alzheimers news-round three

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-ROUND THREE

the name of the study is
the aducanumab study
sponsored by biogen

this is the study that alzheimers folks are keeping
their eye on

it could be the one
we are waiting for

i sure hope so

the bad beta amyloid that is
thought to be the cause of alzheimers disease
accumulates in the brain causing brain cell destruction
ie
alzheimers disease

stop this accumulation you might stop alzheimers disease
or at least slow it down

so they isolated this antibody to the bad beta amyloid
from old folks who for some
reason didnt get alzheimers disease

this antibody was named
aducanumab

it goes into the brain when given as an infusion
binds to the bad beta amyloid and removes it

it also removes the plaques that form in the brain


nature.com

here on the left are beta amyloid scans called amyvid scans
done on folks before the study started
all that red stuff is beta amyloid accumulation
then
on the right are the same folks scans after receiving
the infusions of aducanumab after several weeks

you can see the 10 mgm dose completely cleared the amyloid

only the folks who got the placebo
the fake stuff
didnt change

this removal of the amyloid also correlated with
an improvement in memory

these scans are from the small initial phase 1 study

now i am applying to get into the big phase 3 study that is being
done on several hundred folks

if i get in
if i get the real stuff and not the placebo
my scans should go from abnormal to normal looking
in just a few weeks
my alzheimers will be delayed or stopped in its tracks

this is why we are so excited about this study

so today
its round three
we make the 300 mile journey
to the ut southwestern alzheimers center in dallas
to have
several memory tests
and
the baseline mri

if i pass these tests
ie
my memory is still off
my mri shows nothing bad like stroke tumor masses etc
then i will have an amyvid pet scan soon like those above

if the amyvid scan is positive
then im in the study
that means i have alzheimers disease as sure as you can be

then
i will start the infusions

this all has to happen in the next 2 weeks

lets just say we are excited today

the organicgreen doctor

saving money

SAVING MONEY

now i am always looking for ways to save
a buck
so
when i saw this article ill link it here
i got excited
58 ways to save money
by taking frugalness to the next level

so i started looking at the list
to see how many that i am doing

im sorry one of those i just cant do
reusing toilet paper
now they didnt explain that one
so
even my imagination cant come up with
how to do that one
so
there are now 57 ways to save money

so here are the ones that here today
in this blog
i will admit to doing
maybe

i drink only water when i go out to eat
ok i will admit i do it cuz i like water better
unless of course
i drink a glass of wine

we only pay cash for christmas gifts

we meal plan and use a grocery list when
i shop
my wife she isnt allowed to shop for groceries
i only get things that are on the list
aint on the list i dont get it
plus
i always omit one item thats on the list

we my wife she that is washes and reuses
ziplock bags

when we do get plastic grocery bags
which isnt often
we use them to line our small trash holder

now this one wasnt on the list
but
we recycle everything we can
and take it to a small recycle center 10 miles
away sponsored by the small town near here
then
whats left is what goes in our small trash holder
this trash
since we no longer have trash pickup
at the country n
we simply put in the trash bin when we buy gas
which is about once a week
savings on this one
$500-600 a year

i have a relative that saves their chapstick
you know like when it wont roll out the
tip anymore
they use a toothpick or something like that
to dig it out
i dont go that far
but i do use it until i now longer can
get it out with my finger tip

you can also do this with lipstick

here is one i might try
cutting the end off toothpaste to get
that last bit out of the tube

now
here is a good one
ask a relative for a big pack of toilet paper from
somewhere like sams or costco for christmas
it could last a year

now
there are 58 of these ideas
some i just cant do
some i already do
i added some

do you have any money saving tips
if so
post them in the comment section
or
on this blogs facebook page

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-would you want to know

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-WOULD YOU WANT TO KNOW

there are diseases that you can be tested for
to find out if you have them
like
huntingtons disease

the problem is
there are no real treatments for the disease

so
why get tested
right

there are test for dominant genes for alzheimers disease
that you can have done
if they are positive
it means that you will 100% get alzheimers disease

now the apoe 4 gene that i have
you can get tested for
but if its positive
that doesnt mean you will get the disease
but you are at a higher risk

if you get the double version apoe4/apoe4 version
then your risks are even higher
but
its not 100% that you will get alzheimers disease

im afraid for me though
that i didnt beat the odds
i am a few days to a couple of weeks
from finding out where i stand
for sure

yesterday
my wife she and i sat and watched a dvred tv show
from pbs
it was shown on wednesday night on pbs at 900pm
pbs the tv network trump is trying to get rid of

