thats the question im asking myself
as ive read a lot about alzheimers disease and how it progresses
real gradually it seems over 20-30 years
and probably over a lifetime
it has multi causes most likely
changing some of those causes may help
you know like blood pressure weight cholesterol diabetes exercise diet
alcohol intake smoking sleep habits etc
as scientists are getting better and better at diagnosing alzheimers
disease we are and will be seeing more and more people diagnosed
with this eventually before any symptoms show up
now thats the dilemma
you can diagnosis them
but you cannt really treat them except by altering those things mentioned
above
or
use the 5 medicines approved to treat alzheimers disease
none of which actually treats the disease itself but only treats the
symptoms
eg
im on aricept (donepezil) and have been it for 2 1/2 years in hopes if
my final diagnosis turns out to be alzheimers disease that it may have
slowed down the progression of the diseases symptoms
of the 5 drugs only aricept (donepezil) exelon and namenda are
really used
what is needed now is drugs or treatments to treat the disease before
symptoms ever start and probably as much as 20-30 years before it
starts to show up
possible treatments attack the beta amyloid accumulation or the tau protein
unfolding and destruction in some way
these are thought to be the two hallmarks of alzheimers disease
ive written about the bexarotene studies that are starting up
hoping that the baxarotene will inhibit beta amyloid production
like it did in animal studies
(bexarotene is an old anticancer drug used for certain skin cancers)
in another study one of the old leukemia chemotherapy agents will be
given at a low dose to slow this production of beta amyloid
it appears to work in animal models
several companies have developed new drugs also that work like the
bexarotene and are being tested now in new studies that like bexarotene
will decrease the beta amyloid being produced in the brain
excuse me it seems that you could go back and study people who
were treated with these medicines for their leukemia and cancer and
see if it helped those who were going to get alzheimers
i bet there are blood samples and spinal fluid samples stored somewhere
that could be looked at
www.nytimes.com
the big colombian study using one of the alzheimers vaccine that binds up
the beta amyloid and removes it or prevents it from being deposited in
the brain
hopefully this works because if not this approach using injectible
antitbodies against beta amyloid will not be effective
in this sudy it is given to people in their thirties who are going to get the
disease in a few years
so we will know in less than 5 years if this approach will work
right now across the us another alzheimers vaccine is being given to
prodromal alzheimers patients thats people some like me who have
positive mild neuropsych tests positive beta amyloid and tau proteins
in the spinal fluids and positive pet scans for beta amyloid but who
are really asymptomatic
i would qualify for this study but one of the criteria is that you can not
be on aricept (donepezil) and be on the study
thats a choice i would have to make
would be to stop this knowing
that if this vaccine didnt work stopping the aricept (donepezil) might
make my symptoms deteriorate if what i have is alzheimers disease
as of right now im not willing to do that
so im watching the drug studies closely for a potential treatment that
is in the works
one promising drug is being evaluated by taurx.com where the drug affects
the unfolding of the tau protein
earlier studies on a protype of this drug showed some promise
for me personally
i dont qualify because they arent testing it yet on people like me but are
only giving it to people who are in the early stages of alzhiemers
disease eg like the tennessee basketball coach pat summitt
ill be watching this one real close and if they do start a study in
people like me with minimal symptoms and positive tests
then i plan to try to enter the study
just dont give me that damn placebo
www.nature.com
another study that i read about involves an enzyme thats called
secretase
it was discovered in a group of people in iceland who do not get
alzheimers disease because of a gene inherited that affects this
secretase enzyme so it doesnt break down amyloid into the
beta amyloid piece that is thought to possibly be the cause of
azlheimers as this beta amyloid piece gets deposited throughout the brain
a new study is being looked at using this to treat people hoping they
too will not get this disease
these new inhibitors of this secretase enzyme lower the beta amyloid
in the brain and
if it works will slow down or prevent the disease
this may be the most promising of all the new treatments
ill be the first in line for that one
yes this is hope for the future
these new drug treatments that are coming
but i realize my window of opportunity is closing if what i have is
alzheimers disease because by the time an official diagnosis is made
its like being told you have stage 4 cancer
the odds are against you
so
lets hope then that one of these new drugs will be effective
soon
the organicgreen doctor
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