This three
minute video introduces the Alzheimer's LifePlan, and an invitation to participate in the
ending of Alzheimer's disease as have known it.
Now you
and your loved ones can -
establish a baseline of memory fitness while they are
healthy, open a dialogue with your doctors, and launch a
vigil - testing memory fitness going forward for early
cognitive health impairment.
(2009
Update) My parents (91/90) are alive as well - living
independently in a comfortable assisted living community. On
mom's 91st birthday, she scored a 100% on a 26 image memory
fitness test - and retired as the poster girl of the EATF
2012 project. Dad took his last memory fitness test on his
89th birthday - scoring 100% on his normal 16 image test. He
doesn't like having anything to do with computers - so he
does daily mental exercises. The EATF2012 has rolled all of
its operations into the
Alzheimer's
LifePlan - promoting free memory fitness testing to
online citizens.
(2006
Update) My parents (88/87) are living with Alzheimer's -
meaning they have adopted the lifestyle habits that Dr. J.
Wesson Ashford prescribes - and they have outlived all other
family members (statistically people over 85 have a 50%
chance of developing the disease - and my parents remain in
the 50% with no evidence of the disease developing), and longer than any of their
ancestors (many of whom passed with dementia or Alzheimer's). My
parents were also the first people over 80 years of age to
participate in the Alzheimer's LifePlan personal memory
fitness testing and vital fitness sign record keeping
program.
The majority
of Alzheimer's cases can be prevented and significant
breakthroughs have all ready occurred - research is closing
in on effective treatments while you are reading this.
There
isn't a cure, yet. But there are reasons to hope in the next
three to five years - we'll end Alzheimer's as we know it by the end of 2012.
Nothing to buy, to gain access to the information,
memory testing, or research communities connected with the
Alzheimer's LifePlan
and the Memory
Fitness Testing Center. There are however two very valuable
services offered that make if much easier for you to manage
your personal Alzheimer's Prevention program, and, always an
invitation for you to contribute to the
Dr. J. Wesson Asford's -
Medafile.com work being done in clinical memory
assessment.
Let's get started,
Alzheimer's is preventable.
Memory testing can identify
the earliest onset of the disease process.
FDA approved drugs can slow
the disease process - if they are administered in early Alzheimer's disease
stages.
Inexpensive Memory
Fitness Testing can effectively illustrate an individual Short-Term Memory
and Learning capacity - making it possible for an individual's baseline
(normal) memory fitness rating to be monitored.
Expensive brain imaging can monitor
healthy brains as well as document disease development or response to treatment, even produce videos.
The Alzheimer's Vaccine, is
in clinical trials, has all ready provided evidence that the disease process
can be reversed - growing a new science - Immunotherapy.
The Alzheimer's LifePlan
offers the population free access to up-to-date information and research
programs, free memory fitness testing, participation within an online community to usher in the end of Alzheimer's
in 2012.
To support the truth behind
these statements - you will find detailed information, interviews, video
programs, articles and Neurological research data/events/seminaries the
results of my personal quest to help my parents prevent their developing of
Alzheimer's disease within this web page and those linked to it.
This web page is not aimed at
teasing you with "cures" - there aren't any for Alzheimer's. Neither is this web
page trying to sell you anything except knowledge and personal Alzheimer's
prevention. If you want to establish your personal Alzheimer's Prevention memory
fitness and vital sign record management account - after you have read this page
and understand the value of these things - click on the "JOIN" buttons in the
left hand margin or the "By Now" button at the end (bottom) of this page. There
will be a $10 a year membership charge and this will keep you account active
through 2012.
This web page is a story with two
primary story lines. The first line follows my family and the effects
Alzheimer's has had on past generations as well as my parent's. The second line
matches my parent's lives to the efforts of doctors, scientists, researchers,
technologists and care givers - whose collective efforts, make it possible for
the population to end Alzheimer's as we know it by the end of 2012.
I produced the entire web page, and
had the help of several individuals. If you read the complete presentation here,
you will meet the people who helped unfold the mysteries of Alzheimer's while
they helped write the ending chapters for the disease.
Even though I lived through the
telling of this story - I am still excited and often overwhelmed with pride. The
caliber of people I have had the pleasure to meet, produce communication for,
get to know and in several cases, become fast friends united in cause- are
second to none, and rank highest in my life experiences. The other special
reward for studying my parent's anti-Alzheimer's lifestyle was that I got to
assist them in calming their fears regarding the disease. You see both of my
parents are over 85, and that means half of their peers either have/had the
disease or will develop it in the near future. Neither of my parents have mild
cognitive impairment, and they test their memory fitness every ninety days. If
in the event they show the early stages of Alzheimer's, they will swiftly
implement their personal treatment strategies. In short, these lovely people who
have had dementia and Alzheimer's take their parents, siblings and friends -
know they have lived longer than any passing before - and don't have symptoms
now. This is peace of mind regarding Alzheimer's, and I wish it upon you and
your families.
You will come to respect and admire
them as well, and I thank you for taking to time to learn about the incredible
journeys they have endured for yours and our loved ones sake.
The Premise
If enough people adopt healthy
lifestyle habits, exercise and monitor their memory fitness, and develop
aggressive Alzheimer's treatment strategies with their doctors - we could
reduce the number of Alzheimer's cases 60-90% - and as new treatments are
developed - move towards the day that people live normally with Alzheimer's
disease.
Read as much of this web page
as you care to, follow my investigative reporting project that led me to the
leading Alzheimer's doctors, researchers, technologists and brain/memory
specialists - and hear their conclusion - you can reduce your chances of
ever developing Alzheimer's disease. You can also monitor your memory fitness
- watching for mild cognitive impairment - the early signature memory loss of
Alzheimer's.
Any individual at risk, should
attempt to diagnose mild cognitive impairment as early in the disease process
as possible - because, FDA approved treatments (drugs) slow the disease
process - prolonging the individual's memory fitness and cognitive health.
Reducing your chances of
developing the disease, and prolonging your memory fitness are important,
because Immunotherapy, the Alzheimer's Vaccine has produced the first evidence
that an inoculation can reverse the disease process. This isn't a cure, but it
is a major breakthrough and raises the hope that within three to five years
from now (2005) there will be effective treatments that at least prevent the
damage to the short term memory and learning centers of the brain from
developing.
I've researched all of this and
produced articles/audio/video reports so the experts can address you directly.
I've built the entire web page to assist you in helping older family members,
who may not be comfortable using a computer, actually enjoy testing their
memory as well as keeping track of their memory fitness and vital sign
records.
I've also connected the
Alzheimer's LifePlan project with the Neurological Disease Foundation's Memory
Assessment Program (MAP) - a critical research project that measures the
validity of memory testing in Alzheimer's disease diagnosis and treatment
response.
Nothing is sold here and you are encouraged to make full use of those
goods/services offered.
