Introduction

[Worried2018]

Hello,
I am new to this side, found it after reading Dr Bredesen's book.
According to 23andme I am not APOE4, at least they say I do not have increased risk for LOAD.
On the other hand my mother developed AD in her late 70's, my father, who was not diagnosed, definitely had
dementia when he died at age 84 and my uncle on my dad's side had diagnosed AD.
What really worries my, however, is that my brother had early-onset AD and died six years after diagnosis at age 69.
I am approaching the age my brother was diagnosed and worried that I am developing the same issues he had.

When I told my primary care doctor that I am concerned, she dismissed it and told me that there is nothing
to do about AD, so it is not worth even testing for it. I will change insurance (Kaiser for now) and primary care
in July, but for now I am stuck with this.

I have always been health conscious and avoid sugar, gluten, fast food - I'd say I am 80% compliant.
I am less certain about supplements, mainly because there are conflicting informations and I am not sure what I really need.
This forum gives me hope that I can influence my future and avoid this devastating disease.

[Lucy5]

Hi Worried...I saw your earlier post and responded there with some thoughts and website information. (My apologies that I didn't look a bit further and find this post!)

I am so sorry to hear about your family history with dementia. It is upsetting and so very difficult for any family to go through and I can certainly understand being worried about the future. A few thoughts:

1) From what you've written, it sounds like 23andme did not find the ApoE4 variant in your result. If you'd feel better double-checking, you can browse the raw data on your 23andme account. The raw data file is found in the pull down menu under your name along the top right of the first screen. ApoE4 is determined by specific variants of 2 SNPs: rs429358 and rs7412. Type in each SNP into the search field. An explanation of the result displayed there can be found in our website Primer Introduction to ApoE section found here

2) It is possible that your Mother & Father both had a single ApoE4 variant that you did not inherit? I'm wondering if it may also be possible that they suffered from another form of dementia - eg: vascular dementia.

3) Regardless of the cause(s) of your family's history of dementia, your history of practicing a healthy lifestyle is so important and should give you comfort!

4) And yes, sadly your experience with your primary care doctor is not atypical. As you already know, a growing body of information suggests just the opposite. We believe we CAN influence our future and delay/prevent this devastating disease.
sending hugs your way...Lucy

[Worried2018]

Hi Lucy,
Thanks for your reply. It is good to be in a community where people understand and care.
I did not know that one can access raw data on 23andme -- this is super helpful. I found that I am T/T in rs429358 and C/C in rs7412,
so I am E3/E3. That is good news.
Is there a list of other SNPs and their interpretations on this website?
Sorry for asking, I am sure there is such a list somewhere, and I could find it if I spent more time searching, but if you have a quick link, I'll just be lazy.

[slacker]

Hi Lucy,
Thanks for your reply. It is good to be in a community where people understand and care.
I did not know that one can access raw data on 23andme -- this is super helpful. I found that I am T/T in rs429358 and C/C in rs7412,
so I am E3/E3. That is good news.
Is there a list of other SNPs and their interpretations on this website?
Sorry for asking, I am sure there is such a list somewhere, and I could find it if I spent more time searching, but if you have a quick link, I'll just be lazy.

Hi worried;

I personally have not done 23&me yet, but have noticed that many users use Promethease to help interpret the raw data from 23&me. The cost is low ($10?). Rhonda Patrick provides a similar service on her website. SNPedia is another resource, but perhaps a bit more difficult to translate. I don't think we have bothered to replicate these services, but you can find conversations on different SNPs if interested (search function magnifying glass in toolbar right upper corner of website)

Some times there are no shortcuts!

[srbogert]

Hi Lucy,
Thanks for your reply. It is good to be in a community where people understand and care.

Hello Worried. Welcome to the site. Yes, it is a very supportive community.
I'm glad that you were able to find more about your status. Stavia's Primer includes a good summary about the different gene options in APOE (E2, E3, E4). The How to guide will help you with searching the site for other information about lifestyle and testing sources. Feel free to post if you have any other questions.

[Worried2018]

Thank you Lucy, srbogert, for your warm welcome.
I have downloaded my 23andme data to Promethease and spent yesterday evening looking at it. I certainly have some negative markers but nothing that would explain my family history of dementia - at least nothing that I can tell. But I am not an expert.
I am considering making an appointment with a Bredesen-trained functional medicine doctor. There are several in town, so I have a choice. They are all rather expensive, and my insurance is not going to pay even the labs.
Dr. Bredesen suggests not to do his protocol blind but tailor it. Well, it will be still much less expensive than developing AD and pay for that.