alzheimers blood test

ALZHEIMERS BLOOD TEST
many of you saw the news on tv and the internet
last night about the new alzheimers blood test
ive gotten several emails facebook messages and personal
questions about this

the researchers have found 10 lipids that are in the blood
that if you test positive for them you may now have a test with  90%
accuracy that you can tell you that you will get alzheimers disease

lipids that we know about and many of us get tested for annually
are in the lipid profile for cholesterol
looking for our ldl bad cholesterol good hdl cholesterol and triglyceride levels

the ten lipids in this alzheimers test are not those same lipids

the lipids alzheimers test may be available as soon as two years in
doctors offices

so you as a middle age person will be able to go in to your
doctor and get a blood test that says you may get alzheimers
with 90% accuracy

eg if you go to a doctor for a sorethroat and they swab your throat or
stick that stick up your nose that hurts so dam much
testing for strep throat and the flu
those tests are 90% accurate

every year when i make my trip to the alzheimers research center
at ut southwestern in dallas
i have a series of tests done
i am in three different studies

one the adni study i have neuropsych tests mri scans amyloid pet scans
and spinal tap analysis done
another study that i cant remember the official name of it
involves a large quantity of blood to be drawn
my wife she cant watch it being done
this is the trip where she got real woozy when we were talking
about doing my spinal tap

the blood is sent off for a lot of rna and dna analysis regular lab tests
but
in one of the studies they are testing things in the blood that
are associated with alzheimers
i think they are testing proteins and inflammatory markers in the blood
and in their preliminary studies it appears thats the test
will predict whether you will get alzhiemers with
yes 90% accuracy

these results have been duplicated all over the world at different
research studies

so this published work yesterday that was on the news
didnt come as a surprise to me
since i knew these studies were ongoing
and already knew that the test was 90% accurate

the problem for me is yes again i dont get to see the results

if one of these tests becomes available at your local doctors office
soon
the question is
do you want it done
are you ready to know the answer

it does have a lot of implications for people
like for those folks who have huntingtons disease
they are both fatal diseases
one your body gives out and your brain stays intact usually
the other your body stays mostly intact your brain gives out

not sure which is worse

once you are diagnosed
insurances like long term disability and life insurance are no longer
obtainable
luckily now with obamacare you can get health insurance
some jobs may not be available to you
eg airline pilot surgeon president air traffic controller
promotions may not happen
a stigma may get attached to you

i know sometimes i feel people look at me a lot differently since
ive been labelled

that doesnt bother me i just move on and keep talking about my
story and alzheimers disease

if you get tested in the future you mainly need to be able to handle
the diagnosis mentally
are you ready to know you have a fatal disease that for right now
there is no treatment available no cure

a disease that will move quickly or real slow
but commonly at the end it picks up speed in that downward slope
to death

i personally like the researcher interviewed for the news story
want to know
and i am glad i know

i think what it would be like not knowing right now
i eg have this urgency deep inside me that makes me have a drive
to do things and to appreciate things more than
if i didnt know

when i sit and talk with my wife she in the mornings in our nice
comfortable chairs looking over the sunrise me with my coffee
and she with her tea
or
in our hot tub listening to the birds the owls ahooting
the turkeys agobbling down by the river the roadrunner darting
across the front yard or the deer floating across our pastures
i have this deeper appreciation for the moment
that i might not have if i didnt know

seize the moment is our motto

then theres the preparation for the future thats so necessary for folks
so many put it off
i dont
i have time to slowly get it all in place so when that time comes
its all ready
so many people dont know they have it
it slips up on them and they are  not ready
i am and will be ready

then i feel this urge to tell people about alzheimers disease
knowing that my days are limited to how long i will be
able to talk about it

i also have this knowledge about gardening and alzheimers and
being a patient and being a physician thats all mixed together
that will be lost in the future
i need to get the messages out as much as i can while i can

thats why i want to know
i want to know what my status is
do i have it
then if i do i accept it
and move forward with my life knowing what im up against

and you
would you want to know
will you

think about it

the organicgreen doctor

here it comes

the meals on wheels night at the austin toros game at the cedar park
center is tonight at 730 pm
one half of the tickets you buy  goes to meals on wheels
then
there will be a silent auction on several items with 100% of the proceeds
going to meals on wheel
come join us and bid on the items
tickets should still be available 

if you want to just donate to the meals on wheels
go to this link and make a  donation

in the designation box write in 
meals on wheels program

or
send a check to
wbc opportunities
604 high tech drive
georgetown texas   78626

include a note that the check is for meals on wheels
thanks
togd

HERE IT COMES

alzheimers disease has in the past been reported as the 6th
leading cause of death in the united states
and
the only one of the top 10 leading causes of death that has
no treatment or cure

now
however
it appears that the cause of death from alzheimers is underreported
its that stigma thing i guess
like cancer use to be

heck they use to not even tell patients they had cancer years ago
like some do now with alzheimers disease

if i got it i dont want to know
they cant treat it so why know
just like cancer was years ago


researchers at rusk medical school looked at the true causes of
death of a large number of patients
what they found was that alzheimers disease as the cause of death
was grossly underreported
by as much as 5 times

