old blue, marron

OLD BLUE

years ago i use to have this old big smith blue jean
jacket that i got from an old country store where i
grew up
if you are from where im from you know the one im
talking about

i wore that old jacket during medical school residency
and beyond
it got tattered and faded and holey not in a religious sense
if i wore it in a large city they probably would have thought
i was a homeless person

well it disappeared one day
alone with these below

well these did have holes everywhere but at least not in the
wrong places
i always wondered what happened to them
did they just run off together
get recycled or something

it was a devastating loss
it just felt good to wear these out in the yard
and to the feed store and to home depot
and occasionally to the grocery store

maybe thats why they disappeared

i sure miss those guys
they kept me in touch with my roots

then years later i got a blue jacket
one of those down ones but think it may
have had fake down stuff inside
i know whatever was in there
it was real warm

as it got older and when we moved to the country n
i started to wear it outside in the cold
it sure kept you warm
heck it wasnt long before i would have to remove it
i got so hot
but it was nice wearing it outside in the cold weather

then one winter i coudnt find it anywhere
i asked my wife she she said i think it could be in the closet
at the back of it
i thought this sounds real familiar
after that i never got to see that jacket again
i called her old blue

i fully expected to drive up to a stop light in austin one day
and to see my old blue jacket on someone with a sign
asking for a job or for money
i think if i did id probably would have gotten out and  just
taken it away from him
or maybe just bought it off him

then this winter
we have a barn with a large room that is used for storage
its a black hole for things
never to be seen again
the storage inside there was not done using my organizational
skills
so now that im retired i decided i would put it all back together
like it should be

it was tough clearing out that barn
i looked like i had been in a cotton manufacturing plant when
i finished phase 1 of the reorganization

the biggest benefactors were goodwill salvation army
the recycle place and metal collectors
bags and bags of stuff
some ended up in the trash can

then in one bag
it had a small tear in it
was a sleeve of clothing
it was dark blue
could it be
old blue

the bag was opened and there she was old blue
what perfect timing in this cold cold weather
old blue to the rescue

she was washed and hung out in the sun on the clothes line
she sort of looks like a deer or animal that has been dressed
and left hanging there
doesnt she

old blue im so glad youre back
now
we have to figure out how to protect her from
disappearing again

MARRON
for those who couldnt figure out the name of  my blog yesterday
marron is spanish for brown

the organicgreen doctor

marron

MARRON

i coached youth basketball for several years
first coaching one of my sons then later just
coaching because i liked doing it

it seems coaching like a lot of jobs people do
if they really enjoy doing what they do
the players know the parents know the fans know
well i think everyone knows

my sons played multiple spots growing up
basketball baseball soccer football swimming
if you ask them now years later
who was your favorite coach
which did you enjoy playing for

it will probably be that coach who loved doing what
he or she does and really truly cares about their
players

so thinking of this this last week as i watched the
mack brown saga unfold
i thought what a great man and coach and person to
have had your son play for

its going to be sad to see him go
he shows so much class in everything he does
im sure those parents who met him at the recruiting
visits felt good that their sons would be under his care
for the next 4 years

ive watched as have you over these years as these things
unfold that it all doesnt go well
there becomes complete dislike between the coach and the
school that just scars and ruins the memories of the past
good things that were done

at texas mack brown resurrected a program that had
been destroyed and built it back up to the heights that
the school wanted and expected

things the last few years have started to unwind some
so
it was time for him to resign
dont stay too long and ruin that legacy that respect we
all have for you

the next year would have been awful if you had stayed
and not had a good season
even i wouldnt be able to stand to watch the wolfs go after
you when they smell blood

its a business like a large corporation that has to show profits if
its ceo is going to remain
there havent been profits recently

but matt brown what a classy act you are
wish my sons could have had you as a coach sometime in their
athletic career

so move on to the next stage of your career
you have all our respect and admiration

tough shoes to fill for that next ceo

the organicgreen doctor

bbb bace

BBB BACE

faculty.washington.edu

bbb for those not in the medical field
means blood brain barrier
its a protective barrier that keeps drugs medicines
viruses bacteria parasites and chemicals from reaching
the brain and causing havoc

a protective mechanism that has evolved to protect the brain

it also prevents however medicines sometimes from reaching
the brain that may be helpful eg in preventing and treating
alzheimers disease

in a study at the university of pennsylvania they used ctb (cholera toxin b)
that easily goes across the bbb
they then attached mbp (myelin basic protein) to the ctb
mbp degrades beta amyloid

they then attached fluorescence to the ctb-mbp and the
mbp appeared in the brain as seen by the fluorescence in the brain
and the level of that awful beta amyloid that is thought to be the
cause of alzheimers as it accumulates or the end result of
whatever the process is that causes alzheimers
went down as the mbp degraded the beta amyloid

so you could take a chemical that treats alzheimers and
attach it to ctb
give it to a patient by mouth
the drug would then cross the bbb and slow down the production
of the amyloid that may cause alzheimers disease

this was done in rats of course
next stop hopefully is humans


bace is the abbreviation for beta site app cleaving enzyme
the bace enzyme breaks off the protein that may be the culprit
in alzheimers disease
the beta amyloid protein
people who have a defect or mutation in the gene that makes
bace
have a lower instance of alzheimers disease

in comes the drug companies
they have made eg merk a compound called mk-8931
that inhibits this bace enzyme

its an oral drug that has already gone through phase 1 studies
and is now entering phase 2 and phase 3 studies in patients
with mild to moderate alzheimers disease
the drug will lower the levels of beta amyloid in the brain and hopefully
by doing this will slow down or prevent alzheimers disease
thats the theory

now the mk-8931 will be used in prodromal or prealzheimers or
amnestic mild cognitive impairment in patients who may have
a positive beta amyloid pet scan and abnormal levels of beta
amyloid in the spinal fluids
two positive tests that are seen in alzheimers disease

hum that sounds familiar
oh wait thats me
i have all those things except i dont have my beta amyloid pet scan
yet but i will soon
the thinking is to attack this early on in the  process before
things get worse

if i qualify for this study then i would take this mk-8931 for a
period of time and they would follow cognitive tests and spinal
fluid levels of beta amyloid and pet scans of the brain for
beta amyloid
or
i would be in the placebo group
that would suck wouldnt it to be in the placebo group


there is progress being made it seems
there is this light in the end of the tunnel that is faint
but its starting to get a little brighter




the organicgreen doctor