as we watched the show
yes i teared all through the show
well these shows are getting harder for me to watch
still alice just about did me in on watching this stuff
but
i made myself watch this one
alzheimers every minute counts

here is the link to watch it online
its is 50+ minutes long
the video online also is broken into segments

heres the gist of the video
folks
we are in trouble in the us and the world
alzheimers disease is going to devastate us
financially and emotionally

without a treatment or cure
none exists as of now
we will soon spend 1trillion dollars a year on alzheimers disease
its treatment and care of those affected
thats more than what we spend on defense and the military

it will break our budget and overwhelm the healthcare system

just for these reasons we should all watch this video

in the video there is a woman who shut down her business
to take care of her 60+ year old mother in the later stages
of this devastating disease

she has devoted her life and her finances to caring for
her mom
she is hispanic which is common with hispanic families
to care for their elderly
she is overwhelmed

then
she agrees to get tested herself
for the dominant gene
she is positive
she feels like she is looking in a mirror every time
she looks at her mom
she knows her day is coming soon in the next 10-15 years


i always said that thats the way i felt
every time i saw my younger brother as he progressed
through his disease
a mirror of what was to come for me
yes im in that 10 year window like she is

now she is in a research study using the antibody stuff
thats similar to the one i am hoping to enter
she gets monthly shots in the abdomen of the antibody to
the bad beta amyloid that
if it works
will slow down or prevent her from getting alzheimers

this one is similar to the colombia study that was shown on
60 minutes recently

the one i hope to get in soon uses intravenous infusions
monthly to do the same thing

these potential treatments have the best hope of
doing something to slow this disease down

we hope

if you want to know what its like
to care for someone with the disease
to face the financial and emotional hurdles of this disease
to see what its like to find out you are going to get the disease
to hear from researchers and politicians about this disease
then
watch this show
lucky i guess is that this disease is apolitical

here is the link again

the organicgreen doctor

country n news-barn door

COUNTRY N NEWS-BARN DOOR

now ive been wanting to do this for 15 years
my wife she has been well bugging me about it
now for that amount of time

why havent i pulled the trigger
to do this
well
the hardware for this is just too expensive
i couldnt justify doing it
spending all that money on something that
we may only use once a week
sometimes less than that

the story starts about 10+ years ago

my cowgirl sisterinlaw
decided she didnt want the two gates
and
the surrounding wooden fence anymore
so
she asked if i wanted the wood

now im a recycler
i recycle everything
heck i even shred paper and dump it in my compost pile
along with newspapers paper plates napkins etc
so
recycling an old fence was
well a no brainer

so
she my historian brother her hubby and my rainwater brother
and i
took to taking down the fence
struggling with the post on some of the metal fence posts
couldnt get it out
she
a get it done person
went and rented a saw
whacking the metal post at the ground level

i was left with a truckload of fence pickets
and wooden posts
i even took the metal posts

i stored them in my barn

i used some to make a large dog house
i used some to make a 10 ft square greenhouse
inside my garage

so the rest have set there for years

then
recently i told my wife she
i got an idea
having learned how to put up hardiplank siding
at habitat for humanity
i said
lets use those wooden pickets like siding
so i put it up on the front of our barn
then
i looked at the old door we had
it was pretty beat up
i thought
i sure want a sliding barn door there

now this room on our pole barn
we call the tack room
since previous folks kept feed and riding stuff in there

we use it to house
our solar control center
our rainwater filtering system
all my bee supplies
a small workbench
paint supplies
etc

so
i went to pinterest
i went to google
typed in cheap sliding barn doors
both searches sent me to this blog
that told exactly how to do it
cheaply
like under $20

so i used
my old fence pickets that were 1x6
they were well worn
an 8ft tongue in grove board
two garage door pulleys from home depot
a box of screws
a can of black spray which i already had

now for this cheap sliding barn door to work
the door has to be real real light
otherwise the lip on the tongue and groove would wear out

so
i built this thing
hung it up
slid it back and forth

its now doing its job
looking good
for the price of a tank of gas
using recycled wood

my wife she is happy
that she now has her sliding barn door

happy wife happy life
i say

the organicgreen doctor

moses surgery

MOSES SURGERY
well thats what i heard
when the words went through by ears
got processed through my brain

moses surgery
is that something to do with the parting of the skin
or
10 commandments

