how does donepezil (aricept) work, lady bugs

HOW DOES DONEPEZIL (ARICEPT) WORK
donepezil (aricept) works in the brain by inhibiting the
enzyme acetylcholinestrase that breaks down the chemical
acetylcholine
thus it is called an acetycholinesterace inhibitor

acetylcholine is is a chemical that helps many brain functions
such as memory, attention, reasoning, and language
(doesnt help me remember names-long time problem)
(does make me more attentive-know now what people with
add feel when they get on medication so they can focus and
be productive)

in alzlheimers there is a destruction of the cells that produce
acetycholine  so the levels of acetycholine drop

by inhibiting the enzyme the levels of acetycholine go up in the
brain and remain up for a while
this helps to slow the decline in memory

however its effects are short lived-a few months to
a few years

it is not a cure for alzheimers
it does not slow down the progression of the disease

the problem with alzheimers is that the diagnosis is usually
made too late to slow down the symptoms much

it is important that an early diagnosis be made (as is in my
case-very early diagnosis) so that medication can be
started (donepezil-aricept) and
testing can be done (labs, genetic tests, spinal tap anaylysis,
mri and pet scans ) and
life planning can be done

then when this medication doesnt work any more another
medication is usually added-most commonly used is exelon

www.alz.org (alzheimers association web site)

LADY BUGS 
on a lighter note
add lady bugs to an organic pest control program
can buy and release them in your garden
every one loves lady bugs

demonstrated that once in the clinic
we developed a problem with aphids and flies on
the plants in the clinic
i did not want them to call a  pesticide
company to come in to drop some toxic bomb
in the clinic to kill the insects so
i bought a bag of lady bugs and
released them everywhere in the clinic

people and patients dont like spiders, ants, other bugs
but they love lady bugs
we had lady bugs everywhere

they were on many of the plants going to work
they love aphids

kids would let them crawl on their arms and some
took them home even the adults and elderly enjoyed them

eventually they all disappeared but hopefully the kids
and employees learned something about green gardening
from the lady bug exposure

the organicgreen doctor