last year i wrote this blog with the same date on it
i wont repeat a lot of what i wrote that day
click here to read it
its a nice summary of the last 8 years until this year
ill update this last year in todays blog
have you ever rolled a ball down an incline
and
when it hits a rock it just changes directions
and
sometimes
just goes off to one side in another path
well
thats what happened to me and us almost 9 years ago
i went from a full steamed busy practice one day to a full retirement mode the next
luckily
i had a month to prepare for it
i had taken that memory test and knew i didnt pass it
so
i prepped for that day over that last month
you can read last years blog to get the full story
i have been doing all those things mentioned in that blog that has got me to this point almost a decade later
where im cognitively normal on memory tests and my health seems to be doing well
so when i look back in the near future while i can and i ask myself
what things did you do and what do you attribute to how well you have done
better than expected i must add
so far
i was speaking with an elder attorney this week and she asked me that same question
i answered her as below and as i wrote in last years blog
of course i would mention aggressively doing all the healthy things that one should be doing anyway and taking supplements and being active as i can be mentally socially and physically
but
if i when i look back
say
5 years from now
what one thing would i pick out that will make the most difference
well
i would say
it was
getting into the biogens aducanumab research study getting monthly infusions
it may be the icing on our cake
even
though
so far i only got 18 months of placebo and then got 7 months of the real drug when they cancelled it
now
hopefully in march i will start on the high dose the 10 mgm/kgm dose that has shown to do these things ill briefly list here
after getting the high dose for the max amount of time
these folks
had most of the amyloid removed from the brain so the amyvid amyloid pet scans are read as negative
they also had a reduction in tau protein in the brain
tau being what follows when the amyloid accumulates
where the tau goes determines what part of the brain gets damaged by alzheimers
their tau got reduced and its spread slowed down
then
their mmse which is one of the gold standard memory tests got better by a significant amount
their activities of daily living or adl also got better
thats things like driving remembering things cooking getting dressed and other functional things
they all got better
so
i really just got started on this stuff
these folks who showed the benefit are almost 5 years ahead of me
i have a lot of catching up to do
plus
im cognitively normal to begin with now
9 years ago i was not
i will be one of over 3000 folks in the world am i ever lucky who will have the opportunity to be on this stuff
i will be on it in this study until it goes on the market
that could be as early as the end of 2020 at the earliest but my guess is it will be later than that
so when i reach my 5 years in 2024 and i sit down and write my annual anniversary blog around christmas time that year i sure hope i still am this positive
just
the fact in 5 years that i can write a blog is quite significant if it happens
last week i watched a podcast from the site being patient
it was an interview with one of the researchers for the biogen study from canada who had 29 people in her portion of the study
eg ucla had 8 utsw dallas had 8 also
she does an excellent job of explaining how aducanumab works and what the results meant to her patients
she is a researcher but she is also a practicing neurologist who takes care of these patients and can see the benefits that they have had being on the drug
her group was about 3 years ahead of the ucla and utsw dallas groups
if you want to know more about this drug and if it would help you and your family i suggest you click on the link here to watch the podcast
this is the best explanation that i have seen
her thoughts
yes it will help people get better or at least not decline as much and as fast
it will eventually be used in folks with minimal symptoms or even no symptoms to slow down the disease
this drug is just the beginning of more drugs to come
eg there are drugs that will remove the tau that are on the way
so
you could easily be on one to remove amyloid and one to remove tau and another to fight inflammation in the brain
like
we do with hiv or high blood pressure or even diabetes
use a multidrug approach
here is the link to the podcast
so
my wife she
asked me
what do you want for christmas this year
i said
i dont want anything else
since
i am getting the best present ever march 2020
have a happy holiday
the organicgreen doctor
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