then
i realized she was saying
mohs surgery

whats that
its what you have to have done when you get older
if you were a non hat wearing
non sunscreen wearing person
now baby oil doesnt count for sunscreen
even if you put iodine in it
if you are grey headed you know what im talking about

now when you get older
you pay the price
mohs surgery

they take a piece out
scrap it all out
look to see if they got it all under the microscope
if not
they take another piece out
this goes on all day until its all gone
the skin cancer that is

if you want to know what it looks like
just
google mohs surgery nose

if you are a little squeamish i wouldnt do that

in recent years i have got better at wearing long sleeves
wearing a floppy hat
wearing sunscreen
but not at avoiding the sun
i am usually outside everyday sometimes all day

well
yesterday
i paid the price for all that sun exposure
i had moses surgery
i mean
mohs surgery

a small area started to bleed on my nose
i had it biopsied
as i expected it was a basal cell skin cancer

so off to the moses surgeon
dang it i mean mohs surgeon
someone who had done work on my patients in the past

i arrived at 8am and left at 200pm
with this big ole white bandage on my face
i was told to leave it on for 48 hours then change it
daily for a week

i decided to follow closely the recommendations
that were given me
ie
be complaint which i dont always do

well
i so far am doing exactly what i was told
except
for my nightly glass of wine
couldnt pass that one up

then
i was told just extra strength acetaminophen for the pain
wrong wrong they were
i ended up taking two of my pain pills left from my
oral surgery last year

my thoughts
the pendulum has swung too far the other way on
this pain med thing
please give it to your surgical patients
i knew i would need it
it made for a much better night last night
i probably wont need any more today

now as i sit here writing this
i was told to be at bed rest for 3-4 days
so my nose wont swell up like a clowns nose
bringing with it lots of pain
keeping an ice bag on my face every 20 minutes for two days
now so far ive done that
but
i can tell that its going to be hard
real hard
for me to follow those post op instructions

i see
an even larger floppy hat in my future
along with long sleeve shirts
gloves
lots of sunscreen lots of it
reapplying it every few hours
since
yesterday i ran into another doctor i use to work with
years ago
he was getting his 4th moses i mean mohs surgery done

sorry
i dont want to have to do this again
but
i will though
if i have to

oh moses
smell the roses
if i can

the organicgreen doctor

dear ms b-hear kitty kitty

DEAR MS B-HEAR KITTY KITTY

there is this hat called a pussycat hat
its pink
we will get you one
i want you to save it
until you understand what it means

when you get older
when you get to the age when you can understand
reread this blog
hopefully when you do
things will be better for all those involved that day

on january 21, 2017 there was an massive march in
washington dc
a womens march
around 500,000 in that city
but nationwide this was the largest march in the history of the usa

why did they march
well when you get to reach the age when you can read this
you probably will understand
hopefully you havent experienced too much
injustice from being a female

one of my former patients posted on facebook
a posting about this march

now
when i read or hear reports about an event
like a sporting event for example
an event that i watched myself
well
sometimes the two dont match up
what i heard and saw
and
what they heard and saw

so this patient
who describes her self as a libertarian and a republican
a pro life person
well she went to the march here in austin
along with 50,000 others

why
she was asked by her daughters friend
can you take me to this march
sure she said
always one for an adventure

first she went to the marches website
here is what she read
“We stand together in solidarity with our partners and children for the protection of our rights, our safety, our health, and our families — recognizing that our vibrant and diverse communities are the strength of our country.”

“The march is non-partisan, and we want to spread a message of 
hope, togetherness, and positivity.” 

she said
i believe in all those things
she hates bigotry

so off she went
ms b
her kids and their friends and her friend
all in tow

on her shirt it read
onward

on her poster it read
i march for all women
even the unborn

i thought when i first read this
my what a brave lady

we had folks we know who went to the march

like my former patient
they found the march peaceful
nonviolent
inclusive

my former patient
never was threatened or a big deal was made of her t shirt
and her sign
they were treated like the other marchers

when she heard antitrump stuff
antiabortion stuff
she didnt participate
but
the majority of stuff she said she participated in
which was most of what was chanted
and
spoke about

the walk is for justice for those who have been discriminated against
people of color
people of different sexual orientation
people of different religions
women who have been discriminated against throughout
our history
like voting working equal pay job promotions equal sports
even at times stay at home moms

yes as of today we have made progress
but we are not there yet
we are hoping this movement will continue to progress
until
when you get older
your chances for promotion for work for school
will be the same as those of the opposite sex

