New member questions

[frankiesfriend]

I am new to your forum but have been consuming as much biomedical information as I can about Alzheimer's and risk for years, and have changed my diet considerably to be more protective. My mother died from Alzheimer's and I am doing what I can to prevent the same fate. I have dithered about APOE testing for a long time, but I believe I am probably positive because of my high cholesterol (especially high HDL) that is diet-and-exercise-resistant, low C-reactive protein, and immune hypersensitivity. So my main question relates to peripheral biomarkers that might point to APOE status...or should I just get the genetic test? Secondly, does knowing APOE status change anything for any of you? For example, do you drink more or less wine, eat more or less fats because of your APOE status? Do you ask for different medical tests in accordance with your status, for example avoid CRP as a marker of inflammation if you are APOE4+?

Thanks for any insights.

[CarrieS]

Hello frankiesfriend and Welcome to the APOe4.info Forums.
We have a great post in the Wiki that discusses getting your genetics tested. You can find the post here.

There is a ton of information and topics contained in this very informative and supportive web community. Also included in the Wiki is a great guide for navigating around called How To Get The Most Out Of The APOE4.info Website to help get you started.

[Gillyp]

A warm welcome to the community frankiesfriend. I'm so sorry to hear that you lost your mother to Alzheimer's. That must have been a difficult time for you.

It sounds like you have already made some great strides in reducing your personal risk by the nutritional changes you have made and your on-going research. You ask some good questions and I'm not sure there's just one answer. Everyone is different and some people want to test to find out their status and others don't. I'm so pleased that CarrieS pointed you in the direction of a Wiki post on this topic which may help you decide what is right for you. I think the same thing goes for making changes in lifestyle. You can certainly use testing markers as indicators of progress but what works well for one might not for another. It's really does come down to making the changes that you feel are right for you and seeing how your markers change.

There's a wealth of information on the site if you feel like digging deeper. The primer is a great place to start (viewtopic.php?f=33&t=1418). If you have questions or information and updates that you want to share I hope you post them. Again, welcome.

[JudyH]

I am also a new member, less than a month. I unintentionally found out I was APOe3/4 recently. I am glad I know. For me it explains something that I knew was genetically wrong in my family with my mother and grandmother dying at 42 of heart attacks and me battling the markers for heart disease since I was 30 years old. I have 3 autoimmune disease, one of my brother's 5 and the other also has 3. We have some bad genes! I am 58 and female.

Knowing is changing a lot for me. I am biting this off one small piece at a time but more aggressively and actively working on the biomarkers I can change, my high tryglycerides, and A1C and fasting glucose just creeping out of the normal range. I have done a lot of reading on here and well as Bredesen's book. I am not interested in going full ReCODE at this time but just step by step gaining knowledge and prioritizing working on insulin resistance and inflammation as my first steps. I am tweaking my diet, one step at a time with the two that I have done so far this year is reducing my added sugar to almost nothing and I am working on adding and increasing the length of my daily fast.

I am due for bloodwork in March with my regular, not functional medicine, doctor. I am right now preparing a short list of blood tests that I would like added to what is normally run for me, focusing on learning more about my IR and inflammation status. Again not going full ReCODE and asking for the whole list but my APOe4 status, if Bredesen is correct, points me in the direction of likely biomarkers that I need to understand and might be able to improve.

Personally, I would get tested. Knowing I was APOe4/4 would probably create a greater since of urgency in me to work on understanding and improving my biomarkers and finding the right mix of activities, diet and supplements to protect my brain. APOe3/4 gives me a little more peace and the ability to take my time as I learn and improve my health.

[NF52]

I am also a new member, less than a month. I unintentionally found out I was APOe3/4 recently. I am glad I know. For me it explains something that I knew was genetically wrong in my family with my mother and grandmother dying at 42 of heart attacks and me battling the markers for heart disease since I was 30 years old. I have 3 autoimmune disease, one of my brother's 5 and the other also has 3. We have some bad genes! I am 58 and female.

Knowing is changing a lot for me. I am biting this off one small piece at a time but more aggressively and actively working on the biomarkers I can change, my high tryglycerides, and A1C and fasting glucose just creeping out of the normal range...I am due for bloodwork in March with my regular, not functional medicine, doctor. I am right now preparing a short list of blood tests that I would like added to what is normally run for me, focusing on learning more about my IR and inflammation status. Again not going full ReCODE and asking for the whole list but my APOe4 status, if Bredesen is correct, points me in the direction of likely biomarkers that I need to understand and might be able to improve....APOe3/4 gives me a little more peace and the ability to take my time as I learn and improve my health.

