Greetings from a New Intern

[Sara Mushel, MS]

Hello!

My name is Sara Mushel and I'll be interacting with all of you as an intern over the next six months (and beyond, I'm certain!). This is a wonderful community that inspires hope. It's nice to see the support and encouragement that all of you give to one another. I'm also impressed by the amount of evidence-based information curated here for everyone's benefit with regard to the important modifiable lifestyle factors associated with preventing and reversing cognitive decline. There's a reason Dr. Bredesen and others note this forum as an important player in the Alzheimer's movement.

People don't change in isolation; they change in community!

My interest in preserving cognitive health and reversing decline is two-fold: I have a family history of early-onset Alzheimers, and my husband is older than me with similar family history. He and I are both 3/3 with average risk, which tells us that other variables are at play. We are motivated to adhere to a healthy lifestyle for each other and our children (we have a 3-year-old daughter and 6-month-old baby boy). I'm passionate about helping others do the same. In truth, it has alarmed me to hear how many of my friend's parents and older friends of my husband have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. It's a scary disease for kids as caregivers to grapple with as they try to take care of their own young families. I will be sending concerned friends and acquaintances to this forum as a great place to start.

I look forward to learning with and from all of you!

[TheresaB]

Welcome, sounds like we'll truly benefit from you.

[Emerald]

Hi, Sara - welcome! It sounds like you have a positive and inquisitive attitude, and that is fantastic!

With regard to early-onset Alzheimer's that runs in family, aren't those cases typically due to very specific genes? APOE usually doesn't play a role. This forum can definitely be beneficial when it comes to encouraging healthy lifestyles in general, but I would keep in mind that most of the lifestyle recommendations and research studies on here are specific to APOE4, and some of the recommendations may not be necessary or quite as beneficial for early-onset Alzheimer's.

If anyone has more information or has other thoughts/alternative views, please chime in!

[NF52]

...With regard to early-onset Alzheimer's that runs in family, aren't those cases typically due to very specific genes? APOE usually doesn't play a role. This forum can definitely be beneficial when it comes to encouraging healthy lifestyles in general, but I would keep in mind that most of the lifestyle recommendations and research studies on here are specific to APOE4, and some of the recommendations may not be necessary or quite as beneficial for early-onset Alzheimer's.

If anyone has more information or has other thoughts/alternative views, please chime in!

Hi Emerald,
I also assumed that almost all cases of "Early-Onset Alzheimer's Disease" (EAOD) were due to one of the identified risk genes. It turns out that is not actually the case . Here's what the Alzheimer's Association has on EAOD or "younger-onset Alzheimer's", a term I've seen used for people with no strong family history:

Alzheimer’s disease is considered to be younger-onset Alzheimer’s if it affects a person under 65... Up to 5 percent of the more than 5 million Americans with Alzheimer’s have younger onset...In the United States, it is estimated that approximately 200,000 people have early onset...Younger-onset can also be referred to as early-onset Alzheimer’s. The majority of people with younger-onset have sporadic Alzheimer’s disease, which is the most common form of Alzheimer’s and is not attributed to genetics. Doctors do not understand why most cases of younger-onset Alzheimer's appear at such a young age. People with younger-onset Alzheimer’s can be in the early, middle or late stage of the disease.

https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia ... arly-onset
And this is from a 2017 review of Copy Number Variants in Alzheimer’s Disease in the Journal of Alzheimer's, which :

In about 13% of EOAD familial patients, the disease is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner with full penetrance (at least three cases in three generations) [5] and is caused by mutations in three genes, APP (amyloid precursor protein, chr.21q21) [6], PSEN1 (presenilin-1, chr.14q24) [7], and PSEN2 (presenilin-2, chr.1q42) [8]. The APP gene encodes the transmembrane protein AβPP that can be cleaved by different cellular proteases: α-, β-, and γ-secretases. PSEN1 and PSEN2 encode essential components of the γ-secretase complex.

Luckily for us, Sara has been trained in the Bredesen protocol through the Institute for Functional Medicine and is currently a student in the Functional Medicine Academy's Health Coaching program. I anticipate that we will learn from her, and she will learn from the wisdom of this diverse and deeply knowledgeable community.

[Emerald]

...With regard to early-onset Alzheimer's that runs in family, aren't those cases typically due to very specific genes? APOE usually doesn't play a role. This forum can definitely be beneficial when it comes to encouraging healthy lifestyles in general, but I would keep in mind that most of the lifestyle recommendations and research studies on here are specific to APOE4, and some of the recommendations may not be necessary or quite as beneficial for early-onset Alzheimer's.

If anyone has more information or has other thoughts/alternative views, please chime in!

Hi Emerald,
I also assumed that almost all cases of "Early-Onset Alzheimer's Disease" (EAOD) were due to one of the identified risk genes. It turns out that is not actually the case . Here's what the Alzheimer's Association has on EAOD or "younger-onset Alzheimer's", a term I've seen used for people with no strong family history:

Alzheimer’s disease is considered to be younger-onset Alzheimer’s if it affects a person under 65... Up to 5 percent of the more than 5 million Americans with Alzheimer’s have younger onset...In the United States, it is estimated that approximately 200,000 people have early onset...Younger-onset can also be referred to as early-onset Alzheimer’s. The majority of people with younger-onset have sporadic Alzheimer’s disease, which is the most common form of Alzheimer’s and is not attributed to genetics. Doctors do not understand why most cases of younger-onset Alzheimer's appear at such a young age. People with younger-onset Alzheimer’s can be in the early, middle or late stage of the disease.

https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia ... arly-onset
And this is from a 2017 review of Copy Number Variants in Alzheimer’s Disease in the Journal of Alzheimer's, which :

In about 13% of EOAD familial patients, the disease is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner with full penetrance (at least three cases in three generations) [5] and is caused by mutations in three genes, APP (amyloid precursor protein, chr.21q21) [6], PSEN1 (presenilin-1, chr.14q24) [7], and PSEN2 (presenilin-2, chr.1q42) [8]. The APP gene encodes the transmembrane protein AβPP that can be cleaved by different cellular proteases: α-, β-, and γ-secretases. PSEN1 and PSEN2 encode essential components of the γ-secretase complex.

Luckily for us, Sara has been trained in the Bredesen protocol through the Institute for Functional Medicine and is currently a student in the Functional Medicine Academy's Health Coaching program. I anticipate that we will learn from her, and she will learn from the wisdom of this diverse and deeply knowledgeable community.

This is AMAZING information! Thank you so much! And I'm really glad to hear this.