia
its more likely due to alzheimers disease
but
it also could be a disease called frontotemporal dementia
something happens to the frontal and temporal parts of the
brain
they shrink
and that part of the brain its function quits working right
they loose inhibitions
then they dont live long just a few years and they are gone

then

theres dementia of lewy bodies
probably the worst to have
it comes quick and can be and is i guess the worst to have
i call it alzheimers disease on steroids
paranoia hallucinations sometimes violent behavior
meds sometimes dont help
it seems when family members talk about their love ones
they seem so despondent
its the bad one
deposits form in the brain called lewy bodies thus its name

but
most will be alzheimers disease though

none are good ones

leaving friends and families all saying
they are so young
why so early


i hope that everyone will go see still alice when it
appears in your area
you if you have not had to experience what its like
on
the person with the disease
and
their families
then you need to feel it and see it
then
you will see why we all who are affected are so passionate
about
finding treatment
and
a cure

as soon as the special showing by the alzheimers association
link for buying tickets is available for this weekend
ill post it here and on facebook

come see the movie this saturday at 100pm
at the alamo drafthouse south lamar in austin
stay afterwards
ask me a question

see the movie
bring tissues
feel it
like those affected do

the organicgreen doctor