now my former patient feels good
about going to the march
even though most didnt agree with her on some things
they accepted her
most of what they marched for
most women in america
want they same thing for
themselves their daughters their granddaughters their nieces
their aunts their grandmothers

well ms b
we want the same for you
i just hope when you read this
its all fixed for you

thanks to ka for allowing me to quote her posting

the organicgreen doctor

does size matter

DOES SIZE MATTER
every time i hear or read stuff that he says
stuff that doesnt seem quite right
i always think back to when i was a kid
reading stories

the one story i always think about is
the emperors new clothes

if you dont know or remember the story line
here is a link to give you the gist of the story

well this weekend
there was a emperors new clothes occurrence

heck
even fox news drilled his press secretary
he the interviewer of the press secretary said
sir
just look at the pictures
sir
you ever read the emperors new clothes

when i heard him say that
i almost fell out of my chair

ok he really didnt say that about the emperors new clothes
but
he did drill him several times
just look at the pictures he said

what pictures you ask
well here are three pictures of the national mall



trumps inauguration      obamas inauguration
cbsnews.com

womens march in washington
voxx.com

be careful now
this is not the emperors new clothes
its just the facts
like
2+2=4
or
1+1=2
thats the facts
its what you see
we all know its true

now
the emperor needs to just not try to convince us
to see his new clothes

he is the us president
he needs to worry about important things
like

keep the economy that obama left us
keep it humming
make it better if he wishes
warning those good paying jobs they just may not
ever return here to the us
if they do
kudos to you

keep your little paws off of medicare
as someone who knows a lot about insurances
as a former family doctor
as one who now has medicare
it is the best most streamline insurance i have ever had
it sir is a sacred cow
mess with it and those who do may not return next time
tweek it
thats ok

health insurance we all gotta have it
get rid of obamacare if you want
but
warning to you and to all americans
dont let him replace it with those cheap crappy insurances
that dont cover anyone for hardly anything
dont say youll insure us all with those bad policies
i have no problem changing things just make it better not worse

i ran my income through a calculator of his tax program
i would pay $1000 less a year in income tax
well more than he did
i personally rather pay that $1000 back to the government
to make things better

sir
that includes you and your billionaire buddies need to pay more
not less taxes
ill sacrifice that tax money as a per cent of my income
if yall match that same percentage
seems fair to me

education needs work
not destroyed
sir
even those teachers many who voted for you
do not
i repeat
do not like your new
education secretary nominee
i think you need to find someone else please
so do they

infrastructure
infrastructure
at least that seems like something both sides agree on
why dont you do that first

so sir
if you do all these things
you probably will be an eight year president
if you dont
well
you will be getting kinda old in 4 years

so sir
do this and you might make it
but
by the way
you need to change your clothes
i can see right through them

they are right
size does matter

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-concussions and alzheimers

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-CONCUSSIONS AND ALZHEIMERS

whenever i am interviewed for an alzheimers study
they ask if i ever had a concussion
if i say yes
they go into greater details on each event
for me
thats three

the thinking is that concussions may put you at risk for
developing alzheimers disease

recent researchers looked at afghanistan and iraq war veterans
who had sustain one or more concussions and compared them to ones
who didnt have concussions

they looked at areas of the brain that are the first to
show atrophy in alzheimers disease
they also looked at areas of the brain as controls
that arent usually affected by alzheimers disease early on

what they found was that in folks who had been concussed
there was lessening of the cortical thickening of the brain in the areas
that alzheimers disease attacks first
to cause shrinkage as the disease progresses

the average age of these vets is 32

so these concussed vets brains now have thinner brain cortex
in these areas
implying that if alzheimers attacks the atrophy may be worse
also
if you are genetically programmed to get alzheimers
like with the apoe 4 gene or the dominant alzheimers gene
you would be at an even higher risk for developing alzheimers in those areas

so
this may be another reason to think about
playing concussive sports
especially
if you are potentially programmed genetically to get alzheimers
thats at least 25% of our population

tennis anyone

the organicgreen doctor

country n news-a tree story

COUNTRY N NEWS-A TREE STORY

since i started doing the landscape for
the williamson county habitat for humanity a few years ago
i have developed a network of landscape suppliers and
nurseries that provide me supplies and plants at reduced rates

one nursery actually gives me plants
whenever they clear out stock getting ready for the next
season
they call me and offer me plants

the nursery is
mcintires nursery in georgetown texas

they have given me several plants and trees over the
last few years that i have planted at various habitat
homes in the area

