this is a one minute video on alzheimers produced by the
alzheimers association
take a minute to watch it
the new diagnostic criteria guidelines for alzheimers were
published recently
they are
preclinical alzheimers there are no outward symptoms but mild
changes on biomarkers such as spinal fluid markers (tau protein,
beta-amyloid protein) and changes on research pet scans
this category is important not clinically but in research to find
individuals who can be used to test preventative techniques to
see if drugs or diet or bp control or cholesterol control can
slow down, stop, or prevent this disease progression
this stage classification is not used in the doctors office for any
reason right now but will be used a lot in research studies
this is where i was before i was diagnosed with the next stage
would have been a good research candidate in my 40s and 50s
if all this stuff was known then
mild cognitive impairment (this is my diagnosis) in which mild
changes in memory and thinking appear but do not impair every
day activities and functioning
i am very early in this phase and although symptoms are not
evident to others they are noticable to me
i feel like these did start to interfere with my practicing of medicine
and the fear of harm to patients is why i discontinued practicing
i have also been placed on aricept (donnepezil) which will slow
down the symptoms over time
the biomarkers mentioned above are positive in this category
i will be tested for all of these outside of the research study i am
in at this time (any studies done in the research study remain
blocked from review by myself or my doctors-part of the deal)
i have to do my testing outside of the research studies in a private
medical practice
i will report them when they come in this summer
remember it was my occupation that was the reason i
stopped working
had i been in another profession i would have continued to work
dementia is the final stage
this is where most people are diagnosed
medications are used to slow down symptoms but the disease will
march on
this stage as it progresses starts to affect the caretaker as well as
the patient
in the intial video above you can see the number of people with
the disease is high
well there is similar numbers in each of these categories so the
numbers of people affected is even greater-most dont know it yet
hopefully a drug can be developed that will slow the disease down
eg a drug to stop amyloid deposition in the brain if thats the cause
of this disease which will prevent or slow down or stop the disease
similar to what the statin drugs have done in slowing down or
preventing the development of arterial blockage in the heart
thats the goal here with these new classifications is to find a
preventive treatment for those at risk eg for my children or
grandkids or nephews and nieces and geat nephews and
great nieces and maybe yours
to be continued
WALK TO END ALZ
go to www.alz.org to locate your local walk to end alz this fall
and donate and plan to walk
or
donate to my team at
the austin walk to end alz team organicgreendoctor.com
and or join us for the walk
DUCT TAPE
whoa man found so many duct tape colors
the uses are endless
have a john deere lawn tractor with a bright yellow seat that has
developed some tears in it over the last few years
well found this nice bright yellow color (call it donal ducks
beak yellow) to use to patch those tears
have discovered that can use duct tape to cover the end of
caulk tubes and glue tubes after using them and they actually
seem to not dry out
BB
well the king james version of the nba finals start on tuesday
this is going to be a great series to watch
it sure took a long time to get to this point
bet players are all beat up
whose going to win
is it dirks time or is it james and wade and boshs time
time will tell
the organicgreen doctor
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