alzheimers news-much adu

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-MUCH ADU
this is much adu about something
that may be a game changer in alzheimers treatment
if we are lucky it will available in 2018

my wife she handed me this magazine
i still get all these free magazines from when i
was in practice
i rarely read them
we just recycle them

i opened to this article on a new potential treatment
for alzheimers
now i briefly wrote about it once before but this
article went into more depths on its history and its
potential

if you have an interest in alzheimers treatment you
should take the time to read this article

previous treament studies with antibodies didnt show good results
why
they treated people who were later in the disease process
many were way too late
they also when they went back and rescanned folks
they realized many didnt have the disease at all

now you can accurately predict who has the disease by
taking a good history
doing memory tests
doing mri scans
doing glucose utilization pet scans of the brain
(alzheimers patients lose the ability to absorb glucose
and it shows as blank areas on the pet scan)
doing spinal tap for beta amyloid and tau protein in the
spinal fluid
(beta amyloid decreases and tau increases in the spinal fluid
as the disease progresses )
then
a beta amyloid pet scan called amyvid can be done to show if it has
accumulated
it starts 15-20 years before symptoms start

now i have had all these tests so thats why im more certain
about my diagnosis of possible alzheimers disease

these werent all done in the other companies studies that failed


a company called biogen entered the picture

an european researcher isolated an antibody from healthy
older folks who were very mentally alert
that antibody was eventually called
aducanumab
adu for short

so in phase 1 studies they take a small number of volunteers
to try different doses on them and to look mainly for
side effects
if things look promising they go to phase 2
then
if that goes well to phase 3
phase 3 is more expensive to do as it uses more folks
in the studies
its the phase right before the fda approves the new drug

what they found in the phase 1 study of adu
was that the antibody seemed to work
folks got better on memory tests and scans showed
the bad stuff beta amyloid was being removed from the
brain
a+b=c

why was this working
they screened folks better so that they were more sure that
they were dealing with alzheimers patients
they treated folks who had not developed full blown disease
but had positive scans
this is called preclinical alzheimers
they also treated folks with early disease  who had mild symptoms
i am in between these two
which has prevented me from being in some of these treatment studies

now adu is on to phase 3 studies
these results should be out in a couple of years
if things go well
then adu may be on the market for you and me
in
2018

so this is much adu about something
a game changer
for me and others if it works

the organicgreen doctor

country n news-rhino

COUNTRY N NEWS-RHINO
no no we didnt get one for our place
no we arent turning into a zoo
but
we have had rhinos on our property for years

my friend built a new house and put in a new yard
he wanted to know what to do about those grubs in
his grass

you know those little grubby things you dig up sometimes
when you dig in the yard
get too many in your grass and theyll cause damage

well i was over one day
he had june bugs all over his driveway
so
my suggestions for him for his grub problem
was to
turn off the outside lights he left on all night
a real june bug magnet
as
their larva stage
grub worms

the best treatment for grub worms
is save electricity and shut off outside night lights

also leave a light on over a bucket of water
itll be full of those guys the next morning
add a little liquid soap
theyre done for

now
this fall i think i posted this picture below
of the two big grub worms i dug out of my garden beds

these are the rhino grub worm
think of a regular grub worm who ate a bottle of steroids
thats
a rhino grub worm

i use to chunk them over the fence to the chickens
like i do that big ole tomato worm
those girls would go into a frenzy fighting over that big ole grub
such a commotion they make

then i read and heard about rhino grubs and rhino beetles
they are an important part of the organic cycle that
produces compost
they chew up the bigger parts of the compost pile
leaving the smaller parts to bacteria and fungi

i know i had found them in my compost pile before
but i had always made them chicken food

but not this year
i dug a hole in my garden bed and put them back in the ground
before some bird flew down and picked them up
now it would have to be a big bird since they are so big

then yesterday as i was checking my garden
i looked into a 5 gallon bucket i had left in the garden
it had partially filled with water
we had had over 5 inches this weekend

there in the middle of the bucket swimming away
was a big ole rhino beetle
if he could talk
he would say
please ole please scoop me out im getting so tired
i dont want to be like those folks that were caught in the
flood waters
please rescue me

i looked closer
now this has to be an omen or something
it has to have some meaning
there on his back
was a ladybug surviving by holding on for dear life

so
i took a white cup i keep in my garden
scooped up the rhino and ladybug
and
gently real gently slid the ladybug off onto my garden bed
then
slid the rhino monster
into a layer of leaves between my beds
im sure he was hungry

so
theres a lesson somewhere in all this
seeing that rhino grub last fall scared the bejebies out of me
but
i saved him or her
he in return returned the favor by saving that
ladybug

there is a lesson there isnt there

the organicgreen doctor

bobwhite

BOBWHITE
now i have known several bob whites in my lifetime
all were pretty nice guys
some arent with us anymore