Where to begin? Right here.
Alzheimer's disease has
mystified and terrified the population for 100 years. Working together, we can
change that.
You can read a summary eBook
- Alzheimer's
Prevention - where the medical star of Memory Testing and Prevention,
Dr. J. Wesson Ashford, PhD., MD., shares the worth of over 25 years in
pursuit of ending Alzheimer's.
I'll show you how SGI
graphic brain scanning technology and the UCLA Neuroimaging School of
Medicine have joined forces and allowed the production of the first
animated film
of living brains being devastated by the Alzheimer's
disease process.
I'll take you to
Medafile.com, the site Dr. J. Wesson
Ashford PhD., MD., has offered information about prevention and research
supporting the validity of memory fitness testing as a diagnostic and
treatment response monitoring technology.
We'll train you so you can
take free memory fitness tests
- introducing you to a
memory fitness testing service ($10/year) that allows you to establish a
record of tests taken - creating your baseline or normal rating of brain's
ability to form recent memories. Any reduction in your memory capability is
a serious matter - and you should discuss further testing to determine what
the problem is - it may not be Alzheimer's.
I'll introduce you to
Dr. Dale Schenk,
PhD., the brilliant neuroscientist who developed the Alzheimer's Vaccine
- which has produced the first evidence the disease process can be reversed.
We'll invite you to freely
monitor the Alzheimer's LifePlan's progress in taking personal Alzheimer's
Prevention management services to the online population, radio and
television networks, community centers and Neurological Disease Foundation
research community activities.
I will also offer you a
Memory Fitness Testing Account - $10/year. Giving you:
Unlimited access to your
personal memory fitness testing center/record.
Unlimited access to the
news/archives/online events in which The Alzheimer's LifePlan
participates/produces.
Limited access to Dr.
J. Wesson Ashford's Medafile online consultation.
There are only two points where
you will have the option to make payment for something.
There is a memory testing
service - which offers you free memory fitness testing - and if you
choose, you can establish a personal memory fitness testing record system
($10.00/year). The value here is that your free test results are not stored in
your personal account - meaning your results are mixed in with any and all
visitors to the free testing site. You can of course enter the area when ever
you like, record your test results on your desktop or on paper, still
monitoring your normal memory fitness. Our goal is to assist you in monitoring
your memory fitness - the personal record system makes it easier and provides
additional access to Dr. Ashford's memory testing development group as well as
participation in future Neurological Disease Foundation research projects.
Members establish their
personal data accounts, where they have unlimited access to a version of Dr.
Ashford's clinical mild cognitive impairment screening memory testing
platform. There will be ample introduction to memory testing and the memory
fitness testing center, if you are anxious to go right to it - you can read the tutorial on
how to take your
free test here. Please note that the
public testing platform is identical to the $10/year service - the difference
is that the service allows you to establish an account with the testing center
- so the system holds you test results and can presents a graphic
representation of your baseline (history) of tests, all the data from each
test, and the ability to "throttle" the number of images, length of exposure,
sets of images taken in individual tests.
Today - Begin
Living With Alzheimer's disease......
Right now:
Researchers and doctors promote PREVENTION as
the best treatment.
You can test your short term memory and learning performance
capacity, and monitor your baseline memory fitness -
watching for loss of ability to form memory of recent
events.
Should you develop any reduction in memory, your doctors can
test for mild cognitive impairment (the early signature of
Alzheimer's disease).
There are
FDA approved drug treatments, which slow the disease
process - if they are administered properly and as early as
possible in the mild cognitive impairment stage of
disease progress.
Great progress has been made
in treatment development - The Alzheimer's Vaccine has
produced the first documented reversal of the disease
process in human clinical trials.
A number of clinical trials
in progress now, ranging from prevention treatment
evaluation, memory testing validation, treatment development
(pharmaceutical), and effective diagnostic methodology -
promise more effective treatments within 3-5 years.
Modern technology in brain
imaging can precisely monitor tissue health, disease
process, treatment response and recovery.
Summary:
Individuals can develop their personal Alzheimer's
management programs, where they adopt healthy lifestyle
habits (prevention), monitor for any memory disorder (memory
fitness testing), develop strategic/aggressive treatment
programs with their doctors, and live as active a
physical/mental live as they can.
That's
what the Alzheimer's LifePlan will empower you to do.
Enter the Chronological History of the Alzheimer's LifePlan
The Family . . .
Both sides of my family has
been ravaged
by dementia and Alzheimer's. In the early days of my Alzheimer's research
and continuing to this day, senior members of both sides of the family are institutionalized with the disease. This short
film contains 8mm footage that I shoot in my boyhood, many of these
ancestors fell to Alzheimer's.
The Alzheimer's disease
process is still not completely understood, and prior to 2000, the diagnosis of
the disease was difficult and often inaccurate. People just developed
forgetfulness, accelerated senility, dementia, or the disease process went
undiagnosed all together. The
disease consistently robbed individuals of a dignified death.
2000 Met the
Parents.....
The strongest motive behind the
Alzheimer's LifePlan was to understand how my parents could reduce their chances
of developing Alzheimer's disease. My parents were over 80 years old
(2000) when they expressed concern for each others memory fitness. Both of my
parents have lost parents and siblings to Alzheimer's disease, and they were
living in fear.
Today (2005) they are 87 (Mom)
and 86 (Dad), both have lived longer than any other family member - and neither
of them have any signs of mild cognitive impairment - the early signature memory
loss pattern in the Alzheimer's disease process.
The primary reason I have
presented this web page to you, is to empower you to make the same kind of
statement regarding your personal Alzheimer's situation. Let me share with you
how I developed the Alzheimer's LifePlan, and how you can greatly reduce your
chances of developing the disease process. I offer you free testing of your
memory fitness, and the ability to monitor research and treatment development.
There isn't a cure yet - but you can adopt effective treatments and with
your doctors can:
Increase your chances of
preventing Alzheimer's.
Test your short term memory
and learning performance capacity establishing a baseline record.
Screen for mild cognitive
impairment and identify the disease process at an early stage.
At early stages - speed FDA
approved drugs that slow the disease process.
Monitor and track treatment
response.
Make effective treatments
available as these are FDA approved.
For 100 years, Alzheimer's was
not treatable. Today, prevention is recognized as the best treatment.
For 100 years, Alzheimer's was
diagnosed at autopsy. Today, memory testing and brain imaging provide vivid -
allowing researchers and doctors. Dr. Ashford reported to the American
Psychiatric Association's 2003 Annual Convention that his clinical memory
testing platform was showing high probability of early detection of the mild
cognitive impairment condition - perhaps five to eight years prior to the memory
loss being apparent to family members. That is significant when you consider:
Anyone adopting healthy
lifestyles like those Dr. Ashford suggests could slow, alter or reverse the
slow the disease progress.
