Alzheimers. UG!

[lewelma]

My Great Grandmother. All of her 4 children (including my grandfather), and now my mother and aunt.  100% of the family of age >73.  Ug. 25 years for me.  I figure 50/50 chance. sigh.

Just heard yesterday that my Mom's MRI showed plaques. Having a hard time getting my head around this. 

Edited December 18, 2018 by lewelma

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

I'm so sorry to hear this.  I think Alzheimer's is one of the scariest diseases out there.  We have it in my family line as well, though not 100% (yet... my dad is relatively young still).

I really loved the book, "Aging with Grace"- it's about the nun study, and it's really beautifully done.  You might like to read it.  

[happi duck]

Many (hugs)

[Guest]

I’m sorry. I fear that disease as well.

[regentrude]

Hugs. It's a scary awful disease .

[historically accurate]

Big hugs to you! It is a terrifying disease. It doesn't run in my family, but my FIL currently has it. We're just watching him slip away; so horrible. 

[geodob]

Their was an announcement today, of funding for phase 1 clinical trials. Of a new treatment for Alzheimer's, which uses Ultrasound to trigger natural mechanisms. That remove 'Amyloid Plaques', where trials have shown restoration of memory.
Importantly, it is 'non-invasive' and the equipment is low cost.
Here's a link to an article about it:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-18/dementia-cure-possible-after-breakthrough-qld-study/10629688

[klmama]

18 minutes ago, geodob said:

Their was an announcement today, of funding for phase 1 clinical trials. Of a new treatment for Alzheimer's, which uses Ultrasound to trigger natural mechanisms. That remove 'Amyloid Plaques', where trials have shown restoration of memory.
Importantly, it is 'non-invasive' and the equipment is low cost.
Here's a link to an article about it:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-18/dementia-cure-possible-after-breakthrough-qld-study/10629688

Wow, won't that be amazing if it works on humans!  

Lewelma, (((hugs))).  

[BeachGal]

Oh no. I’m sorry about your mother..

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is also showing promise.

https://alzheimersnewstoday.com/repetitive-transcranial-magnetic-stimulation-rtms/

Scientist Rhonda Patrick has a lot of information on her website, Foundmyfitness, including interviews with some of the best Alzheimer’s researchers. Rhonda herself is at risk for developing Alzheimer’s so she is doing everything possible to prevent it. Lots of fantastic info.

Edited December 18, 2018 by BeachGal

[PrincessMommy]

I'm so sorry.  hugs.

[Junie]

(((lewelma)))

My grandfather had Alzheimer's and it is my mother's worst fear that she will have it too.

I'm so sorry.

[sassenach]

I'm sorry about your mom's diagnosis. Huge strides are being made and I really believe we're on the verge of breakthroughs that might change the outlook in a couple of decades. 

[livetoread]

FWIW, my father showed significant plaque about 8 years ago, but has shown only normal cognitive decline since. We were steeling ourselves, but at 78, so far, so good He takes great care of himself, exercising regularly, life long vegetarian, highly educated with challenging interests still, so I’m sure that has helped. His mother had Alzheimer’s that hit in her mid 80s, so we’ll see.

[goldberry]

I'm so sorry.  Yes it's scary.

[Heatherwith4]

DH and I have both lost 2 grandparents to Alzheimer’s.  I don’t like to think about the future.  I’m 36, and DH is 44, so I hope there will be some advancements before we get to that stage.  

[May]

I’m so sorry😔I pray they find a cure for this horrible disease🙏🏻

[lewelma]

Thanks guys for your kind words and understanding.  My dad is ready. He has asked my mom to loose weight (she is down 30lbs so far) and he has increased his weight lifting to 5 times a day from once. He plans to care for her at home and luckily has the money to pay for part time and then full time help. Sadly, he only retired last year at 78 because he was having so much fun, but said had he known, he would have retired earlier so they could have had more time together. He is high functioning physically and intellectually and comes from a long-lived family (my grandmother died at 103 having worn high heels and lived by herself until 3 weeks before she died of a stroke). They seem at peace with the situation.

I, however, am running scared for myself. I feel guilty for being focused on me, but it really hit me hard when my dad told me.  Because of the family history, my grandfather and mother have been in the alzheimer's study, and we know that my mother does not have any of the genes they were looking for. So until last year when she started to show signs of decline, I thought she had dodged a bullet and thus so had I. I watched my grandfather's decline, and it was not pretty. 