just like bobwhites are getting to be here in texas
and elsewhere

whats a bobwhite
well if you live in the rural south or especially in texas
you probably know what a bobwhite is
although
thanks to our removal of their habitat they have continued
to decrease in population

in fact here at the country n
we have lived here now for going on our 15th year
we have never heard a bobwhite or quail since
we moved in

it seems the bobwhite has decreased in numbers around texas
as they were over hunted while their habitat was being destroyed
by development and drought
fire ants may have contributed some as the quail live on the ground
to raise their young there
which gives the fire ants access to the young ones
add all that up
and
you get a significant drop in the bobwhite or quail population

here at the country n i have made a conscious attempt to increase
the habitat for birds bees snakes yes snakes deer turkey dove
and quail
i even planted a mix called quail mix from the native american seed
company that has species of grasses and wildflowers that the quail
love to eat
and
i let nature totally take over all my pasture land
letting the grasses grow the trees to just naturally pop up
even planted a few myself

the result is more wildlife
deer bed down in our front pasture
turkey occasionally come up from the river to roam our pasture
doves by the droves love our front pasture
its a sanctuary during dove season since we dont hunt any

now this year
while working in my front yard
i heard this distinctive sound
embedded in my brain from when i was a youth in southern arkansas

thats where i learned you could call them to where you are
by whistling like this

yes thats my bobwhite call

so i did
i could hear him i presume its a him work closer and closer to where
i was standing
but he is skittish
never allowing me to really see him

this spring i can hear more of them in the distance
a good sign that they may be returning to this area of
the hill country

now if the hunters will just stay away from here
as
im sure there is not many of them around right now

now one thing i have noticed is that the hunting groups do
do a good job of protecting wildlife
and managing their numbers

now here at the country n
we dont want any of ours removed for any reason

so
today as i work outside in my yard
i plan to start my conversation back up with my
bobwhite buddy
hoping todays the day when i can see him

the organicgreen doctor

memorable memorial weekend

MEMORABLE MEMORIAL WEEKEND
the weekend was going to be a busy one

first was planned a day of working at a habitat for humanity
site on saturday
that got canceled because of the impending weather
then
sunday we planned to travel to the san antonio area to visit
my historian brother and cowgirl sister in law
then
back to austin on monday to visit my younger sons
girlfriend who was in town for a bachelorette party
no not hers
meeting her for lunch prior to her trip to the  airport

well we got to do all that except for working at habitat
we just had some excitement along the way

on saturday night as i lay in bed reading my bee book
my wife she says
ok i gonna go to the shower
what that means
shes scared now because of the torrential rain and winds
and
her friends texting her that a tornado was spotted close
to us
our tv service was knocked out

now our shower downstairs is made from recycled bricks
from an old farmhouse
its like a fortress
its where my wife goes when she feels threatened by bad weather

for some reason i guess since i grew up in the south
it doesnt seem to bother me much

ok it did get a little scary for a few minutes
when you look outside and the rain is coming into
your house in a straight line parallel to the ground
and
its hitting the sides of your house coming from different
directions-north south east and west
you know thats not a good thing

now we need rain around here lots of it
it seems thats what we got that night
lots of it
my wife she survived
at least she didnt sleep in the shower last night
she has before

when i awoke
went outside
no visible damage seen
well a few limbs here and there
and
the best part was my rainwater tanks were overflowing

what that means is that
all 30,000 gallons of capacity in my tanks are full
we now have enough water for
more than a year

its been several years since the tanks have overflowed
like that
that was after a 10 inch rain one night

ok im happy now
my tanks are full
it can stop raining now
but
sorry to say it didnt
and
that rain im so happy about
caused a lot of tragedy around here

the worst being the family of four who rented a cabin
in the blanco river
the river swept the cabin away
the cabin hit a bridge
split in two
leaving the dad on one side and the two kids and mom
on the other side
after the house hit the bridge
the mom called her sister
said they were floating down the river in the broken in two
house
dad on on piece they on the other

dad survived as he was plucked from the river and is in icu
mom and kids were never found
only pieces of the cabin was found

so its hard for me to celebrate too much over the rain i got
im glad i got it
but
somehow i dont feel good about it
since
all the tragedy and damage the storm did

even monday after we met our sons girlfriend for a
soul food lunch
the clouds had cleared for hours
on the way home
it all hit again
torrential rains
flooding the city of austin and surrounding areas
flooding the highway we were traveling on
tornadoes popping up
people getting rescued from the streets of austin
a large lakes dam rupturing and flooding the bastrop area
where all the fires occurred years ago
more people missing

we made it home safely
missing the flooding that was so bad
our yard was full of water like a lake
then in a few hours
all the water was gone
then
things seemed back to normal
all safe again

so
this was a memorable memorial weekend
a few good things
but
im sorry to say
a lot of tragic ones

