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

crispy walk, flavanols, nilvadipine,

CRISPY WALK, FLAVANOLS, NILVADIPINE
for those of you who get the austin american statesman
this sunday look on page two of the metro section
for the patrick beach column
whatever happened to
its an article on an interview he did with me this week
ill post the link next week

also if you look at the top of this blog you can read
the article done on my story 3 years ago by mary ann roser
the medical writer for the statesman
or click here to read that article

tomorrows
walk to end alzheimers in temple texas at the pepper creek trails
starting at 1000am
will be a crispy walk in cool weather with a beauitiful clear skies

so i guess the warmup to be done by team member km will be
an important one for this walk
need to get those juices flowing blood circulating

we cant wait to enjoy this walk with those hoping to find a cure
or treatment for this awful fatal disease

donate and or join my team at
organicgreendoctor

here is the link to the walk
bell county walk to end alzheimers

so remember
this is a no charge event
donation is optional
you can show up and sign up at the registration desk

see you there

reminder
walk to end alzheimers in little rock next weekend at
the clinton library starting at 930am
we will walk with the team
#joe nash

this is my brother joes team
he died last year in the final stages of alzheimers
struck at such a young age in his early 50s
we need a few more donations to reach the teams goal
for this walk
help if you are able to


flavanols
these are found in certain foods but can be in high concentration in
cocoa
yep thats chocolate
the good stuff

that took cocoa and removed the flavanols
mars the candy company developed the method
it takes a lot of cocoa to get the flavanols for studying

so they took a lot of flavanols and gave it to older folks
then followed them over time
it was a 6 year long study
done in a reputable scientific method

what they found that basically folks who took these high
levels of flavanols went from a 60+ year old memory to
a 40 year old memory
documenting it with memory tests and with brain scans

problem is that eating just chocolate by itself would
require a huge amount to be eaten each day
sorry side effects would occur
it would be fun trying though

these flavanols seem to increase the blood supply to
a certain part of the brain that can be affected by
alzheimers disease early on
called the dentate gyrus

maybe one day we will take flavanols in a pill to help
our memory
add to that the resveratrol thats found in grapes and wine
take that in a pill also to help lower the bad stuff
beta amyloid

its chocolate and vino without all the pleasure associated
with its consumption


nilvadipine
this is a blood pressure medicine available in europe and
other countries but not in the us
it is in a class of drugs called calcium channel blockers
like verapamil amlodipine diltizem nifedipine etc
its used for blood pressure control angina control and
to improve circulation to the brain after strokes
its about to go generic
it has been around for years

now there is an enzyme called syk or spleen tyrosine kinase
which regulates inflammation the bad stuff beta amyloid
and tau protein
all three are implicated in alzheimers disease

research shows that it appears that nilvadipine may
block this enzyme and by doing so
reduces inflammation beta amyloid and tau
and by doing this may help slow down progression of
alzheimers disease

i think if this pill was available in the us
i could get it from mexico or europe
its is the one that i would take for my high blood pressure

kill four birds with one stone is what i would do
blood pressure
inflammation
beta amyloid
tau protein

its too bad its not available in the us
and
since its generic there is no big drug company
promoting its use here either
no big profit to be made i guess

so little things keep adding up in this fight for an answer
to ending alzheimers disease

we are getting closer it seems every month

help and join us in this fight

the organicgreen doctor