this time they called me
i have this large weeping yaupon holly that i would
like to give you

i went over to see it
a beautiful tree
covered in red berries
fifteen feet tall
price on the container $199
why not $200 i dont know

now this tree is
xeric which means it doesnt need much water
native which means it was genetically programmed
to live here naturally
eventually not really needing much care once it is established

now the cities around here require more landscaping
than they did a few years ago
good for the homeowner
but
i noticed that if you dont want all the plants they require
well
you still have to plant them

one owner i landscaped for didnt want anything but grass
no trees no shrubs no beds
so
thats what we did
all she does is have a neighbor mow the grass regularly
bam
shes done

some cities wont let you do that
ok
i will admit i have planted stuff
then later the homeowner with my help
removed them

so this home will have to have
2 trees that are 2 inches in diameter
from a list they provided
granted that list doesnt have the trash trees on it
that plaques many a homeowner 25 years later
in the older established neighborhoods

in fact this home had an arizona ash
a notorious trash tree planted by developers
since they grow fast and are cheaper
problem is that
they die
the new homeowner has to eventually one day
cut them down
so
i guess the new rules are good ones

we cut this arizona ash down and removed the stump

we will add to the front yard either a
live oak
monterey white oak
or
cedar elm

it will eventually completely shade the front yard
years from now
the tree will probably outlive the house

thats the right way to do things

this yaupon that we planted
thanks to the new homeowners son who dug the deep hole
my wife she for helping me on a recent muddy wet day
to plant it
is about as tall as it will get
the limbs unlike the regular yaupon
will weep
much like a weeping willow does
all covered with red berries in the fall and winter
it will be a beautiful beautiful plant

now we are awaiting the sidewalk and driveway completion
so  we can finish the shrub bed in the front of the house
using left over rock work from the rocking of the house
the bricker always gives us the left over rock

so
this tree is here thanks to
mcintires nursery
the new homeowners son
my wife shes help
the bricklayer
me

the organicgreen doctor

pir pos pal paw

PIR POS PAL PAW
do you text

do your kids text

if you dont know what those abbreviations mean
in the title of this blog
then
ask your texting teen or preteen

odds are they know what they mean

ok ill help you
in order
parent in room
parent over shoulder
parents are listening
parents are watching

how about these

mos
ruh
f2f
cp

well in order
mom over shoulder
are you home
face to face ie facetime
sleepy

if you got all them right
thats good

how about
420
ok most of you probably know that
if not
its marijuana

now for a little more that may start to make
you uncomfortable if you are a parent

99
wyrn
ru/18
asl

parents are gone
whats your real name
are you over eighteen
age sex location

now
if you want to get real uncomfortable
especially if you are a parent

now i am not going to put the rest on my blog
but
if you have a teenager or preteen
well
maybe you should click on this link
to read the rest of the text codes that kids are using
the link is to kim komandos website the computer person

warning
if you are offended easily
dont click on the link

man
i sure am glad my kids are grown
i sure am glad we didnt text when i was growing up

the organicgreen doctor

dear ms b-eat mor durt

DEAR MS B-EAT MOR DURT

ms b
do you and your mom know about the 5 second rule
well
i think that yall need to change it to a 10 second rule
heres why

did you ever drop your pacie
then your mom washes it off real good
gives it back to you

well ms b
it may have been better for you
if mom had stuck in in her mouth
sucked off the germs and then
gave it back to you

you see ms b
we have wiped out all the good germs that we need
to keep ourselves healthy

how you ask
well ms b
we thanks to me doctors have over prescribed antibiotics
for years and years
some of this was caused by aggressive patients demanding
antibiotics for their sick kiddos
when they really didnt work

why ms b
when i first started practicing
you could easily treat a nasty old ear infection
with simple amoxacillin

when i ended my practice
well there wasnt much left that really worked well
sometimes it required two or three antibiotics
to clear the bad ones

so all those antibiotics have completely wiped out
all the good germs in your stomach and your skin

these germs help digestion
prevent inflammation in the body
yes they even help to slow down the development of
alzheimers disease
heck ms b
i even take those germs everyday in a pill form on the
regimen i am on

theres probably more good that those stomach germs do
that we dont even know about

then
theres the obsession we have of cleaning everything
washing our hands too much
you got it
it wipes out a lot of good germs

ms b
did you know that kids that grow up on farms tend not
to get asthma
to tend not to get bad allergies

