alzheimers news-brain donation gives the final answer

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-BRAIN DONATION GIVES THE FINAL ANSWER
my official diagnosis is mild cognitive impairment due to alzheimers disease
that diagnosis is as sure as one can be in the medical world right now

there is only one way to know for sure and that is when i die that my brain be donated for evaluation by a research center for a brain autopsy

that will give a 100% accurate diagnosis
it wont help me any but it will give my family a final answer
it might also help others 

i so far have left a long trail of evaluations at two well respected alzheimers centers
the university of texas  southwestern in dallas
ucla

some of my information from alzheimers research studies is scattered around the world at alzheimers research centers and universities 

i spent 5 years in the adni or alzheimers disease neuroimaging initiative phase 2
the adni studies are the most important studies ever done on alzhiemers

in that study i have left a trail of genetic blood tests my human genome my dna and my rna multiple mris of the brain several amyloid pet scans several glucose metabolism pet scans and many many memory tests

i spent almost 3 years in the biogen aducanumab embark study where i received 18 months of placebo and later 7 months of the real drug as infusions
i am due to restart that study in march for at least 18 more months

i also have been seen by two different neurologists managing my care 
one in dallas and the other at ucla

so i have left a long trail of information that says my diagnosis is correct

however 
in medicine nothing is ever 100%
but
if i donate my brain to the ucla center they will do a brain autopsy 
it will be 
the final answer

now
when i was in medical school as a sophomore student i was a morgue attendant that checked in the bodies after hours and on weekends
on weekends if an autopsy was done i assisted the pathologist in doing the autopsy

one of my jobs was to remove the brain
i made an incision at the back of the head just behind the ear from side to side
the brain was removed carefully
the skin was then sutured 
this was all done so at the viewing the area where the brain was removed could not be seen

so i know what is involved when one donates their brain
since
i was the one that removed the brain on patients scheduled for autopsy

i knew before i entered my first study the adni study that i wanted my brain autopsied
even the research people were a little squeamish about talking about it
some even teared up 
they get attached sometimes to their patients
but i persisted

last year right before i got sick with what i think was covid 19 we had started finalizing our end of life paperwork
like will power of attorney health care directive hippa paperwork etc
after i recovered we got more aggressive about getting it finalized

i discussed the brain donation with the neurologist i see at ucla who is also the alzheimers center research director

i filled out this form thats partially shown above
both she and i signed it
on the second page not shown is directions on what to do when i die

this form is on file with my will 
it is on file in my medical records at ucla and with my primary care provider

basically when i die
the neuropathologist on call is contacted
ucla sends someone up to pick up my body 
they transport my body to ucla then remove my brain hopefully as careful as i use to be when i did it on folks
then
our funeral person will then come pick up my body 
i plan to be cremated

then ucla will do the brain autopsy and later send a full report to the family

they will be able to compare what they see on my brain autopsy with all the medical records and scans and labs they have
they actually have all my stuff from dallas there
they also will have some access to my adni records or they can send in my results to the adni study folks and to biogen

this brain donation is a final step in finding out what really goes on in alzheimers

brain donation is available to everyone
it is especially important in the alzheimers world
most centers have a group of experts who sit with the autopsy results and with the medical records to see how accurate the diagnosis was while the person was alive

here is an article form the nih or national institutes of health and the nia or nation institute on aging on brain donations

or
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/infographics/brain-donation-faqs-gift-future-generations

donate yours 
i am 
help us add to our knowledge

its a gift to future generations

the organicgreen doctor