welcome to the organic green doctor blog

i am a family physician who was diagnosed with
early mild cognitive impairment(mci) amnestic type on december 21, 2010
this is a precursor to alzheimers disease
because of this diagnosis i have opted to stop practicing medicine
this blog will be about my journey with this disease
please feel free to follow me along this path
i will continue blogging on organic gardening, green living,
solar power, rainwater collection, and healthy living
i will blog on these plus other things noted to be interesting

Monday, September 16, 2024

my story revisited #209-apoe 4 then and now

MY STORY REVISITED #209-APOE 4 THEN AND NOW

tomorrow morning i will do an hour zoom interview with being patient.com about my having the apoe4 apoe4 gene
its called the late onset alzheimers gene
some recent researchers think that if you have the homozygous apoe4 apoe4 that you will get alzheimers later in life
not everyone believes that
it does increases your risk significantly 

the article below is about maybe why we evolved to have the apoe 4 gene
it in this article provided a evolutionary advantage against intestinal worms
read the below article

being patient is interviewing a group of us with the apoe4 gene to get our thoughts about our having it

they would like you to take a survey on the apoe4 gene
here is the link
i did the survey today

my story is i volunteered in 2010 to be in the adni alzheimers research study 
i was to be in the normal control group
when i had my memory testing it showed i had memory loss thought to be mci or mild cognitive impairment that has turned out to be due to alzheimers disease
i stopped my medical practice and was started on aricept to slow down symptoms

as part of my work up i did my apoe4 genetic test
it showed i have homozygous or double version of the apoe4 gene

i got one from my mom and one from my dad

that gene affects cholesterol metabolism
it is associated with an increased risk for late onset alzheimers
and
high cholesterol
and
because of the high cholesterol
an increased incidence of heart disease and strokes

not a good thing to have this apoe 4 gene
unless
you are in a primitive tribe who dies young it protects your brain
see blog below
__________
01-13-2017

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-IT FIGHTS WORMS
 
the apoe 4 gene
if you have it increases your chance of developing
late onset alzheimers disease
what that means is that
you tend to get the disease later in life
in your late 60s or 70s or sometimes in your 80s

if you get the single variant apoe 4
your chances are doubled or some say increased 5 times
same as someone who has diabetes they dont control

if you get the double variant apoe 4/apoe 4
your chances are increased from 5-20 times
based on which source you read

i have the double variant apoe 4/apoe 4 gene
putting me for high risk of developing late onset
alzheimers disease

those with the apoe 4 gene also have
elevated cholesterol levels
leading to more heart disease and strokes

the percentage of the apoe 4 gene is about 25%
in the white us population

the percentage of the apoe 4 gene is about 33%
in norway

so
why did evolution have this gene be so prevalent
in our population

usually bad genes kill you off early
so
its prevalence stays low

so why evolution did you create this damn
apoe 4 gene to cause us and our families such misery
why
was it naturally selected to be here now

now years and years and years ago
well
folks didnt live to be 70 and 80
they died in their 20s and 30s
so
the apoe 4 gene causing alzheimers disease
well
it was a non factor

so
scientists have found in the amazon
no not the drone people
the amazon river place in brazil
there is a population of folks
isolated from the world
that go about their business as they have for
hundreds or thousands of years

they get intestinal parasites or worms real bad
it seems that those with the apoe 4 gene
for some reason
seem to have better memory as they age
the apoe 4 gene provides some protective measure
to these individuals brain

scientists think that the apoe 4 carries the cholesterol
to the brain but keeps the worms from getting any of it

so
isnt fate strange
a gene protects folks in a primitive tribe
but
kills folks in a more advanced society
where there is sanitation clean water and refrigeration

now the natural selection is going the other way
there is less advantage to have the apoe 4 gene
i say none
there is now more advantage to have the milder gene apoe 2 or apoe3

makes you wonder huh

here is an article that discusses this 

__________
some people who have their apoe4 done get terrified
it ruins their lives

i have a different perspective
it makes you or it should refocus you on maintaining a healthy life style
controlling your weight your blood pressure your cholesterol your blood sugar
not smoking
not drinking or limiting alcohol
staying active socially mentally physically
eating the mind diet or similar diet
controlling stress anxiety depression
getting adequate sleep

these are things that we all should be doing anyway
many think you can counter the apoe4 gene effects by doing all these during your lifetime

it will be interesting to see what questions the interviewers ask me tomorrow

my view of apoe4 then and now have changed

back in 2011 when i had my apoe4 test done and i got my results i was quite melancholic after i got the results

today i dont feel that way 
i am glad i know
like i am glad i know i have alzheimers so i can deal with it and maintain my health 
it does incentivize you some well a lot actually to know you have apoe4 apoe4

then it scared me
now not so much

post interview entry
i had a good interview with the being patient director 
it lasted over an hour
we spoke a lot about my journey over the last 14 years
and 
discussed how i felt to have done my apoe4 status
i said what i wrote above
i was melancholic for awhile 
it took me several weeks to months to really understand the apoe4 gene and what affects it can have on your health

many folks dont want to know 
i am glad i did mine and know

she also would like me to write a couple of articles on my story and my thoughts on having the apoe4 gene for her website
ill post those when they are printed

being patients would like for you to fill out a survey that is anonymous on the apoe4 gene

here again is the link to take the survey
it takes only a few minutes

i am glad i have had my apoe4 status done
plus i have had an amyloid pet scan and lots of memory tests so i know where i am at in the disease process
now i just wait for science to tell me when to get treated again

there are now a lot of people who have been treated like me to remove all our amyloid plaque
we are just waiting to find out what to do next

the organicgreen doctor

No comments:

Post a Comment