heck ms b
your gma has hand sanitizer locked in her desk at school
for the kids to use
she cant leave it out on top of the desk
well you know how teenagers are
theyll drink it since its got alcohol in it

actually ms b heres what you need to do

wash your hands before you eat
wash your hands after you go potty
count to 10 then pick up food off the floor

then ms b
i plan to send you a jar of my good garden soil
dont worry its all organic
there are tons and tons of good germs in there
just ask all our veggies we grow there

you take a tsp
then eat 1 tsp of the
country n garden dirt every day

youll be a healthy one for sure

yes eat mor durt

the organic green doctor

the dreamer

THE DREAMER

abcnews.com

the last few days
i have thought alot about mlk
martin luther king
what all he did
where we are today with what he fought for

yes
i think we are much better off
now
then we were back when he was marching

when i go to a public restroom
i stand up and pee next to a black person doing the same

when i look at the airport for a water faucet to drink from
yes there are more than one
but there is no label above one of them called
colored only or whites only
the differences
are the height of the faucets so you dont have to bend over
so those in wheelchairs can access the faucets

my we have changed some havent we

yes i remember the water faucets at the county square
where it said
colored only

it seems so long ago

i guess this change might have happened eventually
but
it was mlk and his involvement in the nonviolent movement
that sped up the process
without these demonstrations and many of our consciouses
it might not have ever happened
thank goodness he came along
or
our past would have been scattered with lots of violence

things might have stayed the same

even today
there are three states
alabama mississippi arkansas that still honor the
confederacy on this date

now i have relatives that fought and died for the confederacy
i accept that
i respect them fighting for what they believed in
even
if that was for slavery to persist
yes many were slave owners
many introduced their dna inappropriately
but
no
i cant honor the confederacy on this date
its a thing of the past
something we of that blood line need to put behind us

we need to all move forward not backwards

yesterday
my wife she and i went to see the movie
hidden figures
a story about the black female computer calculators
that were so important for the space programs
success in the early years of the 50s and 60s

in the movie
you can see the things thats mlk
marched for and fought against
peacefully

you can see we as a country have made a lot of progress
in making racial injustice a thing of the past
no its still there ill admit
but its much much better

all you have to do is look around you

now
as we move forward
lets not undo
what is right
all those things that society has made better for
those discriminated against in the past

no
lets not step backwards

i am afraid if we do
we will all lose

the organicgreendoctor

alzheimers news-it fights worms

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-IT FIGHTS WORMS

the apoe 4 gene
if you have it increases your chance of developing
late onset alzheimers disease
what that means is that
you tend to get the disease later in life
in your late 60s or 70s or sometimes in your 80s

if you get the single variant apoe 4
your chances are doubled or some say increased 5 times
same as someone who has diabetes they dont control

if you get the double variant apoe 4/apoe 4
your chances are increased from 5-20 times
based on which source you read

i have the double variant apoe 4/apoe 4 gene
putting me for high risk of developing late onset
alzheimers disease

those with the apoe 4 gene also have
elevated cholesterol levels
leading to more heart disease and strokes

the percentage of the apoe 4 gene is about 25%
in the white us population

the percentage of the apoe 4 gene is about 33%
in norway

so
why did evolution have this gene be so prevalent
in our population

usually bad genes kill you off early
so
its prevalence stays low

so why evolution did you create this damn
apoe 4 gene to cause us and our families such misery
why
was it naturally selected to be here now

now years and years and years ago
well
folks didnt live to be 70 and 80
they died in their 20s and 30s
so
the apoe 4 gene causing alzheimers disease
well
it was a non factor

so
scientists have found in the amazon
no not the drone people
the amazon river place in brazil
there is a population of folks
isolated from the world
that go about their business as they have for
hundreds or thousands of years

they get intestinal parasites or worms real bad
it seems that those with the apoe 4 gene
for some reason
seem to have better memory as they age
the apoe 4 gene provides some protective measure
to these individuals brain

scientists think that the apoe 4 carries the cholesterol
to the brain but keeps the worms from getting any of it

so
isnt fate strange
a gene protects folks in a primitive tribe
but
kills folks in a more advanced society
where there is sanitation clean water and refrigeration

now the natural selection is going the other way
there is less advantage to have the apoe 4 gene
i say none
there is now more advantage to have the milder gene apoe 2 or apoe3

makes you wonder huh

here is an article that discusses this 

the organicgreen doctor

country n news-free the tree

COUNTRY N NEWS-FREE THE TREE

ok
i will admit
i am a tree hugger

2 or 3 years ago i was asked to look at several lots
that the habitat for humanity had bought
to identify any trees that should be saved
and
plants

