when i read what she said
i turned to my wife she as she drank her morning tea
as she sat
in what i call our spin around chairs in the morning sun
looking out over the courtyard of our condo
i said
did you read that article
did you see what she said
i agree
i told her
please be the drug
thats the title of this time magazine article this week
on
inside one couples experimental treatment to battle
alzheimers disease
lets say before i go further
these studies are available all across the usa to those
who have early alzheimers and mild cognitive impariment
and those who dont have memory issues yet
these as of right now may be the drugs that will slow down
the disease
when reading this article and like this weekend on the
alzheimers panel i was on with other patients
i am definitely no where near the stages that they are at
i am on infusion #13
the stuff called aducanumab is an antibody thats given monthly
it was discovered in elderly folks who didnt get alzheimers disease
the lab produced it in large quantities to be used in this study
it works differently than the others you may read about
its more aggressive at removing the amyloid plaques in the brain
than the others
in the initial study the amyloid was removed and the study subjects
memory improved
after the 18 month infusion
for me that will be in september 2018
i will definitely start receiving the real drug for at least 2 more years
i like peter hope that i am getting the real drug
but
like him if not
im ok with it
at least im early in the disease
earlier than he is
my our participation hopefully will make a difference in the
future for others
all this was not available ten years or so ago when my
younger brother was diagnosed
or
15 years ago when my mom was diagnosed
there was no potential treatments out there being researched
that had any promise
now there are quite a few
that work differently to slow things down
there are 2700 of us in the study across the world
i think we may be the lucky ones to get treated so that the
alzheimers disease gets slowed down
we be the first to have this happen
ever
2/3 of us are getting the real aducanumab
1/3 of us are getting the placebo ie saline
i feel like im getting the real drug based on side effects i have
i sure hope so
as
what a difference these 3-4 years of treatment could make in
our lives
my wife she and i
sometime in about 2020 when all this is published i might actually
find out whether i got the placebo or not the first 18 months
some thoughts as i read this article and watched the video
if you are worried or have a loved one with it
you should read it and watch the video
ok so i cried twice
once watching the video
i could see my wife she and i sitting on that bench looking
out at the water wondering what lies in the future for us
and
then again when i read the article
he mentions driving
he cant drive by himself as he gets lost
ive made the decision to not be a statistic
getting injured in a wreck or injuring someone else
or
being one of those elderly alerts that shows up on the interstate
nope
if i have issues
im done
take my keys
he carries the genetic gene the apoe 4 gene for late onset alzhiemers
25% of you carry that gene
it increases your risks about 5 x for getting alzheimers disesase
i carry the apoe 4/apoe 4 gene the double version or homozygous
3% of you carry that gene
it increases your risks about 10-20 x for getting alzheimers disease
to get into this study you have to have a positive amyvid pet scan
for beta amyloid in the brain the hallmark of alzheimers disease
im in the study so you know what that means for my scan
the national institute of health nih has been given a doubling of their
alzheimers research funding
bill gates from microsoft has given millions for research now since
his dad has alzheimers disease
mark zuckerberg from facebook has also agreed to fund millions
for alzheimers research
both are emphasizing the mid level alzheimers researchers since thats
where all the drugs and probably the treatment will come from
as they hung this infusion #13 this last week at ucla
my lucky number
under mary easton alzheimers centers guidance
i looked at the nurse
i said
i want the real deal
she looked down at me
smiled real big
and
said
it is
;)
the organicgreen doctor
Keep on keeping on...Whoo Hoo!
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