The FDA inhibitor drug
treatments slow the disease progress.
If those people who will
develop Alzheimer's in the next three to five years could prolong their memory
fitness for three years - one third of the $125 billion expense of the disease
could be saved.
If people slow or even arrest
the disease process in the pre-mild cognitive impairment stages - they could
prevent the disease from ever destroying their memory centers, thus living
with Alzheimer's.
For 100 years, Alzheimer's was
thought to be transferred within genetics - it is but not to the extent once
feared. Doctors now know that less than 5% of the population carries the genetic
condition of Alzheimer's disease. There are a number of these individuals being
studied right now - trying to determine if the onset of their Alzheimer's
disease process can be prevented. It is too early to tell, but several of these
individuals are living longer then their ancestors. These individuals are also
involved in clinical trials to see if the approved FDA treatments can slow or
prevent the mild cognitive impairment area of the disease to develop.
Since 2000, I have been on a
personal quest to understand the Alzheimer's disease process, learn how to test
short term memory fitness (the ability for an individual to form memories from
recent events - like what they had for breakfast), produce up-to-the-minute
video programs containing interviews with the leading doctors, researchers,
brain imaging technologists, and treatment developers.
Ironically, my work in television
made it possible for me to pioneer Internet Broadcasting - that activity put me
in contact with the leading eCommerce and enterprise (online community/business
operations) owners. I will be giving you more details later - but Dr. Ted
Langley, PhD., the lead scientist/developer of the Bowles/Langley alertness and
memory fitness testing platform, introduced me to Dr. J. Wesson Ashford. Dr.
Ashford agreed to interview my parents and review their lifestyle habits. This
activity set the stage for the End Alzheimer's 2012 Task Force.
The Family 2002
In 2002, the End Alzheimer's
2012 Task Force had finished construction what is now the Alzheimer's
LifePlan. My parents were the first "poster kids" of the LifePlan and by the
time this video was produced - understood how their lifestyle habits were in
large part responsible for them being as clear of mild cognitive impairment.
The video picks up where the 1953-2000 video left off. Presenting the
beginning of their ten year Alzheimer's LifePlan program.
I'm hoping that many of you
are like myself, concerned about their parents and in a position to assist
them in developing their personal; Alzheimer's prevention programs. If your
parents are like mine - they wanted nothing to do with the Internet, or
computers, much less than becoming active in an online interactive
community!
I promise not to put your
parents in the limelight, without their permission.
Alzheimer's Research
from Microscope to 3D Imaging
Few people
realize that Dr. Alzheimer in 1906, relied upon a
technological marvel of his day - the microscope - to
confirm there were plaques and tangles causing devastation
to the learning centers of disease patients. He (Dr.
Alzheimer), developed memory tests for a series of patients
that evidenced accelerated senility - later at autopsy (with
the microscope) he documented that memory reduction had
occurred in a sequential manner - and the plaques and
tangles were in the exact physical location of the short
term memory and learning functions were centered.
Dr. Alzheimer
was only able to confirm his theory at autopsy and with the
microscope. In the 100 years that followed, legions of
researchers, scientists, doctors and technologist have
continued to monitor the Alzheimer's disease process - and
the majority of this research has centered upon the very
same substances that Dr. Alzheimer's identified. There is a
protein based compound in all healthy brains - a beta
amyloid - that is the primary compound of the Alzheimer's
process plaque.
In the 100 years
since Dr. Alzheimer's correct diagnosis of the disease - we
now know that the disease process is extremely complex, has
many chemical mechanics running in a number of places. But,
the one clear indicator that remains, and drives the most
apparent symptom of the disease process is the excessive
levels of plaque in the short term memory centers - those
areas that allow an individual to form recent memories.
There have
recently been tremendous progress in Alzheimer's research.
Remember that doctors, scientists and medical researchers
have been studying the brain, genetics, memory and cognitive
reasoning/learning functions, body/disease chemistry, and
treatment development and monitoring for response to
treatment - for a hundred years.
In the 1990's,
several large technology companies allocated research
development towards better brain imaging. In regards to
Alzheimer's, this effort promised doctors and researchers
physical proof and images of the disease process in living
brains. The progress made here literally presents a picture
of the brain's condition at precise points of time in the
disease process. Doctors can "image" the consistent pattern
of mild cognitive impairment all the way through to advanced
stages (brain damage) of the disease.
Dr.
Paul Thompson, PhD. UCLA Neuroimaging Lab
We'll be talking more about
the importance of brain imaging later, but I wanted to introduce Dr. Paul
Thompson, PhD. to you - and let him explain how the powerful SGI Super
Computers provide valuable imaging of the disease process, and how these
images will play a vital role in ending Alzheimer's.
For a complete
transcript of my visit with Dr. Thompson,
click here.
Brain Imaging and the Role It Plays In
Ending Alzheimer's
Most of Alzheimer's research has been conducted by individual doctors, or
medical researchers - not only working in isolation, but often working with
little or no funding.
When a researchers needs to
"see" how or if a brain is diseased or responding to a treatment - there is
a need for some form of physical evidence. Just as Dr. Alzheimer's used the
microscope in 1906 to document the damages caused by the disease process-
today's scientists and doctors can use powerful imaging technology to view
three dimensional living brains - making it possible to monitor the disease
process as well as identify treatment response in "real" time.
As I was not
entrenched in any medical research camp - I approached
individual camps to see how their specific progress matched
up. When I visited Dr. Thompson, living brain imaging was
available, expensive, and yet to be a common medical clinic
practice.
Dr. Thompson
observed that great progress was now possible at the
research center level - but there remained a great void
between individuals in the population, the doctors in
clinics, and the research labs developing treatments. He was
one of the first researchers I met with that actually put
the progress being made into perspective - looking at how
all the disciplines of treatment development would form some
sort of interactive community - where those individuals at
the highest risk could be assisted in developing personal
Alzheimer's Prevention programs, monitoring their individual
physical and mental. health, gain as early a detection of
the disease process developing, and rapidly employ as an
aggressive treatment program as doctor's were able to
deliver.
It makes sense.
If members of the population can see what Alzheimer's is,
and they are told how they can prevent it or at the very
least reduce their chances of developing the disease - the
number of cases developing would decline.
Alzheimer's The Movie
Dr. Alzheimer would have been
amazed if he could see this short animated film - created from brain images
of living/diseased Alzheimer's patients - all participating in a study that
imaged the group's brains over a two year period.
The animated film shows the
path of destruction the disease from mild cognitive impairment to complete
withering of the brain - documenting the complete process.
This kind of physical
monitoring of living brains - is proving itself invaluable - as researchers
now have methods to accurately diagnosis the disease process, identify the
precise condition of the diseased brain, monitor for response to treatments
and/or track recovery. The days of speculation or waiting until autopsy to
confirm theories if over - today feedback is vivid and accurate.