I appreciate the advice for a good lifestyle.  I am thin, eat well, exercise, and do a ton of high-end intellectual work.  However, I could always do better, and will put a bit more focus on my health. 

Edited December 18, 2018 by lewelma

[mathnerd]

Sorry to hear about your mother's diagnosis. I have an uncle who is currently diagnosed with the early stages of alzheimer's and it runs in my family as well.

Curcumin (Turmeric) as a preventative to alzheimer's - google it and you will see a lot of resources - elderly rural Indian people who eat turmeric on a daily basis are rarely affected by alzheimer's, parkinson's etc. Turmeric is easy to add to most dishes that you cook and apparently, it is available in pill form as a dietary supplement. It needs to be eaten with a little black pepper in order to make it bioavailable to the body.

Edited December 18, 2018 by mathnerd

[Timberly]

I am so sorry about your family’s Alzheimer’s disease. 

For health reasons, nine months ago I switched to a plant based, no oil, whole food diet. I started out by trying the Engine Two Seven Day Diet. In just seven days my autoimmune and broken neck issues were dramatically improved, so I’ve stuck to the diet. Three weeks ago my husband and kids went plant based, no oil or artificial ingredients. Their anxiety and ADHD improved dramatically. 

I’ve stumbled onto many articles and podcasts talking about plant based helping with Alzheimer’s Disease. Dr Lisle and Dr Bernard speak on this issue. 

In case you’re curious, here’s a link with some info.  https://evolvingpast.com/podcast/plant_based_apporach_alzheimers_neal_barnard/

Warm wishes!

Timberly  

 

 

 

Edited December 19, 2018 by Timberly
https://evolvingpast.com/podcast/plant_based_apporach_alzheimers_neal_barnard/

[BeachGal]

One more factor to add to Seasider’s list is sleep. Beta-amyloid proteins, which can clump together to form plaques, are removed through lymph channels in the brain (called the glymphatic system) preventing buildup and damage to vulnerable areas of the brain. One small study showed that a period of sleep deprivation, about 31 hours, led to about a 5% increase in beta-amyloid.

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/sleep-deprivation-increases-alzheimers-protein

I meant to post these links earlier but am traveling. Dale Bredesen is one of the researchers Rhonda Patrick interviewed. He’s at the Buck Institute and has had some interesting results with the protocol he developed.

https://www.ahnphealth.com/dr-bredesen.html

https://www.amazon.com/End-Alzheimers-Program-Prevent-Cognitive/dp/0735216207

https://www.buckinstitute.org/news/memory-loss-associated-with-alzheimers-reversed-for-first-time/

https://www.foundmyfitness.com/episodes/dale-bredesen

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (hbot) might help with Alzheimer’s. Tel Aviv University has been doing a lot of this research.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5998622/

Promising, new treatments are emerging. I hope your mother can be helped by something and that you will be able to prevent it altogether.

[Selkie]

16 minutes ago, Timberly said:

I am so sorry about your family’s Alzheimer’s disease. 

For health reasons, nine months ago I switched to a plant based, no oil, whole food diet. I started out by trying the Engine Two Seven Day Diet. In just seven days my autoimmune and broken neck issues were dramatically improved, so I’ve stuck to the diet. Three weeks ago my husband and kids went plant based, no oil or artificial ingredients. Their anxiety and ADHD improved dramatically. 

I’ve stumbled onto many articles and podcasts talking about plant based helping with Alzheimer’s Disease. Dr Lisle and Dr Bernard speak on this issue. 

In case you’re curious, here’s a link with some info.  https://evolvingpast.com/podcast/plant_based_apporach_alzheimers_neal_barnard/

Warm wishes!

Timberly  

 

 

 

Our family also switched to a plant based whole food diet with no oil this past year, in part because of the dementia that runs in my dh's family. We're feeling great!🙂

[Starfish]

33 minutes ago, Selkie said:

Our family also switched to a plant based whole food diet with no oil this past year, in part because of the dementia that runs in my dh's family. We're feeling great!🙂

We also switched to a plant based diet with Eat to End Diabetes.  We've been doing it since late July, and it's made a huge difference in our quality of life.  Besides the weight loss, our bodies seemed to have healed themselves of our aches and pains.  My "brain fog" has lifted.   It's encouraging to know it could help with dementia.  

