Welcome!!!

A primer for newbies and old pros alike.
RHanlan
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Re: Welcome!!!

Post by RHanlan »

Hi! I just got my results today. My results say that I have one ApoE4 marker; I'm only 31 right now but both my grandparents on my dads side suffered Late onset Alzheimers..... not sure how to process this information yet.....
NF52
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Re: Welcome!!!

Post by NF52 »

RHanlan wrote:Hi! I just got my results today. My results say that I have one ApoE4 marker; I'm only 31 right now but both my grandparents on my dads side suffered Late onset Alzheimers..... not sure how to process this information yet.....
A warm welcome, RHanlan!

On behalf of everyone in the ApoE4.info community, let me tell you how glad we are that you found this forum today of all days, and posted to tell us about your news. You are absolutely right that it can be confusing to learn of an uncertain risk decades in the future, especially if you know that two generations ago (your dad's parents) they experienced Late-Onset Alzheimer's disease, the term given to a diagnosis at 65 or older.

Since this is all brand new for you, it might be helpful to know that it's normal to feel a range of emotions and even to wish you could un-learn what you know. Many of us on the site have come to believe that knowledge is power. It's empowering to have decades for lifestyle choices that have shown to be very effective in brain health! In addition, the US federal government has upped its game on AD-prevention research, with more than 3 billion dollars allocated for 2021.

We like to say "Genes are not destiny" . In fact even for people with one copy of APOE 4 who are now in their 60's or 70's, which might include your dad, a 2017 well-designed international meta-analysis found that they only had a 20-25% chance of being diagnosed with either mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's by the age of 85 (the current life expectancy for my generation.)

To help you explore our site, I'll share some links that I find helpful:

The Primer is written by Stavia, a practicing M.D. with ApoE4/4. It's a great place to see some strategies that you can consider--and she also recommends not trying to re-tool your entire life at once!

The How-To Guide shows how to quote members (use the " icon in the upper right of any post) so they get an email notification of your post. It also shows how to use the Search function for topics, and how to subscribe to topics of interest.

Here's a link pulled from our Wiki on Research, with a 2018 article on strategies for LOAD prevention in ApoE 4 carriers from Dr. Richard Isaacson, the Director of the Alzheimer's Prevention Program at Cornell Weill Medical Center in NYC: Clinical Application of APOE in Alzheimer’s Prevention: A Precision Medicine Approach Here's his top recommendation from the article:

Physical activity
A systematic review of 16 prospective studies concluded that physical activity decreased the risk of developing AD by 45%
Physically active ε4 carriers had an OR [odds ratio risk of Alzheimer's] of 2.30 and sedentary ε4 carriers had an OR of 5.53
Aerobic activity was associated with greater cognitive performance for ε4 carriers compared to non-carriers).
Sedentary individuals who were ε4 carriers had significantly higher levels of brain Aβ and lower levels of CSF Aβ42 compared to sedentary non-carriers, findings associated with AD pathology
...The findings also suggest that physical activity may prevent Aβ accumulation that occurs in the brains of ε4 carriers before clinical symptoms of AD even become apparent
Please reach out with questions, ideas and especially to ask for support! We're all genetic "family" here!
4/4 and still an optimist!
Tootsie
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Re: Welcome!!!

Post by Tootsie »

Hello everyone. I'm from the UK and very glad to have found this forum. I'm 53 and we lost my Mum to vascular dementia a couple of years ago at age 85. Really she had been in cognitive decline since around age 70 and I've been living with a low grade fear that I may face the same fate.

I'm involved in the Action for Happiness movement, and recently watched one of their talks by Dr Rangan Chaterjee, a supporter of the lifestyle as medicine approach for complex and chronic conditions. He briefly mentioned Dr Bredesen's work and when he said that cognitive decline was both preventable and reversible, a huge neon lightbulb went on and I had to rewind and re-listen. Oh my goodness! I just knew that this tiny piece of information was going to be very, very important to me.