The Path Towards
Alzheimer's Awareness - The Alzheimer's Association
For decades, the
Alzheimer's Association has provided support, information,
local programs, care giver support, and raised more funds
for Alzheimer's related research than any other private
organization. To say the association is an institution is an
understatement.
My search for
information and historical data about Alzheimer's took me to
the Northern California/Nevada Alzheimer's Association in
Mountain View, California. Since 1987 Bill Fisher has headed
up organization of all concerned about Alzheimer's in this
region. He has seen the complete turn over of doctors and
research professionals who early on, thought it was
pointless to even diagnose the Alzheimer's disease condition
- for fear it would just agitate people.
Today, Bill
fisher works with the leading team of doctors, including Dr.
J. Wesson Ashford, to take the good news about Alzheimer's
detection and treatment development to the people of his
area.
The Alzheimer's Association Leads Funding
For Alzheimer's Awareness/Research Projects
Like the millions before me that
were dumbfounded about Alzheimer's - I sought out the Northern
California/Nevada Alzheimer's Association.
I met with Mr. Bill Fisher,
CEO of the Northern California/Nevada Alzheimer's Association, and heard
first hand what his group is doing to promote Alzheimer's awareness and
prevention.
Traditionally, the
association has provided support groups, information, some organized
community and patient/care giving programs - when there was nothing else.
The Alzheimer's Nation
and Evolution of Alzheimer's Prevention
In 2000, the
global Alzheimer's research community agreed that the
majority of Alzheimer's cases were preventable. There is a
significant amount of evidence (accumulated from research
projects for other diseases) that an individual adopting
healthy lifestyle habits can greatly reduce their chances of
developing the Alzheimer's disease process.
Upon closer
examination of the evidence, people will be quick to see
that the individual should be reducing their chances of
developing any disease - they make sense.
Since 1985, Dr
J. Wesson Ashford has promoted that Alzheimer's is
preventable, and he maintains a web page promoting his "Top
10 Treatments" at
www.medafile.com. I encourage you to review Dr.
Ashford's web page - as he is one of the leading influences
in public awareness of the memory testing, diagnostic, and
treatment response monitoring section of the neuroscience
industry.
Dr. Ashford's
research promotes that lifestyle habits can greatly reduce
an individual's chances of developing the AD process. He
point out that researchers are now debating the degree of
reduction a lifestyle of prevention can produce. The debate
seems to settle on somewhere between 60% to 90%! I say a 10%
reduction is enough to save $11 Billion dollars a year and
250,000 lives in America.
Alzheimer's has
robbed me of family members, and as I write this my last
remaining Aunt is in a Nursing home, depleted of the money
my Uncle and she worked so hard to accumulate, in advanced
stages of Alzheimer's.
When my parents
turned 80, that was 1998, I had a talk with my mother. Mom
was frightened that she would develop Alzheimer's (her
mother had passed with Alzheimer's at the age of 81), and
she was afraid that Dad already had the early memory loss
problems (Dad's father passed with Alzheimer's at the age of
79). Mom didn't know what to do, even after talking with her
doctors about dementia and Alzheimer's disease. There was
little I could do or say to ease her concern.
Alzheimer's Prevention Program and Dr.
Ashford's Medafile
Hearing Dr.
Ashford Speak of His Personal Alzheimer's Prevention
Plan....
Many
doctors follow rigid physical/mental fitness programs,
take vitamins and supplements, and frequently consult
with their peers regarding Alzheimer's prevention.
Here, Dr.
Ashford comments about the events in his career that led
him to pursue better clinical understandings of the
disease as well as the development of accurate memory
assessment and memory fitness monitoring programs.
In 1985, Dr. J.
Wesson Ashford, through what has now become
Medafile, began
promoting lifestyle and self administered treatments that
would greatly reduce an individual's chances of developing
the Alzheimer's disease.
Dr. Ashford and
much of his work in memory testing is highlighted throughout
the Alzheimer's LifePlan spaces. This is due primarily to
the role memory testing plays in monitoring your memory
fitness - on the watch for mild cognitive impairment.
But when I
started studying Alzheimer's, I instinctively sought out
doctors, researchers, care givers and treatment development
scientists - who promoted prevention.
Dr. Ashford has
been consistent over the years to promote what he calls his
"Top Ten" treatments. These change as time goes by,
primarily in response to new findings.
Below, is the
condensed version of Dr. Ashford's current top ten
treatments as they appear at Medafile:
THE TOP TEN TREATMENTS
(under development)
FOR PREVENTING ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
J. Wesson Ashford, M.D., Ph.D. (April, 2005)
Take your blood pressure
regularly and be sure that the systolic pressure is
always less than 130.
Watch your cholesterol; if
your cholesterol is elevated (above 200), talk to
your clinician about appropriate treatment. Consider
“statin” medications and be sure your cholesterol is
fully controlled. Increase your dietary intake of
omega-3-fatty acids (eat deep-sea finned fish at
least 3 times per week) and nuts (especially
almonds).
Exercise your body, mind, and
spirit regularly. Physical exercise best 10-30 mins
after each meal for 10-30 minutes, 3 times per day.
Do aerobic and strengthening exercises. Maximize
your education. If you have spare time, do mental
puzzles (like crossword puzzles). Stay active with
your friends and in your community.
Physically protect your
brain. Wear your car seat-belt. Wear a helmet when
you are riding a bicycle or participating in any
activity where you might hit your head. Work to
decrease your fall risk through physical exercise,
making your environment safe.
Decrease your risk of type II
diabetes. Monitor your fasting blood sugar yearly.
Keep your BMI (Basal Metabolic Index) in the optimal
range (19-25):
-------- BMI = 703 * weight (pounds) / height
(inches) squared --------
To optimize your BMI, control your food intake and
exercise. If you have diabetes, make sure that your
blood sugar is optimally controlled.
Consult your clinician about
your pains (treat arthritis with ibuprofen,
sulindac, or indomethacin).
Take your vitamins daily
(folate - 400mcg, B12 - 25mcg, C - 250 mg, and E -
200iu's). Check with your clinician yearly to be
sure your homocysteine levels are not high and you
have no signs of B12 deficiency
Discuss sex-hormone
replacement therapy with your clinician (such
therapy is not currently recommended for Alzheimer
prevention, but may be used depending on
circumstances).
If you have difficulty
getting to sleep, consider trying 3 - 6 milligrams
of melatonin at bedtime.
Monitor your memory
regularly. Be sure the people around you are not
concerned about your memory. If you think that you
have significant difficulty with your memory, talk
to your clinician about further evaluation. Consider
therapy with cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine.
for discussion, see: Willet
WC, Stampfer MJ, What vitamins should I be taking,
Doctor, NEJM, 345, 1819 (2001)
Take at the morning meals:
Vitamin E 200 iu's
Vitamin C 250 mg
Multi-vitamin (with folate 400 mcg and no iron)
If approved by your clinician:
1 enteric coated baby aspirin each day.