[Janeway]

10 hours ago, Seasider too said:

There are also studies showing that Alzheimer’s has a genetic component, but that component isn’t just a marker for an unavoidable disease process. It’s a marker for how well one’s particular body processes enable it to metabolize certain foods; inadequate metabolic processes are what cause some to accumulate more plaque in the brain than others. So, if you are this genetic type, by strategically changing your diet and intensity of physical activity, it’s possible to delay that plaque buildup. Investigate ApoE gene type for further info. 

I have two copies of that gene but have not been able to find diet info. Can you please help me?

[Timberly]

4 hours ago, Janeway said:

I have two copies of that gene but have not been able to find diet info. Can you please help me?

 

The whole food, plant based, no meat, no dairy, no eggs, no oil, no processed food diet works on autoimmune, diabetes, heart disease...

 

1) My kids follow:

 

Book - The Starch Solution: Eat the Foods You Love, Regain Your Health, and Lose the Weight for Good! Kindle Edition by John McDougal

• https://www.amazon.com/Starch-Solution-Regain-Health-Weight-ebook/dp/B007PF7MGS/ref=pd_sim_351_18?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=APA0A3CXQ24DVME8HZP5
• $9
• i found the McDouggal’s Starch Solution to be the most lenient of these three plant based programs.  

2) My husband follows:

 

Book - Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, Kindle, Dr Esselstyn

• $11
• https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000SEK74M/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

3) I follow 

• Reading The Engine 2 Diet: The Texas Firefighter's 28-Day Save-Your-Life 
• The Engine 2 website has tons of success stories, a Facebook page, free recipes…

 

There are other plant based programs.

--------

 

I recommend

 

1) watching the Forks Over Knives documentary on Netflicks or Amazon (Forks Over Knives Presents The Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue with Rip Esselstyn)

 

2) Movie - Eating You Alive

• https://www.eatingyoualive.com/view/
• (I saw theater)
•  

3) Upcoming Movie - Game Changers (world class vegan athletes)

• http://gamechangersmovie.com

Best wishes,

Timberly. 

Edited December 19, 2018 by Timberly

[Selkie]

1 hour ago, Janeway said:

I have two copies of that gene but have not been able to find diet info. Can you please help me?

In addition to the sources that have been mentioned, the book How Not to Die by Dr. Michael Greger has good information. Also his website, nutritionfacts.org

[Starfish]

2 hours ago, Janeway said:

I have two copies of that gene but have not been able to find diet info. Can you please help me?

 

To add to the pp:  We follow Eat to End Diabetes / Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman.   It's a plant based diet. The books are wonderful for the principles, but I don't follow the recipes because they're too time consuming.  I used the weekly prep plan at Hello Nutritarian to get started and then branched out by googling recipes.  It was a learning curve at first but now is really easy.  Breakfast and lunch were easy -- it was dinner that was harder for me.  It's less expensive than when we used to eat meat and dairy because we didn't replace those things with expensive substitutes.  We also buy all of our nuts from Azure Standard which is MUCH cheaper than buying at a store.  Our entire family is on the diet, including our grandchildren when they're with us ( except they do have milk and some cheese ). 

Edited December 19, 2018 by Starfish

[lewelma]

I'll go do some reading. Thanks for the links. Clearly, even though my mom doesn't have the genes they were looking for, there is some genetic component in my family.  The chance of 7 out of 7 is pretty low even if it is straight forward dominant. As for my diet, I am lactose and gluten intolerant, so don't eat those things. I don't eat processed food, and consume under 10g of sugar per day. But I do eat eggs, chicken, fish, pork, and some beef, and am of the opinion that moderation in all things is good. I weight 128 at 5'4", so well within a healthy BMI. 

[The Governess]

I’m with you and nervous too. My great uncle (my grandpa’s brother) on my dad’s side was diagnosed around 70, then my Grandma on my dad’s side around 80. Then my mom was diagnosed with it... in her early 60s. That really scares me.  

My mom has always been a very inactive person with a history of depression and very bad eating and sleeping habits. My grandma was one of the healthiest, most active people I’ve ever known. My great uncle was a brilliant engineer. Diet and lifestyle changes haven’t slowed my mom’s decline at all.  My Dad has her on all the right foods and supplements. Sigh. I pray all the time for a cure.