I'm reading Dr Bredesen's books at the moment, and trying very hard not to dive down the rabbit hole! It is complex and there's a huge amount of information to take in. I've been lucky enough to enjoy good health thus far and when we talk about knowing our numbers.....I literally couldn't quote one! (maybe BMI/weight but that's it..) I have no idea about my genetic profile, but I may well consider testing at some point.

So I guess I'm just working through the huge amount of information and will start to come up with a plan to at least know some basic numbers and start from there. My guess would be that in the UK, most GPs wouldn't really be resourced or feel able to support this - particularly at the moment - so I'd be looking at commercial test providers and maybe a little home kit too.

I'll read on and keep learning, but Hello to you all and I'm grateful for you already! My best wishes and may you all be happy and healthy xx
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Jenny B
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Re: Welcome!!!

Post by Jenny B »

Tootsie wrote:Hello everyone. I'm from the UK and very glad to have found this forum. I'm 53 and we lost my Mum to vascular dementia a couple of years ago at age 85. Really she had been in cognitive decline since around age 70 and I've been living with a low grade fear that I may face the same fate.

I'm involved in the Action for Happiness movement, and recently watched one of their talks by Dr Rangan Chaterjee, a supporter of the lifestyle as medicine approach for complex and chronic conditions. He briefly mentioned Dr Bredesen's work and when he said that cognitive decline was both preventable and reversible, a huge neon lightbulb went on and I had to rewind and re-listen. Oh my goodness! I just knew that this tiny piece of information was going to be very, very important to me.

I'm reading Dr Bredesen's books at the moment, and trying very hard not to dive down the rabbit hole! It is complex and there's a huge amount of information to take in. I've been lucky enough to enjoy good health thus far and when we talk about knowing our numbers.....I literally couldn't quote one! (maybe BMI/weight but that's it..) I have no idea about my genetic profile, but I may well consider testing at some point.

So I guess I'm just working through the huge amount of information and will start to come up with a plan to at least know some basic numbers and start from there. My guess would be that in the UK, most GPs wouldn't really be resourced or feel able to support this - particularly at the moment - so I'd be looking at commercial test providers and maybe a little home kit too.

I'll read on and keep learning, but Hello to you all and I'm grateful for you already! My best wishes and may you all be happy and healthy xx
Hello to you, Tootsie. We are grateful you have joined the ApoE4.info community and are enjoying it so far.

I am sorry to hear about the loss of your Mum. I am 52 yo and lost my dad to Lewy Body Dementia last year. He was almost 76 yo. I continue to explore the rabbit holes myself both here in this wonderful forum and in the research and teachings of Dr Bredesen and his people.

I had to look up the Action for Happiness project and I am fascinated! I've heard of the scholarly work on Happiness but not this Dalai Llama sanctioned project. How amazing, and I smile as I write this as I enjoy rabbit holes immensely, but have to let up when I hit a wall so as to not get to frustrated.

I believe you are doing the right thing in taking everything in "small bites" of the information and moving forward at your own pace. It can all get potentially overwhelming quickly. There are so many wonderful people here that will help you sort through it though! I am a naturopathic doc by education here in the states, but we're only licensed in 18 of the 50 states to practice medicine, and I live in one of the 32 unlicensed states BUT I've heard it might be easier to find one in the UK. They would be well resourced in helping you determine important numbers to know, but really the ones you need to know most are the ones associated with chronic lifestyle diseases. Your fasting blood sugar for instance and other blood sugar and insulin sensitivity/resistance numbers; lipid profile - cholesterol and triglycerides, blood pressure, BMI as you mentioned, waist circumference, etc...are a good place to start. I also asked my GP run Vit D, B12, homocysteine and then hsCRP which is a marker for inflammation associated with the heart and vasculature. My hsCRP went from quite elevated to normal after significant lifestyle changes and weight loss that lowered inflammation through my whole body. WooHoo!