DIETARY RECOMMENDATIONS
OPTIMIZE:
Fruits - citrus, blue berries
Vegetables - green, leafy
Fish - deep sea, finned, oily, at least 3x/week
Nuts - especially almonds, chocolate
MINIMIZE:
Animal products - Red meat (more than once per
week), Dairy.
Did you notice # 10 ?
Monitor your memory
regularly. Be sure the people around you are not
concerned about your memory. If you think that you have
significant difficulty with your memory, talk to your
clinician about further evaluation. Consider therapy with
cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine.
When I read that - it was
a bombshell - because it provided the individual an
opportunity to monitor their personal memory fitness -
identify if any memory reduction (ability to form recent
memories) was occurring - and take action if there was any
indication the disease process was taking hold.
We will soon be reviewing
Dr. Ashford's memory fitness testing research, introducing
you to an easy way to take a personal memory test. The test
will be free and is actually enjoyable - programmed so you
can assist older family members who may not want to learn
how to use your computer.
What Dr. Ashford's Top
Ten Treatment meant to the Alzheimer's LifePlan
As you will
recall, I started my Alzheimer's research, to see how my
parents could prevent getting Alzheimer's. My parents were
moving into their 80's as I started researching into
Alzheimer's. The fact that my parent's chances of developing
the disease (statistically) was over 40% (at 80) and would
start exponentially climbing higher than 50% (after 85) - to
me, meant that half of the aging population was doing
something differently than the other half - the half that
was getting the disease at the 85 years of age marker.
I hope that made
sense to you?
Let me see if I
can say it in simple terms....
Several of my
parent's parents, brothers, sisters and friends had dementia
or Alzheimer's disease and passed at a younger age than my
parents had all ready reached.
Researchers and
scientists, and doctors like Dr. Ashford, were promoting
that environmental and lifestyle habits played an important
role in an individual's personal Alzheimer's disease process
development.
When I came
across Dr. Ashford's Top Ten Treatments, I decided to
compare my parent's lifestyle habits to the "treatments" Dr.
Ashford had described. I found that my parents were living a
lifestyle very close to what Dr. Ashford had recommended.
Setting the Stage for
an effective personal Alzheimer's Prevention Program
Living a
lifestyle like the the one that Dr. Ashford prescribed, my
parents appeared to be on an "anti-Alzheimer's" drive. But
how could I determine that factually? It would be one thing
to say their apparent physical health was proof they were
protecting themselves from all disease - including
Alzheimer's - but so many people institutionalized in
Nursing Homes are physically just as healthy as my parents
(at least in the early and middle stages of AD).
But, the logic
was straightforward. People aging well, with strong physical
fitness, healthy diets, low stress and low blood pressure,
and higher education (with continued learning) - develop
fewer cases of Alzheimer's and live longer lives than those
who do not integrate these things into their lifestyles.
So, the concept
was developed that my parents would become the "poster kids"
for the first Personal Alzheimer's Prevention Program and
that program would be developed into a public service to
assist the population in preventing their personal cases of
Alzheimer's from developing.
It appeared my
parents had developed a lifestyle very similar to that which
Dr. Ashford prescribed to reduce their chances of developing
Alzheimer's disease. When I asked Dr. Ashford about this, he
stated that there was a lack of research in this specific
area - meaning that most information supporting prevention
of Alzheimer's came about as a side effect of other
research. For instance, in a sleep disorder research
project- a group of senior citizens was given Melatonin to
assist in them getting eight hours of sleep a night. It
turned out that follow-up research on these seniors
indicated that they developed 30% less Alzheimer's cases
than their general population group. It is really a
significant factor, but not backed by substantial or
dedicated research efforts.
Being a self
motivated business organizer, I felt compelled to launch a
task force to initiate Alzheimer's Prevention research.
The End Alzheimer's
2012 Task Force
This early video press release...marked the beginning
of the Alzheimer's LifePlan program
Everyone
involved in the Alzheimer's LifePlan, were first
introduced to one another in an online community - the
End Alzheimer's 2012 Task Force.
Through
a series of weekly meetings membership grew as did the
plan to distribute up-to-the-minute Alzheimer's news/information
to the population, promote free memory fitness
testing, organize an online research project - which
would feed the Neurological Disease Foundation's
research efforts.
In the early
days of organization, the task force spent a fair amount of
time, reviewing the findings of each participant, then
searching online for any similar activities. Universally,
there was a real shortage of researchers working on this
problem.
Mining into the
research community deeper, we found that those individuals
working on brain imaging, memory testing, diet/lifestyle
treatment (prevention), pharmaceutical and treatment
technologies - were operating few and far between the
industry.
In 2002, the
task force had completed building what is now the
Alzheimer's LifePlan Memory Fitness Testing Center and was
ready to "go public" with a focus group phase of prevention
promotion.
Let's revisit
the Memory Testing areas - so you'll know how to test your
memory, or that of someone you care about.
The Focus Turns To
Prevention
Dr. Ashford
tells of early observations that motivated him as a young
doctor. As a young doctor, he observed the devastating Alzheimer's disease
process.
He is now a leader in the
memory testing and memory disorder diagnostic industry - an activist, freely
promoting memory fitness records as vital sign medical records - knowing
such monitoring of memory fitness would provide better early detection of
Alzheimer's.
Dr. Ashford predicts that as
many as 100,000 individuals in the San Francisco Bay area alone, all ready
have Alzheimer's - and for the most part, these individual cases will not be
detected until the disease process is well into the mild cognitive
impairment stages. This costs the individuals valuable time of health as
well as the most advantageous time to administer pharmaceutical treatments
that may slow the onset of mild cognitive impairment stages.
Essential to
Ending Alzheimer's is the public's awareness of:
Memory Fitness Testing
Researchers
suggest that over half of the Alzheimer's cases go
undetected through the early mild cognitive impairment
stages. This is costing America and the families of
Alzheimer's disease billions of dollars each year as well as
tragic loss of quality living.
This is tragic
and doesn't have to continue. Healthy individuals can easily
test their memories, and over time create a record of their
brain's ability to form recent memories - successfully
recalling them when tested. It turns out that the
brain is our most resilient organ - and it has an almost
endless capacity for learning. But, if you don't use it -
you'll lose it!
NOTE: If you get
nothing else from this web page. Please visit our memory
testing center, read the tutorials there and take the free
memory fitness tests. When you log-in to the testing center
- use
Dr. Ashford presents practical memory
testing as an Alzheimer's prevention tool.
With the FDA approved drug
treatments being most effective at slowing the disease process - in the mild
cognitive impairment stages of the Alzheimer's - isn't it essential that
individual's establish their normal memory fitness and watch for any
reduction in their ability to form recent memories?