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-gamers beware

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-GAMERS BEWARE
gamers gonna game
if they can remember how when they get older

parents if your kiddos are big video game players
maybe you should read this blog today
and
maybe this article


when alzheimers disease starts years and years before
symptoms show up
a process starts in the hypothalmus etal where beta amyloid
accumulation occurs then unraveling of tau proteins occurs
then plaques and tangles form
which leads to brain destruction
what  is seen eventually
is shrinkage of this area
underneath the brain
the hypothalamus
easily seen on mri scans
and
areas called the caudate nucleus and the hypothalamus
and the hippocampus
are greatly affected early on

so alzhiemers disease affects the caudate nucleus and leads to
shrinkage in there and in the hypothalamus and the hippocampus

got it

now enter gaming
the research was done on people who play the game
call of duty

it seems when compared to folks who dont game
that gamers used the caudate nucleus twice as much
as nongamers

the caudate nucleus is an area associated with drug and
alcohol addiction also
its also affected by alzheimers disease

they found that gamers had decreased grey matter and
decreased functional brain activity in the hippocampus
where alzheimers really starts
its the area that controls memory emotions and learning

what this means that this decreased function puts gamers
at increased risk for neurological diseases
like alzheimers disease

so the question is does gaming lead to an increased risk
of alzheimers disease
or does it make the onset come on sooner in life

it seems if you are affecting the alzheimers starting place
in the brain early in life that you are priming that area
to more easily be overtaken by
alzheimers disease

more long term studies using brain scans and other research
studies are planned

in the meantime
im glad i was never a gamer
i stopped when i felt myself get addicted to atari games

maybe that helped slow down the process some
and
maybe thats why you dont see a lot of old old gamers
as
maybe they are all in long term memory centers

the organicgreen doctor

country n news-harvest time

COUNTRY N NEWS-HARVEST TIME
this is the time of the year when all the work that
was put into planting and caring for the garden
pays off

here is the link to the blog where i planted my red lasota
potatoes in late january
this is the first planting that has been done in my
enriched soil
as i mentioned in previous blogs
i dug out the dirt as far as i could go
added cardboard newspapers logs limbs lots of leaves
layers of compost and soil and newspapers
topping it all off with 3 inches of compost
and organic fertilizer and cottonseed meal
and a good sprinkling of molasses and humates

now i knew it was time to dig them up as
some of the plants were dying back
plus some were poking through the ground
so
out they all came
plus i was at a garden talk where the speaker
recommended pulling them all out now
one year i left them all in and they mostly rotted in
a few weeks
so
out they came

here is some hanging from a plant

here is one fitting nicely in my hand

here are the over two 5 gallon bucketfuls that
i dug that day
this represents more than i got last year
and
these taters are about half of them hand size

these are stored in my garage for use over the next
few months

then
the onions in my beds
all 200+ of them had grown well although not as big
as last years crop
the stalks have all fallen over which means its time
to pull them

so i pulled all of them and here they are in my
wheelbarrow
they will be placed in the garage all spread out
when they have dried good
then

they will be placed in pantyhose to be made into
what i call
onion chimes

we clip them off as we need them
they should last close to winter time

these are 1015 onions
the name comes from when the seeds are planted
now i get them in january as small plants

they are sweet and i notice my eyes dont burn and
water when i cut them
ive been eating them for lunch everyday on my sandwich
adds a nice sweet taste to the meal

we are just now starting to get a few cherry tomatoes
lots of strawberries a few sink peaches
armenian cukes are starting to grow as are our tatume squash
our peppers are just starting to bloom and grow
the plum trees are loaded with plums
and
the bees are making lots of honey

the other large tomatoes are going to do quite well this year
there is lots of large green tomatoes
just
hoping to keep my wife shes hands off them until
they can ripen

the organicgreen doctor

ruh roh

RUH ROH
scooby doo use to always say this
when some impending doom was to happen

now
thats what the city of austin officials are saying
as they prepare for 50,000+ bike riders as they
descend on austin on the weekend of june 11
for the
rot republic of texas motorcycle rally held here
each year

now when i was in the clinic i worked in
it was a large block away from the highway where
many of these riders came into austin from a
northern route
hopefully not from waco though

there was this constant drone of motorcycles as
they drove into town
it was so constant you sort of got to where you didnt notice
then
if you were there on sunday the drone noise went
the other way
occasionally a rider would drift into the clinic
ill
when you got past their outfits they were just regular
people who enjoyed motorcycling
of course
you cant tell from looking at them to see if they are
the bad guys or not

each year they lose a few at this rally from wrecks
involving no helmets and alcohol
ok they have the right to not wear a helmet

now i dont agree with them
it doesnt matter i guess since they are not around to argue
with me

