the theory is that beta amyloid accumulation in the brain is what
either causes alzheimers disease or is the end result of what ever the
process is that causes the disease
a lot of time and effort and money is being spent to stop this
accumulation of beta amyloid in the brain or once its there to
have it removed
a study recently done in mice who had beta amyloid in their brains
used an anticancer drug thats used for
lymphoma
the drug called bexarotene caused the mice to have some removal
of the beta amyloid in the brain
then cognitive testing done on them showed some improvement in
their cognitive scoring
its use in humans would be a long time away as it would have to be
tested first in humans which would take a long time to do
this is one way alzheimers will be attacked in the future by giving a
drug like this to patients like me or even patients years before their
symptoms start
think of it has a statin drug for alzheimers like lipitor or crestor is for
heart disease by lowering cholesterol you can lessen the chance of a heart
attack or stroke
this drug could lower the levels of beta amyloid in the brain which
might result in clearing of or preventing alzheimers disease in the brain
this drug is already approved by the fda for cancer treatment so the
studies will be easier to do since its using an already approved drug
all these new treatments are really a generation away
ie my kids and your kids will benefit
EARLY DETECTION
as these new drugs and treatments get developed new ways to detect
people early are being worked on
find people early like me and get them on something when symptoms
start or before the symptoms start
a recent small study using just 4 questions from the alzheimers
questionnaire dementia assessment test might pick up patients with
amnestic mild cognitive impairment (mcia)-thats what i have but
have a very mild form of it
these could be used in a doctors office and could be easily used as
a screen test for patients
the questions are
does the patient have trouble repeating questions or statements
in the same day
does the patient have remembering the date year or time
does the patient have difficulties managing finances
(oops my wife she flunked this one)
does the patient have a decreased sense of direction
(oops again my wife she flunked this one also
she never could read a map)
no my wife she doesnt have mci
i pass all four of these test as mine is picked up on more extensive tests
but there are a lot of patients showing up in doctors offices who
can not answer these questions and families and friends arent really
aware they have a problem
if they dont pass the screening then further testing could be done
click here for a good
copy of the test to take
MORE FUNDING
the obama administration and congress signed the national alzheimers
plan agreement (napa) to
increase funding and emphasis on alzheimers here in the us
so at least congress and the president worked together on something that
was useful for the us
the administration just committed another $80 million for alzheimers in
addition to the $450 million now committed for research
we spend $180 BILLION a year now on treatment and care and will soon
spend $1 TRILLION
hopefully this extra funding although more is needed and new research
will soon lead to some significant treatment for this terrible disease
a disease that could overwhelm our national budget in the next few years
the organicgreen doctor
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