my story revisited 35-the big a and stages

MY STORY REVISITED 35-THE BIG A AND STAGES

alzheimers is the 6th leading cause of death in the us
its the only one of the top 10 causes of death that is not treatable or preventable
well not yet but we are getting closer

alzheimers may be actually number 3 according to some folks
its under reported on death certificates

when i wrote this i was about a year into the adni-2 study
i had had lots of labs multiple memory tests a spinal tap several mris at least two pet scans
one being the amyloid for amyloid in the brain the other for glucose metabolism in the brain
and genetic tests

through my private neurologist and my primary care doctor i
had genetic tests for early onset alzheimers which is caused from a gene and for the late onset gene apoe 4
i carry the late onset gene apoe 4 and have the homozygous or double version apoe 4/apoe 4
which increase my chance by as much as 20x of getting alzheimers
had spinal fluid analysis for amyloid and tau which shows my levels are compatible with alzheimers
later to start the biogen aducanumab study i had the amyvid pet scan for amyloid that i got the report that showed i had amyloid throughout the brain

these solidified my diagnosis of mci due to alzheimers disease

almost 9 years ago i wrote about the 7 stages of alzheimers disease
now i think they do early middle and late stages
here is the alzheimers associations link on the stages of alzheimers

my younger brother was the close relative i mentioned  below
i didnt identify him as i didnt have permission at that time from his wife to write about him
later she gave me permission to freely write about him
also my older brother later gave me full permission to write about him
sending me copies of his labs and scans to review

my younger brother started when he was diagnosed probably at stage 4 but within a few years progressed to the final stage 7
as did pat summit and glen campbell

all three of these people are no longer with us

i would be in this classification stage 2 and have actually remained there for the last 9 years
i at first started to move out of that stage but have since moved back to where i am now
i probably would be classified today at stage 1

on the alzheimers associations stages i would actually be
mild cognitive impairment which is just outside the early alzheimers stage
some would add it to the early alzheimers stage

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08-26-2011
BIG A

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    xxxxxxxx       

   x             x

  x               x

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x                   x

the big a is now replacing the big c 

more americans are beginning to worry about getting 

the big a-alzheimers than are worried about getting

the big c-cancer

as the big a is the only one of the top ten diseases that 

kills people that you cant do anything to prevent it

this is where the fight against cancer was several years ago

the childhood leukemias are almost 100% curable now 

so many cancers are caught early now that they can be 

treated and cured or controlled

the awareness of signs and symptoms of cancer are
everywhere for people to read and think about

so the big a is in its infancy compared to the big c

a lot of research is going on to try to identify what really 

causes the big a and what you can do to prevent it

then a lot of research is being done to identify people 

at a younger age who are at risk for the big a 

there is a lot of research being done to find treatments 

to prevent this disease and to treat this disease at 

earlier stages (like mine)

the study that i am in in dallas the alzheimers disease
nueroimaging initiative (adni-2) is a study that is looking at tools
to identify people earlier by following people who dont have the
disease, people real early with the disease, people with slightly
more symptoms with the disease and people with
full blown alzheimers

it looks at genetic tests, dna and rna analysis, spinal fluid analysis
for tau protein and beta amyloid, pet scans for glucose metabolism,

pet scans for beta amyloid, and neuropsychological exams over 

a period of 5 years

this study will provide a lot of useful data that can be used to 

catch people early and hopefully eventually do something about 

this terrible disease

lets erase or dim the big a 

support your local walk to end alzheimers at www.alz.org

arkansas at this link

texas at this link

louisiana at this link

california at this link

utah at this link

organicgreendoctor team at this link

remember november is national azheimers month

STAGES
there are 7 stages of alzheimers disease
go to this link to read more

stage 1 is where those of us with the disease were when we had
no symptoms

stage 2 is where i am at
i notice symptoms but other people dont notice them

stage 3 is where pat summitt is at
many at this stage can function well with limitations

stage 4 is where glenn campbell is probably at or he may be late
stage 3
he is about to do a tour for his new album even though he has
the big a

stage 4-5 is where my close relative is at

stage 7 is the final stage and is where my mother was at
when she died

these stages give you an idea where your friends or relatives are at
with their disease

be patient with them
help the caretakers

XXXX

we have made some progress but more work needs to be done

the organicgreen doctor