so as i drove up to the almost city block
it was all growed up

you could tell where the old fence line was
since there was a line of hackberries around the property
like a fence
growing up under the trees were all kind of brush
and vines

many of the vines were those green ones with
thorns that to me look like a rose bush thorns
you walk up against them
they grab you real good

they also grow up and up and up into all the
trees along the old fence line
all intermingled with old pasture fencing
barb wire
old gates
old chicken coop wire
yes a few snakes
none of which i would let anyone kill
i just moved them to the abandoned old house next door
i know i know
they just slither back over
but
those working that day sure were happy

so as i walked the property
i identified several trees

an old pecan tree
deemed by the arborist to be worth about $8-10 thousand
it was saved and old dead limbs were trimmed
adding value and beauty to the lot

several big ole vitex trees
these were all rotted inside
full of insects
in the way of the house
down they came

a small cedar elm which i marked and tagged
later to be the main tree for the new owner of that lot

after it was cleared of all its vines and surrounding
competing brush
it just took off and will now be a show tree for the owners
new home

then in the middle of the property
there in the middle of a thick thick thicket
lots of hackberries
was i think
this big ole live oak

when i saw it
i hugged it
couldnt even get my arms a fourth of the way around it
my goal
save this tree
for future generations
it was already several generations old

here is the tree which you really cant see well
after some clearing

here is the tree after a group from fort worth worked
clearing the thicket on a hotter than heck summer day

i counted about 4-5 large youth groups that came
and cleared out this thicket

at one point we had several rolls of vines
that looked like those west texas tumbleweeds
except
that they were taller than the kids that pulled them from the trees

so
after finally getting all the stuff cleared from around the tree
i got an arborist to come assess the tree
it was found to be a healthy tree
that has years and years and years of life left
its an ancient oak
protected by all kind of laws
from being removed

value to the property
$12,000+
but
really
the value is priceless

here is the tree recently
when i cut down 7 or 8 hackberries from underneath
and
around the trees

as i looked up at that tree
i thought back to a trip to california
where we took this picture below

this ancient cypress growing on rocks
overlooking the monterey peninsula ocean


i think our ancient live oak is just as pretty
dont you

free at last free at last

now
you can just see
if you stand back
look real close
listen real close

that tree
that live oak
it now takes deep deep breaths

all worth it i say

the organicgreen doctor

halfs and have nots

HALFS AND HAVE NOTS
this is all about halfs

half of the eligible voters voted this year
almost half of them voted for trump
slightly more than half voted for clinton

half of the insured in the us get their insurance
from their employers insurance

almost half of the insured in the us get their insurance
from medicaid medicare childrens health insurance program chips
and obamacare

thats almost the number that voted for either candidate

i guess what im trying to show is that
about half of you who read this blog today
are
on your employers insurance
you are hopefully safe from the politicians

the almost other half are at risk
high high risk
almost 44% of you
from having you health insurance dramatically affected

then there is the unlucky 11% who are simply uninsured
thats 29,000,000


cbsnews.com

this is a political issue
but
its not and shouldnt be a political party issue
since
these upcoming changes dont care who you voted for

you may pay more
you may lose your coverage
you may get a policy but it could be one of those junk policies
that the obamacare rules got rid of

so when i look at what could happen
i think about a dog that chased down a big ole bear
grabbed its tail
held on real tight

the bear turns around and looks at the dog
now he says
whatcha gonna do now

last night i heard obama say
he would be the first to champion a change
if it makes insurance coverage for people better
and more affordable

i feel the same
i dont care who is making it better
ill support them too

however
such it is with 44% of us
141,000,000 of us
are likely going to lose

if you are one of these 141 million folks
like me
like most of my siblings and inlaws
like my parents were
like you will be if you arent now

you i need to pay attention
it doesnt matter whether you voted for
trump or clinton or someone else or didnt vote at all
you need to find out who your congress person is
make them do whats right for
almost half of our population

like when folks from all political spectrums
got upset about the ethics changes about to happen
we all got ticked off
they felt the heat
they changed it back to where it should have been

this
my friends should be aparty
it doesnt matter what party you are affiliated with
it may hurt you all the same
in the pocketbook
in the lack of coverage

now i have bought plans on the individual market
good ones
that have good coverage
luckily for me i knew enough about insurance to
identify the bad ones
i have bought obamacare policies
luckily for me i knew enough about insurance to
identify the bad ones
most folks arent always able to do that

