since biogen canceled the aducanumab study i have read several researchers write or say this
its the right drug at the wrong time
what that means is aducanumab the antibody infusion i was on did its job
it removed the beta amyloid from the brain that starts the alzheimers snowball that rolls down hill then gets bigger and bigger
if you happen to get the larger dose then a repeat amyvid pet scan for the bad beta amyloid after receiving the aducanumab during the study is totally negative
its all gone that that can be measured
so its doing its job
many scientists think that to be really effective it would need to be given earlier maybe when all this amyloid accumulation starts
eg
for me that would have been in my mid forties
for my younger brother maybe in his late thirties or early forties
thats when this all started in both of us
remove that stuff as it starts accumulating then the alzheimers process cant get started
problem is
how to diagnose it at 40 years old
thats probably too early for the amyvid pets scan and the spinal tap fluid analysis for amyloid and tau
to make the diagnosis
it will take a blood test like the lipid profile that many of us get to diagnose high cholesterol which if its elevated enough we start treatment with diet exercise and sometimes statin drugs
doing so prevents heart attacks and strokes and i might add maybe even alzheimers disease
blood tests are in the works to diagnose alzheimers early
they may be 5-10 years away
they are about 80-90% accurate right now in research but the accuracy should get better
they will be available though in the near future
so
when you get identified as having an abnormal levels of say amyloid or tau or some other not known yet entity then you would be placed on a diet like the mind diet a recommended exercise program and some medication either a pill that prevents amyloid tau or something else from accumulating or you might get the infusion of say my aducanumab
lets say that i had started aducanumab in my mid 40s then its possible i wouldnt have alzheimers disease now
that cascade that started back then wouldnt happen
so thats what i mean when i write the right drug wrong time
now i am looking for more studies to do
i do have to wait 6 months to enter a new study
some i might not qualify since one of the tests they use to diagnose alzheimers disease now
to definitely diagnose it is the amyvid pet scan
mine was positive at the beginning of the aducanumab study but if i was on the real drug for 27 months then it is negative now
like ive written before
one study out there is the exert study youll hear bout
its using structured exercise programs over i think its 18 months to see if it improves memory
exercise increase blood flow to the brain with its added oxygen and nutrition to the brain cells
they have even found that the brain makes new blood vessels and that the amyloid levels can go down some in the brain
of course
that one i can duplicate myself somewhat just without all the monitoring and encouragement that the
excert study does
here is a link to that study
another study is the nicotinamide study available at a few sites
its using a readily available drug which is a vitamin b3 that may help to lower the abnormal tau protein accumulation that can occur after the amyloid accumulates leading to tau tangles
these tangles lead to the brain cell destruction in alzheimers disease
here is the link to the nicotinamide study called the neat study
also ongoing is studies using another amyloid infusion attacking a small segment of the amyloid that is lead by the biogen company
another is using drugs given as tablets that prevent the amyloid from accumulating
another is using an infusion that removes the abnormal tau
there are a lot of promising drugs that are in animal studies now and soon will progress to human studies
for me those are 5-10 years away
some are using drugs that have been used for other disease like cancer or other neurological diseases like als and ms and parkinsons
sorry to say i have to wait for all of these
even then i may not qualify
but
you dont
for now im pressing on with my exercise diet supplements my aricept donepezil
and
just waiting
but
you dont have to wait to do something
you can volunteer now for a study if you are worried you have it or worried since its in your family
its us volunteers that will find a treatment or a cure
go to clinicaltrials.gov to find a study near you
remember
one of the major obstacles to finding a cure is volunteers
the organicgreen doctor
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