ALZHEIMERS NEWS-CAN ANT BITES DETECT ALZHEIMERS DISEASE
the other day i was working in the garden and i looked down and saw all these ants crawling all over my arm
i quickly wiped them off a reflex from years living in texas
there the fire ants are everywhere
if you stir up their anger they will crawl up you arm or leg and sting the heck out of you
leaving a lot of pain and residual pustules that look like chicken pox
the pain you feel is from the bite and the injection of juice from their stingers that inject formic acid into the skin
that hurts real bad especially of you get a swarm of them on you
been there done that many times
so it was with interest when i read this review article linked here
it was about a new urine test you can do that measures a substance in the urine called
formic acid
like the ants inject into you
here is the original published research article
the goal in treating alzheimers disease as we find new drugs that may work better if we start them real early in the disease is to have biomarkers we can use identify those who have it
biomarkers for alzheimers available now are
spinal fluid for amyloid and tau
amyloid pet scans
tau pet scans
just beginning to be available in the private world but done in research studies are blood tests
i have had all 4 of these
my spinal fluid and my amyloid pet scans are positive
the other 2 i dont get to see the results of since they are done in a blinded study
the cheapest of these is around $1000+ ie blood tests
the most expensive are the scans which range from $5000-$10000
usually insurances or medicare dont pay for them
these researchers think they have found a cheap screening test in the urine
measuring the formic acid level
it was positive in all stages of alzheimers
it was also positive in the early stage called subjective cognitive decline
that stage between normal memory and mild cognitive impairment
if this shows to be accurate in further research then it may become an easier cheaper biomarker screening test for alzheimers disease
i wonder if you got bit by fire ants if that would make the urine test positive for formic acid
i also wonder if your formic acid is high in your urine if it would burn when you pee like with ant bites
man
is sure hope not
so
in texas the next time you get bit by a fire ant
think about getting memory screening if you have memory issues
think about those loved ones who have the disease or had the disease
think about those affected whose loved ones are caregivers
think about getting into a clinical trial before it starts and even if its started already
so
think ant bite
think
alzheimers disease
they both hurt
an aside here at the end of the blog
i as i wrote on wednesday spent about 30 minutes talking with the research neurologist running the study i am in
we reviewed some of the recent studies presented at the recent san francisco alzheimers conference
we also talked about my diagnosis and my journey which is well documented in my blog the last 12 years
we talked of how i was accidently diagnosed and how my memory faded some for a couple of years then started improving
so that today my in office memory tests moca and mmse are normal
its felt that im lucky to have been accidently diagnosed
this encouraged me to
be aggressive in caring for my health
start aricept or donepezil early in my disease so i would get its full benefit
have gotten in the aduhelm or aducanumab study so that i have now received 2 years of the monthly infusions
so if i could see my amyloid pet scans most of the plaques should be removed
if it helps slow down the disease as a group we should know in about 2 years
we feel like that it will probably show that it slows it down
now
all that i am doing is available to anyone that wants to participate
we now know the earlier you can be diagnosed and the more aggressive you get
the better the results
be ready
next year the lecanemab will probably be started to be used in the private medical practices in those who have early disease only
following that
when the research gets finished
it will be given to those who want to know they have it before symptoms start
ie before you have symptoms you can get treated
my drug aduhelm if it shows it works like lecanemab does will be available also
my guess is lecanemab will win the battle for the one to use
then
more and better drugs will follow these
so
dont let the ants bite you
your test may be positive
consider getting screened by peeing in a cup when the formic acid test becomes available if it shows its accurate for screening
the organicgreen doctor