there is a high risk for a lot of people
maybe nearly half of you
yes including me
to get royally screwed in this deal

all i can say
is
dont let them do it to us

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-next

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-NEXT

i promised to document my journey
a long journey to slow down the possibility
of having alzheimers disease

i am sure someone somewhere has done this before
i am probably not the first

i do have the unique view though of

having multiple family members who have or have had
alzheimers disease
including cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents etc

having as a physician treated some alzheimers patients
although as i say
knowing what i know now i didnt do a good job

having maybe alzheimers disease
if i do
i am past the presymptom stage called prodromal alzheimers
now into the phase of early mild cognitive impairment
possibly due to alzheimers disease

i am doing what i can to slow things down
as soon as i was diagnosed
i got aggressive taking care of my health
i got aggressive controlling blood pressure cholesterol etc
i also added recommended supplements that may help
although not proven to work they havent been disproved yet

i watch as much of the new drug treatment studies that
i can find
watching for one that is promising
that may show up in time to help me
knowing what i know
looking at family who have had the disease
that old clock is ticking
i want one that will slow down father time

a few years ago
i spotted one that i have kept my eye on
i even skipped a amyvid pet scan for beta amyloid in the
study i was in
knowing it might disqualify me for the new treatment study

the study
biogen aducanumab study
an antibody was isolated from old folks who dont get alzhemers
it is
a monoclonal anitbody that grabs the bad beta amyloid from
the brain
it actually removes also the plaques from the brain as well as
the bad beta amyloid in the brain
the beta amyloid scans going from abnormal to normal
in early studies
the study subjects memory improved

so as i look at what is on the horizon
and
there is a lot out there
this for me is the one

so there are four steps or hurdles i have to jump

step one
passing the review of all my medical records
by the research nurse and the chief investigator
done
passed

step two
undergoing lengthy memory testing as well as my wife she being
interviewed plus a ton of blood that got drawn then
having a thorough neurological exam
5 hours total
done
passed
got the word yesterday

am i ever elated
you bet

now
step three
more memory testing and my wife she answering questions
then a mri of the brain
looking for things that are wrong upstairs like tumors strokes masses
brain shrinkage etc
all total 5 more hours of testing
to be done
in the next two weeks

step four
if i pass the above
i finally will get the beta amyloid pet scan brain scan
that i have been waiting for for months
if its positive
im in the study
if its negative
im one lucky guy

then if i pass or should i say flunk this step
im in
then its on to

step five
infusions monthly of the aducanumab antibody against beta amyloid
for maybe 4 1/2 years

im stoked
im ready
game on

i got next

the organicgreen doctor

rip

RIP
my major in college was biology
having gotten a bachelor of science degree
from the university of california at riverside

i developed a love for nature
especially the high desert
trees
gardening
etc

i lived in california for 6 years
however
i didnt see as much of it as i wanted too
since
well
i was always working and going to school

i made it to disneyland several times since
it wasnt that far from where we went to college
i made it to the beaches and to the nearby mountains
went to yosemite once when a relative lived in that
area for awhile
but
so many of the places one would want to see
i we didnt see when we lived there

so i have this bucket list of things i want to do
things or places i havent seen
like
yellowstone
but
one
just this weekend i told my wife she
you know
i have never been to the redwood forests in california
it is hard to believe i we never went there in the years
we lived there


huffingtonpost.com

as i was talking to her
i was imaging standing under that big old redwood tree
the one that everyone drives through
i wanted to stand in that big hole in the base
to have my picture taken

i told her this weekend
on our next trip to california i want to go there

now
i have mapped out the trip several times
whenever we go visit there
but
it seems other things always takes precedence
things like a new grandbaby

so it was sad this morning
like finding the obituary of someone you know
in the obit column when you open up the local
newspaper feed

just a few weeks ago
there were at least two tv segments on the
central texas gardener pbs show
on trees that topple over and why

the drought
then
lots of rain

well
in california they have had both of these recently

so
it is with sadness
that
i write here
that the beloved giant sequoia  that those folks in the 1800s
carved out the big hole in the bottom of the trunk
so folks like me could stand in it
so folks could drive vehicles through the middle of it
at the same time
being mesmerized by its size and regalness

that big ole sequoia came crashing to the earth this weekend
to be no more

i have missed my chance
to fill up my bucket list now

may
it
named
pioneer cabin
rest in peace

the organicgreen doctor