This video will introduce you
to the memory fitness testing center - where you can test your memory
fitness for free - or gain your personal record account for $10/year; the
test shown here is also similar to the personal memory fitness test used in
the Alzheimer's LifePlan Membership accounts ($50/one time) where your vital
signs, prevention program objectives, memory fitness testing results, and
participation in online community activities are recorded.
The Role of Prevention Is Defined
Dr. Ashford, holds the unique
position of understanding the memory fitness of individuals, and how the
early stages of Alzheimer's disease effect the memory fitness - prior to the
mild cognitive impairment stages develop.
His concept and hope is that
individuals can maintain a record of their memory fitness, establishing a
baseline of their "normal" ability to form recent memories - and monitor
this memory fitness level for any reduction in their learning capacity.
Meeting Dr. Ted Langley and Taking Dr. Ashford's
Testing Platform To the Public
In 2000, I helped produce the live satellite
coverage of the WYSIWYG Film festival, from San Francisco. Working on the crew
was a very bright individual lending a hand in building the custom lighting
system I had designed. This individual turned out to be Dr. Ted Langley, PhD in
Neurophysiology. Ted overheard me talking about the Internet Broadcasting
Network and several of the online web page networks I manage. He asked for an
audience and when we got together, he introduced me to his partner, Henry
Bowles, together the principals of
Bowles-Langley Technology.
In our first meeting, Ted and Henry showed me
the Alertness Testing device that they had received a patent on. They wanted to
review how testing people's alertness and/or ability to operate heavy equipment
or work long shifts could be monitored through an online service - which is one
of the strong technologies of the Internet Broadcasting Association. I really
felt that the testing could be conducted over the Internet, but I felt it would
be a "hard" sell and probably not offer a real advantage over on-site computer
based testing centers.
In discussion of their basic testing
technology, they mentioned that they had developed an effective short-term
memory and learning performance testing platform with Dr. J. Wesson Ashford -
and they thought that test could be an effective screening platform for mild
cognitive impairment - the early signature of Alzheimer's disease.
Ted Langley, PhD (left) and Henry Bowles from
Bowles-Langley Technology
Under the direction of Henry Bowles, the group has come up
with some innovative ways to evaluate shift worker's alertness, or rate the
ability of an individual to function while on the job. This is very valuable
in security, defense, and dangerous equipment operations. When you look at
the alertness testing apparatus - it is an apparent solution - looking for
an application.
In one of our early meetings,
Ted and Henry showed me a computer based short-term memory and learning
capacity test. That test has changed my life. Seated at my computer, within
a minute, I was captivated and drawn into a visual image matching game -
then it was over. I scored 65%, because I didn't follow instructions.
I took the test again. Wait!
Did I see that image in the last test or this one? Whew! I scored 100%. Then
Ted asked me to take the test again - only this time we would throttle up
the number of images from 26 to 40! After taking the test a half a dozen
times, Ted and Henry then showed me the "My History" area - and there is
was, my baseline record of memory fitness. Neat! Simple. But, I didn't see
how it could be an industry.
Enter Dr. Ashford.....
Technology has a way of evolving all by itself -
but, technology in the hands of those who need it to evolve - moves it
in new and accelerated directions. Ted and Henry collaborated with Dr.
Wesson Ashford, MD, Ph.D. Dr. Ashford has a long history with memory
testing and perhaps more one-on-one experience with patients suffering
from dementia and Alzheimer's disease then most memory assessment
specialists.
The trio made significant improvements to the methodology of testing,
results compilation, storage and reporting of the original BLT test. The
results - the BLT/A Short-Term memory and learning performance test
platform.
Enter Mr.
Peck.....
Some time went by and the iBHEALTH.net SVP of Business Development,
Ron C. Peck made a presentation to me regarding the current status of
doctors using the Internet for electronic medical records (EMR) and how
one of our network sponsors, NovaSoft, had successfully developed a
HIPAA compliant electronic medical record management service (online)
for the medical industry - could this not be applied to the BLT-A
Short-term memory and learning performance testing platform?
The general consensus was that it could - and work was begun on
the programming required for such a system. Presently, the clinical
treatment support and networked research project short-term meaning and
performance tracking services are available to the research/care-giving
communities.
Enter Mr.
Tim Galligan.....
By then we had all ready built an online BLT/A testing platform as
a subscription service. Tim Galligan, and excellent webmaster and
Cognitive Engineer, developed the specifications of a short term memory
and learning performance center that could serve the population. The
test was constructed from day one to be the "first-to-market", meaning
this version wasn't scientific but the foundation of the testing system
could be expanded and customized to meet the needs of researchers who
would join us later.
Enter Mr. Geoffrey Kennedy.....
Shortly after Tim
Galligan had programmed the population version of the testing center, it
became apparent the entire platform needed tutorials, public information
and reference materials - to aid in the promotion of memory testing. Mr.
Geoffrey Kennedy, was placed in charge of making the original Memory
Fitness Testing Center
spaces. Geoffrey has also taken over re-programming of all the
clinical/professional versions of the test which must be on a JAVA
platform and maintain high security and reliability to meet HIPAA
regulations.
Calling Upon a Founding Sponsor, Re-Enter Mr. Mason Warner....
Back in 1999, when the Internet Broadcasting Association
-iBA,
was producing NAB 2000 and IBC 2000 Global Internet Broadcasting
Demonstrations - Novasoft Systems donated several thousand dollars
worth of server space and some web streaming capacity. Mason Warner,
the Founder of Novasoft had shown me robust database enterprise
backrooms that he had built and operated for clients. One of these was
a network that connected a series of medical offices and occupational
medicine clinics together. As, the test team at BLT provided
specification for the population based testing platform - Novasoft
provided code security and some architectural guidelines - resulting
in the memory test results being compatible with all of the Novasoft
data management programs. In short form - this made the test platform
secure, very robust and scalable - meaning it could handle a small
number of participants and quickly grow to handling larger groups on
demand.
The
testing platform was also constructed to fit into the
iBHealth/Novasoft Electronic Medical Record Management system - the
thought being that clinics and doctors could eventually integrate the
Personal Memory Fitness/Baseline Record in with the patient's HIPAA
compliant medical record management service - both being online
services. So we looked at the potentials of integration - basically
creating the potential for an Internet Broadcasting Network that would
be dedicated to supporting individuals in the pursuit of testing their
memory fitness as well as providing clinical treatment support
functions.
From Internet Broadcasting to Memory Fitness.....
What started out being a an experiment in Internet Broadcasting
and e-commerce has turned into something quite unique. The Trustees of
the iBA and the sponsors who have made the End Alzheimer's 2012 Task
Force a reality - extend an invitation to all of the medical community
who can use the community, communication, business administration and
research/treatment support functions made possible by this
enterprise.
