alzheimers news-nothing is 100%

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-NOTHING IS 100%

thats what i tell folks
nothing is 100% in medicine
eg
your strep test is positive
well you might not really have strep
your flu test is positive
well you might not really have the flu

so
in medicine you take that all in into account
as you put the total picture together

then you say yep you got strep or you got the flu
basing it as much on the exam and history as the lab test

so
thats just the way it is in medicine

so as i approached having this final test done yesterday
at the ut southwesterns imaging center
the amyvid pet scan for beta amyloid
i keep all this in mind as i undergo this test

my history like the history of someone with strep throat
all pointing towards strep throat
the strep test if its positive makes it more likely thats whats
going on
maybe 95%+
my history points towards that diagnosis of alzheimers disease
this scan the amyvid is the icing on the cake
like the strep test
most folks would say
looks like a duck walks like a duck quacks like a duck
well it must be a duck

the aducanumab studys official title is this
A Phase 3 Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Parallel-Group Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Aducanumab (BIIB037) in Subjects With Early Alzheimer's Disease

the one im in is looking at folks with mild cognitive impairment
amnestic type due to alzheimers disease

now as you read what i write about all this
youll see words like
maybe
could be
possibly
probably
not 100%
they think

well
thats just the way medicine is
i can accept that

so i entered yesterday knowing all that
as my wife she and i drove up to dallas for the scan
no
i wasnt anxious
i wasnt nervous
i wasnt sad
i wasnt happy
i did feel lucky and appreciative that i was able to get to the point
where i might know
possibly probably maybe could be but not with 100% surety
that what i have is alzheimers disease

what i decide to do is
put the whole package together
this is the best that we can do
add the amyvid pet scan to the  mix

if its positive for the bad beta amyloid
then
i consider that i have alzheimers disease
so will my doctors
so will a multibillion dollar company who is spending millions
and millions on this test and this study
do
i as an individual
argue with them
no

as we enter the image center

there is the large structure that chihuly did for the university
it is
mesmerizing
as you stand looking up at it
looking over the structure
seeing the water moving at its base
it has a calming effect on you
i always stop even for a moment
look up
take a deep breath
feel a inner peace inside when i do
i feel like the american native indian praying to the sun
it helps get through all this

then into the mouth of the image center i go

they have to start an iv

then they bring in this stuff thats in this heavy
metal box that looks real heavy
i guess to keep the geiger counters from going off
then
the technician pulls out this strangest looking syringe
it too is a metal covered tube that looks real heavy

if if didnt know better i would have second thoughts

what in the heck is in there that they will shoot up
in my arm
well
its a radioactive substance that will bind to the
bad amyloid in the brain
then
highlight it in the brain on an amyvid pet scan of the brain

i watched him do the iv push
expecting a burning feeling
a rush
maybe some glowing as it shoots up my arm
through my subclavian to my heart to my lungs
nope no cough no shortness of breath
back to my heart up my carotids
through that blood brain barrier
slipping through stealth like
zipzappo slazam it attaches itself to all that stuff up there

oh i know its there deep inside i do
that bad beta amyloid

then
i have to sit and watch a chip and jo anne show
for it to all get attached


then
rapidly i walk into the room
with this big doughnut looking machine with a stick
coming out of it that you lay down on

they strap me in
yes
im ready for the ride
lets get this damn thing over with
im ready to move forward with my life
whether its positive or negative for that bad stuff

so
now
we wait
a few days
maybe a couple weeks

no
i am not nervous
i am not anxious
i am just ready to get this final answer
then
move forward from here

so
in my opinion as a patient as a physician
as someone who has read a lot about this test and what it means
here is what i think it means
in my case

if its positive
ie if it looks like the scan on the right
i have a lot of bad beta amyloid up there
as far as i am concerned
i have alzheimers disease definitively as you can be
until one day i have a brain autopsy
now
im not going to wait on that one
right

if positive then i am in the aducanumab study either getting
a placebo which i hope i dont get
or
the read deal aducanumab which will remove the bad beta amyloid
from my brain like in the picture below
on the right all the beta amyloid is gone

if it works i should not get worse
ie i should not progress down
that deep slide into the alzheimers abyss


if its negative
like the one on the left
as far as i am concerned
i got a big reprieve
im throwing off all these shackles i have on and will move forward

keeping in mind
yes
nothing is 100% in medicine
i
can accept that

the organicgreen doctor