i spent the day yesterday with university researchers

who have developed what i call an alzheimer worm

bexarotene prevented them from developing alzheimers

interesting

also other drugs have bee used that may be successful

you can read my thoughts on the visit on my blog

at www.organicgreendoctor.com

the organicgreen doctor

www.organicgreendoctor.com

www.twitter.com/organicgreendoc

Hi Doc,

Welcome to our spacer. Please keep coming back.

I'm interested in more information on the scanning study you're involved in. 
How long have you been involved? Are you still considered MCI?

How capable do you feel you are, or do you find yourself slipping or increasing your cognition?

If they share results of your scans with you, how does what the scans show correlate with how you are feeling?

And that test with blocks, I recognized. Could do the first few easily. Then just give me a few more minutes. I know there's a way I can turn it so it will match the model. 

And I realized that test had nothing to do with memory.

Please stay with us. We need you. There are several of us regulars here who have been coping for quite a few years.

the worms are exciting because the gene that is inserted is suppressed

from making proteins which cause nerves to degenerate

just like in humans who get alzheimers

the worms only live 7 days so within three days of adding a medicine

the researchers will know it it works to prevent this nerve damage

many drugs or chemicals can be easily used and if they work

(they know in three days) then more work can be done in 

mammals and eventually humans

the baroxetene worked in the worms then works in rats and '

will be tested in clinical trials next year

think of these worms as a screening test for potentially effective

treatments for alzheimers

to answer your question 

i was diagnosed with mci two years ago and have seemed to 

be stabilized. i am on aricept (donepezil).

my diagnosis was discovered by accident when i volunteered to 

be a normal study subject in the adni study. luckily i had had a 

good screen two years previously that was normal

the study evaluation showed short term memory loss that was new

in the study i get the beta amyloid pet scan and spinal fluid tests

for beta amyloid and tau protein, and blood tests and genetic tests

i dont get to ever see these results

i have had mri scans, glucose metabolism pet scans and other lab work

that i get the results of 

i on my own had genetic tests done-i carry the apoe 4 homozygous gene

spinal fluid for tau and beta amyloid-are borderline abnormal

my mris and glucose metabolism tests are all normal

soon i will be getting the amyvid pet scan (for beta amyloid)

the adni study is probably going to be a long term study 

i also will have my human genome done but will not get the results

the organicgreen doctor

www.organicgreendoctor.com

www.twitter.com/organicgreendoc

This is fascinating research done at University of Texas, Austin.  I say God Bless Texas and the Alzheimer's worm!!

I will be sure to follow this.  Thank you.

Of course, I used to think I keep up on research  and  after reading your post I realize how little I know. 

The important thing is you seem to have stabilized.

And I do understand that we must have long term studies to understand the progression of the disease.

I'm wondering  if some of those scans you have seen the results of, one can tell what the progression of the disease is.  In other words, by looking at a scan, can a professional tell what you should be capable of?

the scans that are done are like a brain thats autopsied at death

the amount of changes seen on the scans that are abnormal dont 

always correlate with the amount of symptoms a person has

some people die with few symptoms but their brains when autopsied

will show more advanced disease than expected

but generally if your mri scan shows brain shrinkage and your

glucose metablolism test shows decreased glucose uptake and 

your beta amyloid pet scan of the brain shows a large amount of 

plaque formations in the brain then you will usually have 

alzheimers symptoms

medicine is at the beginning of all of this and how all these are used 

along with the blood test for proteins and biomarkers and spinal fluid

analysis will be defined in the near future

now we need a treatment or prevention when these abnormalities are found

in my case i have both parents who had the disease and a younger brother

who has the disease

i had a normal mental status evaluation that changed over two years

documented on neuropsychological tests

i have normal evaluations for other causes

i carry the double apoe 4 genotype which is associated with increased

risk for developing alzheimers disease

i have borderline levels of beta amyloid and tau protein in the spinal fluid

but i have a normal mri brain scan and a normal glucose metablolism 

pet scan

add this all up 

i probably have alzheimers disease but im very early so some of 

these tests have not turned positive yet

its likely when i have the amyvid or beta amyloid pet scan that i have

done privately that the amyloid plaques will be present

right now thats as good as you can do in making a diagnosis

of course time will eventually be the final test 

the organicgreen doctor

www.organicgreendoctor.com

www.twitter.com/organicgreendoc

HIDOC

the amyvid or beta amyloid pet scan is like the pittsburgh compound scan

the glucose metabolism test uses a labeled glucose molecule

best practices-mediterranean diet, exercise, adequate sleep, staying mentally active, controlling your blood pressure and cholesterol, controlling you depression

will prevent or slow down this disease

i think studies are ongoing now looking at this

we all should be doing this anyway

the new gene is rare as are most genes that are associated with alzhiemers

even the apoe 4 genotype represents a small portion of those with 

alzheimers

most cases of alzheimers have multiple causes 

the organicgreen doctor 

www.organicgreendoctor.com

www.twitter.com/organicgreendoc