At the end of this three year process - everyone involved is
now anxious to see and hear the reaction of the population and the
medical/research communities. A network, dedicated to supporting the
population's personal self-healing endeavor - and integration of the
doctor's and care-givers support to the individual - is really
something of great potential. The same network has extreme potentials
to connect doctors with their patients and the research communities.
The electronic medical record management and the individual memory
testing and baseline record management systems alone can streamline
and revolutionize the way doctors and their staff deliver higher
levels of care with reduced operational expenses.
All of this work has been situated within the
Alzheimer's LifePlan and represents a collective enterprise
effort, the sponsors, affiliates and ultimately the members of the
population that visit the spaces will benefit, as public awareness and
professional standards are improved. You are welcome to be an observer, participant, sponsor, leader -
this is a network of common grounds. We believe most disease can be
prevented and promote that to the populations. We also believe that
talented genius is hard at work to remove those areas of mystery that
still surround disease. We are proud and happy to be one service that
can appraise the individual's memory fitness, present baseline and
points of reference for that individual's care givers to monitor, and
to the best of our abilities, end disease where ever possible.
Mase Warner masterminded and oversees
operations of the network's Electronic Medical Record
Management Program....
How Memory Disorder, Memory Testing
and Alzheimer's Detection Work Today?
The value of
being in a program, like the one presented above, is that
over time a record of your normal ability to form recent
memories can be established. The average performance level
can become your "baseline" of normal memory performance. Any
reduction in your ability to form short term memory suggests
there could be a serious problem. If repeatedly score lower
than your normal, you should consult your doctor. It isn't
necessarily Alzheimer's disease - as memory loss can be
caused by a wide range of things. But reduction of memory
fitness is a serious thing and not to be ignored.
Your Introduction To Memory Fitness
Testing
The primary goals of the
Alzheimer's LifePlan include an individual's personal memory fitness
monitoring. The operations can increase public awareness regarding memory,
memory disorders and the vital role memory testing plays in the early
diagnosis of serious disorders or disease. These activities all can play
a role in an individual's personal quest to live a healthy, disease free life.
They also add the strength of community and collaboration to the industry and
professionals who have built the memory testing industry and now offer
services to the medical/care giving environments.
The visitor will find direct
connection with the leaders of a dynamic community. It is inevitable that
memory fitness monitoring will become a standard if not required component of
the average person's medical record. There is no longer a question about the
importance of early cognitive function decrements and/or the reduction in
short-term memory and learning performance capacities that occur - prior to
more severe mental/physical disorders. As doctors become more and more
familiar with the available testing procedures - some inexpensive and
accessible to the online public - they should rely on these valuable tools in
making assessment or screening for early signs of mild cognitive impairment.
It is now known that reductions
in a person's ability to learn and remember recent events - that is the
short-term memory and learning performance capacity - occur before most
ailments. Indeed, fatigue and disruptive body chemistry shifts can cause them
also. In the case of degenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease - mild
cognitive impairment is the early signature and a critical time to detect the
disease.
Two testing services are
available directly through the Memory Fitness Testing community:
Personal Memory Fitness
programs allow individuals to establish their Baseline (normal) memory
fitness.
An essential
part of the brain's function - that of memory.
Every second of
our lives, our brain is working and administering control
over our minds and bodies. Stimulation requires processing.
Processing sometimes prompts the brain to generate
involuntary muscle responses/commands. Sometimes there is
confusion, then an answer or directive response. In the case
of a learned situation, a memory is formed.
The forming of a
recent memory, like how you got to this web page, is called
your short term memory and learning process. It turns out
that the brain wants to learn new things all the time. For
those who exercise this mental muscle - there doesn't seem
to be a limitation to what can be learned. Like a muscle -
the more you use it the higher your performance can be. This
doesn't seem to be reduced with aging either. So, the
concept of forgetfulness, disorientation, and memory loss
being part of getting "old" isn't really a truth in
life. It appears that "If you don't use it, you'll loose
it", is an accurate statement about an individual's senior
year memory fitness.
The Alzheimer's LifePlan Focus Groups
If you will recall, my
brother-in-law assisted my parents in them joining the Alzheimer's LifePlan
online community - which included their personal memory fitness/vital signs/ and
prevention program objective record keeping account.
When I realized that many seniors
where like my parents - having children or relations that could guide them
through the joining and account management stages, and that online computers are
popping up everywhere; I decided to find a community center that would allow me
the opportunity to run a focus group for Alzheimer's LifePlan Workshops.
It was a great pleasure, and the
group is still meeting after two years. A steady stream of new folks come to the
monthly meetings, and all the activity has given us ample feedback for design of
literature, individual Alzheimer's Prevention program management, and now a
dramatic opportunity to partake in serious research - ushering in the end of
Alzheimer's as we know it.
Reaching the Populations
The people that are at highest
risk - are often those who have the least amount of online/Internet or
computer usage skills.
While Seniors are rapidly
using the features of e-mail and web page surfing - it is the Seniors that
aren't using their memory and learning functions that have the highest
chance of developing Alzheimer's.
The online community -
Alzheimer's LifePlan - has been designed so information, free memory
testing, joining the subscription/membership services - can easily be
"presented" to seniors as they visit younger family member's homes.
Alzheimer's Research - Or The Lack Of.....
Drug and Pharmaceutical Alzheimer's Treatment Progress
For 100 years, doctors, researchers
and care givers have sought a cure - or even an effective treatment - that would
slow, arrest or reverse the Alzheimer's disease process. Until the end of the
20th Century, there were no FDA approved Alzheimer's treatments. Doctors like
J.Wesson Ashford were instrumental in introducing treatments at the clinical
level, while another group of researchers were pushing innovative treatment
concepts into their laboratories.
Until the 1980's most Alzheimer's
research was conducted by individual doctors or researchers, who worked in
isolation and often without funds or equipment. As more and more was learned
about the disease process and its relationship with a healthy body, a number of
pharmaceutical treatments were developed.
There are a handful of
organizations that raise funds for research, as well as conduct seminars, manage
research projects, and distribute educational and/or informational programs
regarding ending Alzheimer's. I have established relationships with these groups
and would like you to visit with them as well. The organizations and the
individuals maintaining them,
in some cases compete with one another - but always unite in the common cause of
ending this terrible disease.
Alzheimer's Research Forum -
This group regularly conducts seminars, debates, and publishes discussions as
well as progress reports. This group collects the research and opinions from the
leading neuroscience doctors, researchers, technologists and treatment
development specialists - a must visit if you are interested in the latest
Alzheimer's research findings.
Alzheimer's Education and Referral Center - This
multi-facetted online collection of reports, publications, videos, is operated
by
National Institute on Aging
and holds vast archived information as well as free
booklets, regular updates on FDA approved treatments and often information about
NIA funded research projects.