[TravelingChris]

I do not have Alzheimer's nor did anyone in my family.  But I do get such bad brain fog from Lupus that everyone thought I was getting dementia. I have also had a bad concussion which affected me greatly. Some tips with dealing with it with your relatives-   music helps.  People with damaged brains get very frustrated with their inability to talk, get something done, etc.  In their good moments, let them do something they normally can't.  Studies have shown that people with neurological issues often develop other abilities while their brain is deteriorating.  One of those is to rely on non verbal clues when figuring out what people are saying - or not even figuring that out. I remember a study where they showed normal and neurologically challenged people clips of politicians lying.  The neurologically challenged people got it exactly right.

I am praying for you.  And"Keep Hope Alive"  As stated above, lots of promising research is happening.

Edited December 19, 2018 by TravelingChris

[kandesmom]

I have recently read that there is a link between aluminum and Alzheimer's.  Metal toxicity  is responsible for many health issues.

[Miss Tick]

I'm in a similar place. What a mix of emotions. 😕

[BeachGal]

8 hours ago, lewelma said:

I'll go do some reading. Thanks for the links. Clearly, even though my mom doesn't have the genes they were looking for, there is some genetic component in my family.  The chance of 7 out of 7 is pretty low even if it is straight forward dominant. As for my diet, I am lactose and gluten intolerant, so don't eat those things. I don't eat processed food, and consume under 10g of sugar per day. But I do eat eggs, chicken, fish, pork, and some beef, and am of the opinion that moderation in all things is good. I weight 128 at 5'4", so well within a healthy BMI. 

 

Another possible cause could be chronic choline deficiency. I haven’t read too much about how it could lead to Alzheimer’s but I imagine it’s because there is insufficient choline that is needed to make the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. 

About one-half of the US needs more dietary choline because they genetically do not metabolize it well. My husband has one of the genes for this and I have both, unfortunately. So, my goal is to eat about 1200-1500 mg of choline per day, which is very hard to do, so I also take a lot of krill oil which has decent levels of choline. Beef liver is very high, egg yolks and certain meats are high and some veggies have it as well.

Choline is not technically a vitamin but is lumped in with the B vitamins. Other nutrients work with choline so deficiency in those might also cause problems.

[Janeway]

9 hours ago, Starfish said:

 

To add to the pp:  We follow Eat to End Diabetes / Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman.   It's a plant based diet. The books are wonderful for the principles, but I don't follow the recipes because they're too time consuming.  I used the weekly prep plan at Hello Nutritarian to get started and then branched out by googling recipes.  It was a learning curve at first but now is really easy.  Breakfast and lunch were easy -- it was dinner that was harder for me.  It's less expensive than when we used to eat meat and dairy because we didn't replace those things with expensive substitutes.  We also buy all of our nuts from Azure Standard which is MUCH cheaper than buying at a store.  Our entire family is on the diet, including our grandchildren when they're with us ( except they do have milk and some cheese ). 

Funny thing is, I have always hated meat, but it was always pushed on me growing up. Then I married a big meat eater. I wonder if children, and people in general, self select diets that are good for them. My big yucks for food are things like fried foods and steak and anything red meat. My big yummies would be things like artichokes. 

[Janeway]

9 hours ago, Seasider too said:

 

 

So you know that you are ApoE 4/4?

Here’s a European study that provides recommendations I am beginning to incorporate to formulate diet and exercise plans and practices. It’s kind of dense, but ApoE type-specific info is broken out so it’s helpful. 

https://patents.google.com/patent/EP2038866A2/en

 

Yes, and what is worse is, I already have brain changes my MRI and I keep forgetting things I have known for years, like my own husband's phone number or directions on driving to a place I have been driving to for years. I can look back at old photo albums and things look new to me and I cannot remember stuff at all. I saw myself in a home video at my little sister's graduation and was shocked as I do not recall going. I do not know when I went, where I stayed, anything. It was 25 years ago, but it would have been one of my first trips to that part of the country so you would think I would remember something. I do not recall even being at the graduation. 

 

Oh, and the changes on the MRI were a few years ago and I went to the neurologist and was being followed by one, but we lost our insurance after that so I never went for the next follow up visit. 

Edited December 19, 2018 by Janeway