which if extrapolated to the country as a whole would make
alzheimers the 3rd leading cause of death in the united states
behind heart disease and cancer

this move upward in the list
makes it even more important that we throw money at this
disease that may eventually overtake
heart disease and cancer and be the
number one cause of death in the united states soon

the disease now costs us $200 billion a year
its rapidly eating up medicare and medicaid costs
in the last 10 years the death rate from alzheimers disease has
gone up by 68% while other causes of death like heart disease
and cancer have declined

alzheimers research is grossly underfunded for being the
number 3 killer of americans
the lack of supportl is symbolized by the lack of showing by senators at
seth rogens testimony last week before congress

until they
our  elected officials get more involved its not going to happen
we by the way are the ones who sent them there
so i guess it makes it our fault also
let them know we need more done

what can you do for yourself and your kids and your hubby

maintain a healthy blood flow to the brain by controlling your blood
pressure your cholesterol your diabetes your weight

exercise doing something walking is cheap and easy

eat a diet rich in fruits vegetables legumes nuts whole grains fish

homocysteine is obtained from eating meat
keep your homocysteine levels down by increasing your b12
and folic acid intake by eating green leafy vegetables and fruits
and lean meats fish yogurt and fortified cereals

lower stress
laughter may be the best medicine
control depression and anxiety
meditate i eg do that everyday as i sit and look out our window
at the sunrise or the sunset or watch the birds or deer or road runner
thats how i meditate
a glass of red wine may help relax you also as you meditate
preferable not in the morning though

maintain an active social life

more formal education
learning new things like quilting photography playing a musical
instrument eg may help

get adequate sleep

if youll notice these are the things that may also help lower
the risk for the top two causes of death in the united states
heart disease and cancer
and further down the line stroke

so we can determine to some extent what they are going
to put on our death certificate

lets just make it so that they have to say
well he or she just died of old age

the organicgreen doctor

tomato planting

the meals on wheels night at the austin toros game at the cedar park
center is friday night at 730 pm
one half of the tickets you buy  goes to meals on wheels
then
there will be a silent auction on several items with 100% of the proceeds
going to meals on wheel
come join us and bid on the items

if you want to donate to the meals on wheels
go to this link and make a  donation

in the designation box write in 
meals on wheels program

or
send a check to
wbc opportunities
604 high tech drive
georgetown texas   78626

include a note that the check is for meals on wheels
thanks
ogd

TOMATO PLANTING
recently i was at the natural gardener in austin texas to buy plants
and
i started thinking about my tomato crop this year

a friend had given me a celebrity tomato plant that i had put in
a 1 gallon pot
i placed it in my green house and man did it grow there

at the natural gardener i looked at their garden where they had
already planted their tomatoes in holes
heres the label that was on their tomato bed

so i decided i would plant my tomatoes in a well or a hole
following their general directions
i did something like this last year and was successful

first i have a 4 ft x 14 ft g garden bed that i decided to turn into an anthill or
a hugelkulter bed

i got these ingredients
old cardboard
old newspapers
old records
shredded stuff from my shredder
my chicken made compost
leaves yall gave me
limbs twigs tree trunks

i dug out all the dirt out of my bed in 4 ft increments down to about 2 ft

then i added cardboard newspapers old records shredded stuff
on top of that i added limbs and old tree trunks
then added some of the soil from the hole
then added your leaves
then added the chicken compost
then added more newspaper
then added leaves
then added the compost
then the dirt
layer after layer until i ran out of soil
then on top i added my compost from my really composted compost

i did this to all 14 ft of the bed

then i raked it all out real well
dug a trench down the middle where i will plant
dug a trench on the sides where my drippers will go

then i dug this hole that would hold my 3 gallon bucket
which i cut out the bottom
thats my shovel handle in the hole

i then planted my celebrity tomato down in that hole
adding some earthworm castings in the hole
watered it well with seaweed
then filled the hole partially with the garden stuff i had just made

as the tomato grows i gradually will lift the bucket out of the hole
until it gets to the top of the garden soil
leaving it in place for a while to provide protection from the wind
and from the cold
later i will use it as a well to pour some of johns liquid fertilizer
which has fish emulsion in it seaweed and molasses as the season
progresses

i then cover the whole tomato with a five gallon bucket
then cover that with row cover to protect it from the cold
opening it to the weather when its nice
covering it when its cold

if all goes well my tomatoes will get a real jump start on the season
our summers can come real early
once the heat hits hard the tomatoes quit producing

the varieties i chose are mostly indeterminate
which means they will keep producing as long as conditions are good
determinates produce only a set number of tomatoes then
thats it

the indeterminates have the chance of surviving and being
fall producers if i am lucky

my varieties im planting are sweet 100s juliets both small ones
early girl as they will produce quicker in the spring
celebrity a good producer
then heirlooms like cherokee purple black krum brandywine
mortgage lifter hopefully arkansase traveler
and porter
adding more as they become available

 if you plant your tomatoes here in cental texas remember
late freezing weather is not unusual in late march
we here at the country n seem to get one in early april
so
be sure and protect them with row covers and blankets
when the weather is threatening

there is nothing like a good juicy tomato

the organicgreen doctor