fourteen risk factors for dementia

FOURTEEN RISK FACTORS FOR DEMENTIA

thats me searching for answers about 14 years ago when i was first diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment due to alzheimers disease

i found some answers on what to do and applied them to my treatment program

in this lancet article review linked here it lists these risks that can be modified to lower your dementia risk

looking back over the last 14 years i realize today that if i went into a neurologist for an evaluation for memory loss they would laugh at me and send me out the door if they didnt hear the full story
why
my memory tests are normal for my age
my amyloid pet scan is normal
my mri scan of my brain in normal

now if they could see my original memory tests and amyloid pet scan and spinal tap for amyloid and tau and my tau pet scans and my apoe4 results then they would say 
oh
you have mild cognitive impairment due to alzheimers disease 
no doubt about it 

its just
all those things ive done over the last 14 years have made a difference
for now

if you are worried about entering the alzheimers world with me and others who are so affected with this disease
then
read the 14 risk factors you can do something about to slow down your risk for this awful disease

some things like having apoe4 single or double gene well if you have that you cant change that
it gives you a 5-10 times increased risk for the disease
doing these 14 modifying risk factors can counter having this gene

if you have the early onset alzheimers gene like presenilin etal then this gene cant really be countered
you will get alzheimers at a young age

here are the 14 modifying risk factors that are up to you to do something about

less education
i did 11 years of education after high school
my job required a lot of continuing education and lots of mental exercise every day

hearing loss
so far i am ok but my wife she says thats not true
i hear her i just dont answer or pretend i dont hear

hypertension
mine is treated

physical inactivity
i garden every day and getting plenty of steps on my iphone

diabetes
my blood sugar is normal

social isolation
i interact with others outside of my wife she every day

excessive alcohol consumption
zero is my number

air pollution
our air is clear

obesity
not a problem 

traumatic brain injury
see below

depression
screened twice a year

high ldl cholesterol
controlled with meds

untreated vision loss
my vision is normal

here is my treatment regimen

i addressed all of these risk factors aggressively 14 years ago
i wished i had done this 50 years ago

i added donepezil or aricept as soon as i was diagnosed
starting it early in the disease process can slow down symptoms

i also received 34 month of aduhelm or aducanumab which removed all of my amyloid plaque from my brain so that my amyloid pet scan is now negative as of last year
nowadays leqembi or kisunia is used to remove the plaques

my memory is normal for my age based on numerous memory tests the last 14 years
i would say my memory tests returned back to normal around 10 years ago and has remained there

today
i keep working on these risk factors
i take vitamin b12 since i dont absorb b12 very well
i take vitamin d3 since my levels were low
i take vitamin b12 and folate since my homocysteine levels are elevated
i take blood pressure meds to control my blood pressure
i take cholesterol meds to control my ldl cholesterol 

i stay active mentally physically and socially 
i have sleep issues but manage to get 7 hours of sleep a day
i eat a mind diet mostly vegetarian
i use gardening as my exercise regimen and my peaceful place to be
i am not depressed
i keep my bmi and weight at a normal level
my hearing is normal
should i need hearing aides i will not hesitate to get them
my vision is normal although i will have my cataract surgery soon in my other eye
my right eye was done a few years ago 
i have 20/20 vision
i dont drink alcohol
i dont smoke
i dont breathe bad air
here in santa barbara our air is clean unless we get fires close to us
i definitely will wear a mask if we do
i have had no head trauma since i was 50 but i realize the 3 concussions i had in my lifetime didnt help any

now
what do i do

there are several clinical trials that are using anti tau drugs and anti inflammatory drugs against alzheimers
the problem is 
you have to a positive amyloid pet scan to get into the studies
mine is now negative

i will have to wait until they get on the market which could be 5 years away

one treatment that may get approval soon by the fda is leqembi being given as a shot

leqembi will be given as a shot subcutaneously at home once a week to keep the amyloid from reaccumulating
this study i am watching and when its approved i probably will do the leqembi shots

then 
i wait

but you dont have to wait
no matter what your age you can address these 14+ modifiable risk factors for dementia
then
maybe if you do these you wont end up with this disease or at least you will slow it down some

start now

the oganicgreen doctor