my story revisited #78-more on apoe 4

MY STORY REVISITED #78-MORE ON APOE 4

i have written about the apoe 4 gene several times over the last 10 years
recently i wrote about research done on astrocytes the brain cell helpers in a petri dish where choline an nutrition supplement similar to an amino acid when added seemed to inhibit the effects of the apoe 4 astrocytes to accumulate lipids and fats in the nerve cells 
this accumulation of lipids does much of the harm from the apoe 4 gene

we either have
apoe 2 which seems to prevent alzheimers
apoe 3 which seems to be neutral
apoe 4 which seems to increase the risk of alzheimers disease

the apoe 4 single gene increases the risk by 5-10  times based on which research you read
the apoe 4 apoe 4 gene which i have increases the risk from 10-30 times based on what research you read
50-60% of alzheimers patients have the apoe 4 or apoe 4 apoe 4 gene

apoe 4 is called the late onset alzheimers gene
my guess is that it is a big contributor to the alzheimers cases in my family tree

the only thing you can do it is to control your cholesterol control you blood pressure maintain a normal weight control diabetes etc

maybe based on the study mentioned above choline might help
whether it does or not will be shown in clinical trials in the future
when the results are in it will be too late for me
so
i recently reviewed all my supplements i was on for the last 10 years
when i developed my stomach issues and lost all my weight i had discontinued all of them
one of these medications was choline that had been recommended by dr bredesens reversal of cognitive decline article 
i had looked closely at all of the supplements and had stopped all of them except for the ones that i was taking based on low levels in my blood of vitamin b12 vitamin d3 and a high level of homocysteine 
ie
vitamin b12 vitamin d3 folic acid

this petri dish study implies it the choline might work so i recently restarted it
i plan to if the study shows it doesnt really help that i will stop it
as far as i can tell it does no harm
the one i take that he recommended is citicholine or cdp choline
so
it might help then it might not help

also in the study mentioned below on the apoe 4 there are changes in the brain in children with apoe 4 that doesnt seem to affect them during childhood but probably does when they are older like me
a lifetime of managing your lipids and diet may help slow all this down

recently they are looking at using gene editing to go into the apoe 4 gene to change it to a apoe 2 or a apoe 3 in your body 
this if it were to work would prevent or delay the effects of having this gene
ie
prevent late onset alzheimers disease

use to they said you cant do much about your genetics
well
one day that statement will not be true for alzheimers disease huntington's disease sickle cell disease cystic fibrosis some cancers and even more diseases

we are getting closer

here is a good article from the nih on the different alzheimers genes

the article linked below is no longer available from the provided link
__________

12-06-2013
APOE

i carry the apoe 4 gene that increases the chances of developing
alzheimers disease
since i have the homozygous or double version or apoe 4/apoe 4
version my chances are increased 30 times
the single version or heterozygous or apoe4 increases ones chances
by about 5 times

if you have uncontrolled high blood pressure and or uncontrolled diabetes
and or uncontrolled cholesterol your chances of developing alzheimers is
the same as mine

so take care of those things please
its something you can do to help prevent the onset of this awful disease
in yourself


examiner.com article on the study

in a recent study they looked at infants who had the apoe 4 gene
now why on why would they know that these infants have this gene

they took these infants and did mri scans of the brain
now in alzheimers there are areas in the middle of the brain and
the rear of the brain that are affected by this disease

in these infants with the apoe 4 gene those areas were found to
have decreased brain growth compared to infants
who didnt have the gene

there was no difference in the infants in their overall development
whether they were apoe positive or not

the question is is this apoe 4 gene providing a foothold for the
disease that will show up 50-80 years later

25% of the us population carry this gene
60% of all alzheimers patients have this gene

the gene regulates cholesterol which is used to grow the brain
it also regulates the amyloid that over accumulates in the brain
with alzheimers

in these infants lifetime
this will all be worked out and well or theyll know what it all means
they will have access to a cure
they will know what to do over a lifetime to prevent this awful disease
this alzheimers disease

all we can do for now is to support the research
take care of ourselves
by doing all those things  needed to stay healthy
control blood pressure
control diabetes
control cholesterol
maintain a normal body weight
exercise
eat a healthy diet like the mediterranean diet
control anxiety depression
sleep normal
be happy
stay active mentally
avoid alcohol abuse drug abuse tobacco abuse
__________
basically if you carry the apoe 4 gene you are at risk for late onset alzheimers diesase
it doenst mean you will get it just that you are at a greater risk

if you get the early onset alzheimers gene you will close to 100% get alzheimers disease at an early age like mid to late 40s to mid 60s

be vigilant
live a healthy life
watch the research closely 

my drug biogen aducanumab is starting to look like it could be approved by the fda this summer
i was called yesterday to start my reevaluation for restaring my infusions next week
im stoked

the organicgreen doctor