ive sat in my office twice before i retired
trying to console a widow with young kids
whose hubbys felt the need to be free and ride
a motorcycle and to do so without a helmet

now i know what motorcycle gangs are really like
since i watched two seasons of sons of anarchy
those guys are ruthless bastards
and
probably the old gangs are still that way
so
i sure wouldnt have wanted to have been at waco at
twin peaks when that guy ran over other guys foot
and started all that slaughter of folks
sure makes me worry about the right to carry law
it worked well this time didnt it

so
now as the weekend of the rot rally is near
i think ill keep a wide girth around austin that weekend
just in case

the organicgreen doctor

on a budget

ON A BUDGET

so i asked

how much do i have to spend

nothing i was told

later

well a hundred dollars

so

i was given the task of landscaping this house

for habitat for humanity 

it was a repo

well the owners just walked off and left it 

trashed i must add

its in an area of two blocks of houses that habitat has built

considering the lower income of its owners

the repo rate is lower than banks and mortgage companies

these folks put a lot of sweat equity into their house

and

lots and lots of pride

so i talked to the new homeowner to see what she wanted

drew up a plan 

there was no way to do it for $100

so i started scrounging around for stuff

first 

a friend of my wife she called 

she had lava rock they were removing from their house

would i like it to use at a habitat house

you betcha i said

so

i brought in a load of the lava rock 

make a bed in the front of the house

cost nothing 

on the market $120 for that load

then

i get a call from someone who noticed an ad for free rocks

the little ole lady wanted all the rocks removed from her property

3 truck loads of rocks

i used the limestone blocks to line the lava rock bed in the 

front 

as well as the garden bed in the front 

where two dwarf yaupon hollies and two salvia greggis were planted

two tough as nail plants that survive even with neglect

i keep a fund of money ive collected for these projects

so from this fund

i bought the above plants 

real cheap from a local nursery that gives me cheap wholesale

prices

and

a yard of good garden soil to use for the beds

cost $60 

then we used the $100 for a yard of compost and sand

to spread on the yard

two yards of mulch to make a large bed around the 

pecan trees in the front and back and a small white oak

in the back 

then

i have a big bag of organic fertilizer i keep here at the

country n 

i donated a small amount and fertilized the grass

it cost me probably $3 for the fertilizer i used

then

i seeded some bermuda grass in bare spots in the yard

from a large bag given to me to use for this

so here is the end result

cost to habitat was $100

$60 from my slush fund

thanks to all who have contributed

the rest of the materials were donated

the actual cost had it been bidded out

would probably be $2000

so 

not bad huh

the organicgreen doctor

apple what

APPLE WHAT
thats what i said when i saw the ad
for
the new apple watch

why do i need an apple watch

heck
ive got this one
i had one like this for the last 25 years

way back then my wife she got me a watch
a nice watch
one of those shiny nice watches
that cost way too much money
i guess it looked good on my arm when i was working
but
i wore it all the time

im ocd about time
just ask my wife she my kids and my former nurses
i like to know the time
ok maybe too ocd

one trick i learned at home
was to set all the clocks forward several minutes
and
to lie about what time we needed to be somewhere
about a 30 minute lie if i remember correctly

heck
now that im retired i use it to remind me what the date is

now
i know what day of the week it is
i havent gone that far down the demented path

so i wore that shiny silvery watch all the time
playing sports
working in the yard
hiking
swimming
hot tubbing
well
it didnt last long
so
i told my wife she
i want one of those sports watches
you know the kind you can wear 24/7
do what you want to do
so
thats what i have done the last 25 years
wore the same one

the only time i got a new one was
when i wore out bands that they didnt make anymore
the watches themselves are still working
was given a new one as an upgrade for a gift
then
i had one actually have the battery run down

i did think about it though
they make these things so well
they last forever
how do they make money
since they rarely break
and
they are so cheap

so why do i need an apple watch

so i did a google search
why i need an apple watch
it costs from $349-$17000
its cool
you can get your emails
you can link it with your other devices

well i really couldnt find any good reason for having one
i just wonder how it would hold up to a week in my life
i sometimes sleep with it
im always dropping it
sometimes from heights sometimes into places i wish i hadnt
i get it really muddy and grimy and wet
then i just hose it off
i get into the hot tub with mine
i wear it when i garden
and
when i do beekeeping

i just wonder if the apple watch would hold up to all that

i keep my smartphone in my pocket in a special protective
cover
i can do my emails facebook messages answer phone calls
make phone calls search the internet
on a screen that i can see

i dont need to know how much exercise i do
i do manual work almost everyday
until im pooped sometimes
then i know i got enough exercise that day

so why do i need an apple watch
my conclusion is

i dont
ill just buy 10 of my watches that will last forever
and
use my smartphone

did they just design a product most of us dont need
and
convince some of us that we needed it

i think so

just let me keep my casio g shock

the organicgreen doctor