This link to ApoE4-Aware Healthcare Practitioners may help you find someone near you. And this How To Guide to our website should help you navigate and explore this forum to maximize your enjoyment of the experience. Other great suggestions for getting the most out of this incredible community are above in the message from nf52 to the original poster.

Explore away and please let us know if we can help.

Warmly,

Jenny
Jenny B, ND
FMCHC, NBC-HWC
ApoE4.info Sr Support Intern
Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach
National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach
Naturopathic Doctor
Tootsie
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Re: Welcome!!!

Post by Tootsie »

Hello Jenny and thanks so much for your lovely post...I'm pleased to have introduced you to Action for Happiness! They have some interesting talks on youtube, which I've been watching recently.

Your list above is really helpful and I've decided to start with the area of insulin resistance, for which I have no idea of my numbers. I've just ordered a fasting glucose test kit, so that is baby step 1 - by the end of this week I'll know my fasting glucose level. Then I'll follow on with fasting insulin level and work out a HOMA-IR score.

For anyone (in the UK in particular) I'm finding the diabetes.co.uk forum helpful in this area and medichecks offers a fasting insulin test for £69 currently.

I won't keep posting in welcome, as that's probably not the right place...but I will keep you posted! Best wishes Tootsie
klipe2002
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Re: Welcome!!!

Post by klipe2002 »

Hello. 23 and Me provided my results. I was found to have 2 copies of the e4 variant tested. I received the results a few years ago. I'm not 49 and I'm re reviewing the site (i think I just purposely 'ignored' it originally; didn't want to think about it).

I'm very concerned and somehow found this site (very happy to have done so!). I really dont know where to go from here but wanted to start by posting here on the WELCOME page.

Thank you,

Kevin
NF52
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Re: Welcome!!!

Post by NF52 »

klipe2002 wrote:Hello. 23 and Me provided my results. I was found to have 2 copies of the e4 variant tested. I received the results a few years ago. I'm not 49 and I'm re reviewing the site (i think I just purposely 'ignored' it originally; didn't want to think about it).

I'm very concerned and somehow found this site (very happy to have done so!). I really dont know where to go from here but wanted to start by posting here on the WELCOME page.

Thank you,

Kevin
Welcome, Kevin! I'm so glad you posted! Like you, I found out my ApoE 4/4 status from 23&me--although I was 62 at the time and was thrown by the dire predictions I first came across. Turns out, the news for our 4/4s is not so dire-especially for someone your age who has time and choices on his side. It's also true that mid-life is a great time to prime your brain's cognitive reserve. When I participated in a clinical trial for people with ApoE4/4 who were all cognitively healthy from 2017-2019 (The Generations I trial) I realized that there were lots of people who didn't show up on the grim predictions--thousands of them who enrolled in the trial and many who are on this forum.

Here are some resources you may want to explore, since it can seem a bit overwhelming to just dive right in!

The Primer is written by Stavia, a practicing M.D. with ApoE4/4. It's a great place to see some strategies that you can consider--and she also recommends not trying to re-tool your entire life at once!

The How-To Guide shows how to quote members (use the " icon in the upper right of any post) so they get an email notification of your post. It also shows how to use the Search function for topics, and how to subscribe to topics of interest.

Here's a link pulled from our Wiki on Apoe4 Research: What's New and What You Can Do to a 2018 article on strategies for LOAD prevention in ApoE 4 carriers from Dr. Richard Isaacson, the Director of the Alzheimer's Prevention Program at Cornell Weill Medical Center in NYC: Clinical Application of APOE in Alzheimer’s Prevention: A Precision Medicine Approach Here's his top recommendation from the article:

Physical activity
A systematic review of 16 prospective studies concluded that physical activity decreased the risk of developing AD by 45%
Physically active ε4 carriers had an OR [odds ratio risk of Alzheimer's] of 2.30 and sedentary ε4 carriers had an OR of 5.53
Aerobic activity was associated with greater cognitive performance for ε4 carriers compared to non-carriers).
Sedentary individuals who were ε4 carriers had significantly higher levels of brain Aβ and lower levels of CSF Aβ42 compared to sedentary non-carriers, findings associated with AD pathology
...The findings also suggest that physical activity may prevent Aβ accumulation that occurs in the brains of ε4 carriers before clinical symptoms of AD even become apparent
Feel free to post on any topic, and to share questions you have. We're all learning from each other here--and ready to support each other also!
4/4 and still an optimist!
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John Randal
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Re: Welcome!!!

Post by John Randal »

Hello,
I just found this site via YouTube. My mother passed away from Alzheimer's in 2018. I learned that I could check for the ApoE4 gene, and I did, and I have it, 1 copy. So, my quest is to be as healthy as possible and mitigate the risks. I'm glad I found this site and look forward to learning as much as I can.
lucytownsend
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Re: Welcome!!!

Post by lucytownsend »

John Randal wrote:Hello,
I just found this site via YouTube. My mother passed away from Alzheimer's in 2018. I learned that I could check for the ApoE4 gene, and I did, and I have it, 1 copy. So, my quest is to be as healthy as possible and mitigate the risks. I'm glad I found this site and look forward to learning as much as I can.
John,

A warm welcome to the Forum! We are so glad you found us and hope that you will find some comfort and relief as you look through the plethora of evidence-based information housed on APOE4.info. It's wonderful that your are looking forward to learning as much as you can. We are here to support you in doing that every step of the way. One sentiment that is very popular on this Forum is that genes are NOT our destiny. There are many things we can do to alter the way our genes are expressed and impact our health outcomes. I hope you will find the lifestyle modifications that are discussed and presented on this Forum to be of encouragement to you.

First is the How To Guide it will help you get the most out of the ApoE4.info website. It is created to help members navigate the site. This area explains how to use the quotes button so that the other member receives an email notification of your reply, how to search for topics, how to subscribe to topics of interest and more.

My favorite is the Primer written by one of our member physicians, Stavia, who is ApoE4/4. It is great introduction to ApoE4, biochemistry, and possible prevention strategies in addition to exploring areas such as the science behind the ApoE4 gene and the lifestyle factors that impact its expression. It is a wealth of information - a great place to start and to come back to time and again!

The Wiki offers a wealth of additional information and details the muti-factorial approach to taking control of your brain health. It is useful for searching specific topics of interest.

And, we would love to know more about you so I invite you to share your journey by creating a new topic in Our Stories. This is something that we encourage all new members to do so they get the opportunity to engage further on the site.

We are so glad you found us,

Warmly,

Lucy
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LynnDeeOH4
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Re: Welcome!!!

Post by LynnDeeOH4 »

Hello,
I would like to introduce myself. I am 59 years old female, and my mother (age 86) has Alzheimer's disease. In 2017 I found out that I carry one APOE-e4 allele and one APOE-e3 allele (through 23andMe and Prometheus). In 2018 my husband and I started eating a totally plant-based (vegan) diet. I also take saffron and turmeric along with vit D3 and Omega 3 (from Flax Seed oil). I feel that my memory has slowly been declining. I have the most struggle with names (even with friends). I try to exercise 3 times a week - but would like to increase that to daily. I have signed up for the Brain Health Registry and take periodic surveys and cognitive testing. I also sign up for several research studies - but haven't been contacted by any. I looked into the Dr. Bedesen Protocol - but it was too costly and the idea of fasting doesn't sound very doable.

To stimulate my mind I run my own home-based reselling business online and I also co-lead a Bible study. I would like to learn some new dances (line dancing, etc.) - which I've heard is great for stimulating memory.

I joined this community in hopes of learning more about how to keep my brain and body healthy - and prevent further memory decline.
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