Recently learned I am heterozygous for APOE-e4 - Now what?

[KiwiJack]

"Question: did you ever identify the sources of your heavy metal and biotoxin illnesses?"

Tough to say. I thought the primary issue might just be APOE4 gene and being a poor eliminator?

But I did have a lot of vaccinations in my life, moving from NZ to Canada as a child, extra vaccinations while in the Navy, and coincidently this all did begin happening 3 months after another load of vaccinations before a trip to SE Asia. Plus exposure to lead and other toxins in the Navy, commercial diving in many god awful harbours and other sludge conditions, working on fruit and tobacco farms as a child and teenager and pesticide exposure, I ate a lot of canned tuna and salmon in my life. But I can't put my finger on any single massive exposure to anything in particular.

[sealypealy]

Good morning. I’m new to the message board but not really new to the site. I’ve been reading as much as I can about AD and dementia since my mother and her mother both suffered horribly and passed away as a result of AD. My grandmother wasn’t diagnosed until well into her 70s (she was extremely active) and lived into her 90s. My mother was diagnosed much earlier (in her mid/late 60s) and passed away at 72. The progression of her disease was shockingly rapid and severe.

As for me, I’ll be 52 next week and have three children (a son 26, a daughter almost 3 1/2 and a son almost 2, oh and my wife is 13 weeks pregnant). I am generally physically fit but have noticed over the years an enormous increase in what I’ll call memory-failing moments and word-swapping moments. That and knowing that I very much take after my mom physically prompted me to go to 23andme and get tested. Well my results came back yesterday and through Promethease I learned, no real surprise to me, that I am heterozygous for APOE-e4. My biggest question is, what is the first thing I should do with this information? I know from reading your site, especially the wonderful Getting Started primer by Stavia, that, very generally, I need to change my diet, consider supplements, exercise much more than I currently do and get more sleep among other things. And I have already embarked on making lifestyle changes. But should I seek out a doctor who specializes in AD or other neurological deficiencies? Should I see a cardiologist? Are there other tests I should insist upon from my family doctor? Should I load up on life and LTC insurance before I’m unable to qualify? Any advice you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Greetings from United States! I found out I'm homozygous e4/e4 2 years ago. I'm 54 now. It's troubling at first and then I realized when I read the research it's an associated risk certainly, but not determinative. I'm a molecular technologist and know that epigenetics (associated environmental influences) play a large part in how our genetic aberrations are activated (turned on), or not. I would recommend this book that reveals how our diet can cause or relieve oxidative stress on the brain - we can make a difference in how we live our lives to support brain health.

"The Perfect Gene Diet: Use Your Body's Own APO E Gene to Treat High Cholesterol, Weight Problems, Heart Disease, Alzheimer's...and More! "
https://perfectgenediet.com/


I also hope that additional research in this disease will find some help for alleviating it. I also search non-traditional methods of supporting brain health, primarily through nutrition and, as I find western medicine to be more invested in disease and pharmaceutical treatment that keeps the cash rolling in, than supporting actual health.

The apoe4 gene is also related to cholesterol metabolism, and I suffer an additional genetic aberration in a liver gene that causes familial hypercholesterolemia to add to complexities. I would recommend further gene profiling to alert you to any other issues. 23andme.com is one option to start and that's how I found out about my apoe4 genotype.

I do believe in garnering life insurance before disease of any kind limits that opportunity to provide some help for your family in case your early demise for any reason.

Wishing you good health - Jennifer

[Julie G]

Welcome Jennifer! We're lucky to have your expertise. I completely agree with your take on Western medicine . Optimizing overall health is the most important thing we, as ApoE4 carriers, can do to to avoid the pathologies associated with the allele. I look forward to hearing more about your approach.

[Paula]

I am new here and was trying to figure out how to post an introduction but can't seem to find an explanation. I can only post replies like this. Any assistance is appreciated. Thank you


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[WhatNext]

I recommend starting with some basic foundation biomarkers:
Hba1c
Fasting glucose
Fasting insulin
B12
Homocysteine
Vitamin D
Lipid profile
Apolipoprotein B if your insurance wont pay for an NMR (advanced lipid panel, seriously not necessary at the beginner stage)
Liver functions
TSH
High sensitivity CRP

I'm new here too and I'm also APOE3/4. How on earth do you get all these numbers? Do you test yourself, or walk into a doctor's office with this list? I've been reading this website for a few days and it's kind of depressing-- I don't want to go down the road of becoming obsessed with these numbers.

[SusanJ]

Most of these are pretty standard tests for an annual check up now, but it depends on your doctor. What kind of tests has your doctor ordered in the past?

If you view them as information, then you don't have to be obsessed. They can just point you in the direction where you might need to prioritize any actions.

[circular]

I'm new here too and I'm also APOE3/4. How on earth do you get all these numbers? Do you test yourself, or walk into a doctor's office with this list? I've been reading this website for a few days and it's kind of depressing-- I don't want to go down the road of becoming obsessed with these numbers.

It can be tedious for a time, but I've come to feel the pointers, as SusanJ puts it, are invaluable to my long-term health. It's the only way I know which of the many, often contradictory suggestions (diet, supplements etc) most apply to me. It helps keep me supplementing with things I apparently need. Ideally over time, as I learn what markers are off and confirm that I've corrected them, I can stop with the obsessing and coast more between checkups of just those markers that have been a problem or are more likely to be adversely affected by something I'm doing for something else.

Have you read the threads on Dr. Bredesen's work yet? This will help you see where a number of us are coming from with respect to test, tweak and repeat. Here's his first paper and you can search the forum for more (we hope larger trials will help confirm his findings so far):

Reversal of cognitive decline: A novel therapeutic program

Keep in mind too that some of us are already experiencing or have experienced some cognitive dysfunction, so we need to minimize guessing, 'common sense' and the like.

[WhatNext]

So you have regular check-ups with a doctor and she/he writes an order for a blood test every time? Is your doctor a specialist or a gp? How did your doctor respond when you told her/him you were apoe3/4? I'd be worried that a doctor would brush me off if I said I'd had my DNA tested.

[SusanJ]

I have checks every 6 months with a functional medicine doctor. He originally suggested I do genetic testing because he suspected methylation problems. That's when we both found out I was 3/4.

At first, we did some labs more frequently as I adjusted diet, supplements, etc. Now he looks at lipids, metabolic panel that includes glucose/insulin, thyroid and hormones, and vitamin D.

Do you have a family history of AD or heart disease? If so, you could start by saying you want to get a baseline to see if you are on the right track to avoid these without bringing up the e3/e4 information. Many doctors don't know what to do with it anyway.

[hill dweller]

Hi WhatNext -- I did not tell my doctor about my ApoE4 status. But I did tell her that my genetic results indicated heightened risk for age-related macular degeneration and that I needed methylated B vitamins, based on my MTHFR gene. She approved of that, as these two conditions are fairly common, and the supplements that reduce the risk are fairly well established. She asked if the testing was via 23andme, and I said yes. She knows that I supplement to improve cognition and mitochondrial function. And she thinks my diet is extreme, but she's happy that I've lost 30 - 35 pounds and feel great.

So, you might try that approach. If you are unlucky enough to have genetic risk factors other than ApoE4 . . .