Happy New Year, JudyH!

I am so glad to hear that as a new member (and unintentional ApoE 3/4 "student") you are both glad to know your status, "working on the biomarkers" you can change, and feeling peace and the ability to take your time to learn and improve your health. As someone who is ApoE 4/4, and edging up to 67, with a maternal grandmother who died of a stroke at 42 and a dad who died of cardiac arrest of 67, I share your belief that we can learn from our our parents' and grandparents' experiences and treasure the chance to extend our own health-span and life-span. (And I also agree with an earlier post of yours that noted Stavia's approval of dark chocolate--always good to know that a little dark chocolate can make the journey pleasurable!)
Here is Stavia's list of biomarkers for possible testing. Hope this helps, and that your insurance company will support your efforts to stay in great shape!
biomarkers

[JudyH]

Thank you! That list is helpful. I like Stavia's common sense approach as I read and research on here. For example, in the bloodwork I do have my A/G ratio was just short and my Albumin is a bit under Bredesen's recommendation. I read her opinion on the value of this biomarker and thought to myself that is probably not an important one for me to focus on in the big picture.

I am working my way up the dark chocolate tree. Started at 60% and am up to 72% and enjoying my afternoon treat of one square. Passed on the chocolate cupcakes for my granddaughter's second birthday yesterday and it wasn't even that hard!!

[Fiver]

Naturally high HDL has traditionally been considered a good thing. A cardiologist could do blood work to tease out the types and sizes of your lipoprotein particles (HDL, LDL, vLDL, etc.) to reveal the details. High LDL or total cholesterol, on the other hand, can be associated with apoe4 genotype. But it can also can be associated with many other things as well - others genes, diet, lifestyle, etc. I'm not aware of any way to reliably predict apoe status using biomarkers alone. My guess - and it's just a guess - is that the best predictor of apoe status would be family history of AD and/or CVD....and I'd guess it wouldn't be a super reliable predictor.

Anyone else have a feeling about this?

[frankiesfriend]

Thank you everyone for your insight and for sharing your personal experiences. My mother was only five years older than I am right now when she was diagnosed with AD. She probably had mixed dementia and suffered terribly from delusions and emotional turmoil. Watching this was heartrending, and the question of my own risk provides a good amount of anxiety of late. I have decided to get the genetic testing as I am the kind of person who would rather know bad news than to worry about the unknown and imagine what is to come. In the last eight or so years I have become extremely careful with my diet, exercise, supplementation, social involvements, avoidance of toxins where possible, but I can't change the past when I was eating the typical American poor diet and worked a job in which I was occasionally exposed to chemicals. Now my plan is to learn as much as I can to protect my brain from further harm. I know that stress is one issue of concern...that will be a tough one for me. I am currently "treating" myself with sunlight, exercise, meditation, and chocolate, and reminding myself to be grateful. So right now, I am grateful for this supportive and knowledgeable community. Thank you!

[Girlmom]

I just received my 23andme results and I have a question that I’ve tried to research online and in the forum. Both my husband and I (51) test positive for 1 apoe 4 variant. 23andme does not test for apoe2 or 3 and actually states that these alleles do not correlate with an increased risk of LOAD. I understajd 2 has a decreased risk and I thought 3 didn’t matter. I see many people on this board stating 3/4 and referencing 23andme. If we were only tested on apoe4 and have one variant then what are we ?/4 ? I’m confused. My understanding is that my husband probably has less risk than I do with one 4 variant, but still an elevated risk. And my risk is not as unfortunate as a 4/4, but still elevated. Anyway, can you explain why we would need to test for the 2 and 3 alleles? I can understand everyone who has a disturbing and upsetting response with receiving the test results.

[TheresaB]

Actually 23andme should have tested for ApoE2 and 3, just with reference to LOAD the correlation is reduced and so I'm guessing they don't find the need to report on it.

If you go to our wiki under "If you want to check your E4 status" it says:

You can also look at the raw genetic data from a company such as 23andMe and look up your results for rs429358 and rs7412. These are referred to as SNPs, which represent variations in your DNA. Once you look up your values for these SNPs, go to this page at snpedia to help you convert the results into your APOE status.

You will need to go to the wiki for the link to snpedia.

You can also run your 23andme data through https://promethease.com/ and get a genetic report, cost is $12.