International Brain Research Organization - This is not only a good source
of historic and generic information about Alzheimer's (brain) research - if
represents a collection of schools, research projects, researchers and
institutions working in Alzheimer's related fields.
Dr. J. Wesson Ashford's works within
the laboratory and the clinic environments. He has seen the development of FDA
approved drugs come into practice while he was developing his memory testing and
mild cognitive impairment screening programs.
Alzheimer's Drug Treatments and Their
Role In Early Stage Treatment
Since the 1980's doctors like
Dr. Ashford, have helped make the first significant clinical and research
lab breakthroughs towards effective treatments of the Alzheimer's disease
condition.
Dr. Ashford reflects on the
scale of personal, financial and social damages caused by Alzheimer's. All
of this adds value to the tremendous effort being managed by the medical
research and care giving industries. Now, with better understanding of the
disease process, the brain's memory fitness functions, and effective
treatment strategy, the hope that Alzheimer's can be prevented arises.
Reference page for FDA
approved Treatments,
click here.
Medical
Doctorshave traditionally (for the past 100
years) been the front line of Alzheimer's detection and
treatment strategy development. Unfortunately, the doctors
have had little of no access to effective Alzheimer's
screening tests - and less awareness of treatments - even
the FDA approved treatments.
The
FDA process (clinical trials) that bring
treatments from the laboratory to the doctors), are
conducted under strict confidence - to protect the
patients and the research/treatment development group's
liability. As recently as 1999, I conducted online
searches for doctors, treatments, clinics and cures for
Alzheimer's - and I found several posted articles,
testimonies, and clinical "treatment" centers offering
more than hope to the online reader.
I tried to
investigate or visit each of these promoters and only
found a few that were sincere. In some cases, the
promoters were little more than health and fitness zealots
- promoting the truth that the right diet matched to the
right physical/mental regimes - promotes health. Others
were out and out misinformed promoters. I wasn't the only
one checking around for an effective Alzheimer's treatment
platform.
As the
2000 Stockholm Alzheimer's conference, the research and
medical communities agreed to agree that the Alzheimer's
disease process was accurately diagnosed by Dr. Alzheimer
in 1906, and that all of the research that followed his
diagnosis led to the overwhelming conclusion that
Alzheimer's was a degenerative process - meaning caused by
environmental and individual lifestyle elements; and that
changing an at risk individual's lifestyle habits towards
those that reduced that individual's chances of developing
the disease (PREVENTION), was the best treatment yet
developed.
Short of
press releases and an occasional story leaked by the
leading doctor's or their PR firms, little information
trickled to the to Medical Doctors who examine individuals
at risk of developing Alzheimer's.
I asked Dr.
Ashford to comment on the FDA approved Alzheimer's disease
treatments, and how he felt they could help end
Alzheimer's.
Dr. Ashford
recalls his early observations about Alzheimer's and
drug treatment development...
In the past, senior family members have developed memory
disorders - forgetting how they got to a room, forgetting
what they had for breakfast, or what the person's name is
that they just met. Often, the victim will go into a
doctor's office for exam - having the doctor ask,
"How are you doing? Do you have any memory problems?" Sadly,
the victim can not remember he or she has a memory problem -
and they feel fine answering, "I feel fine". A simple
scenario that has reoccurred far too many times.
So, regular
testing of your brain's ability to form recent memories
should be as common as taking your blood pressure, or
weighing in at the scales, or stress treadmill testing.
How can it be? How can so many
people be robbed of their memory, dignity, worth and independence, and not have
adequate advocacy to merit serious funding and a concentrated research effort?
There is probably a million answers
to that question. From my point of view, it seemed to be a matter of awareness
and money. Awareness in a global sense that Alzheimer's costs Americans $125
Billion a year - and
it could be prevented if self administered treatments are promoted between the
doctors and the populations.
The pharmaceutical industryuses a set of rules/guidelines and business
practice disciplines - basically a handbook - when developing drugs with high
financial values.
Part of these guidelines - the part
that moves a drug from the clinical trials into clinics - presently constitutes
a massive marketing effort on the half of the drug companies. I'm not making any
judgment here -I'm simply the messenger. And, I'm reporting that companies
spending/investing $200-700,000 on the developing of a new drug/treatment - have
to generate their return on investment by any means available.
The FDA strictly monitors and
prescribes (which is kind of ironic - the FDA prescribing practice policies to
the doctors)
The Alzheimer's Vaccine and
Immunotherapy
Dr. Dale Schenk, PhD.,
Comments on events leading to
the development of the Alzheimer's Vaccine and the overview of continuing
clinical trial research - forms Dr.
Schenk's opinions regarding Alzheimer's Treatment.
Dr. Schenk, speculated that a
conditioned amount of a beta amyloid injected into the body - would call up
an anti-body response - stimulating the body's immune system to remove
excess a beta amyloid plaque from the body.
In clinical trials, the
compound has proven to be the first treatment that modifies the disease
process and produces an effective clearing of the a beta plaque compound -
research continues to see how this process effects the quality of life for
the patients.
The complete interview with
Dr. Schenk,
click here.
The first reversal of the Alzheimer's disease process- has been documented from the first human clinical trials of the
Alzheimer's Vaccine compound. Over 300 Alzheimer's patients were inoculated with
the Alzheimer's vaccine in clinical trials. A small percentage of them developed
inflammation in the memory centers of their brains. The dosages were halted for
safety reasons - but the research continues.
Now there has been published
autopsy reports, from very credible doctors - providing evidence that the beta
amyloid plaques were cleared from the disease brain's memory centers.
Continued research of the
living patients provide evidence that the memory fitness - the patient's ability
to form recent memories - either stabilized (didn't get worse) or got better!
Doctors and researchers have
the first foundation to investigate further - and they are. The Neurological
Disease Foundation hosted " The Great Debate" during the 2004 Neuroscience
Convention in San Diego California. This one hour debate contains the Con
arguments of Dr. Todd Golde, MD, PhD of the Mayo Clinic, and, the Pro sides
presented by Dr. Peter Davies, PhD of Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Department of Pathology and Neurosciences.
The convention was attended by
thousands of researchers and doctors - and over three hundred of them attended
the debate. I was there and produced a complete video of the activity - I urge
you to show it to your doctors - and, if you are interested in hearing the best
researchers in this area outline their current approach to ending Alzheimer's -
you will find this fascinating.
There are still mysteries of
this complex disease, but so much is know now and associated technologies like
memory testing and brain imaging - researchers now have effective ways of
measuring monitoring diseased as well as healthy human brains. Dr. Alzheimer and
most of the researchers that followed him, had to wait for diagnosis
confirmation at autopsy. We've come a long, long way.
The development of
Immunetherapy has caused a revolution within the Neuroscience community. I'll
try to summarize why.
Until recently, researchers only
speculated about the role a beta amyloid
played in healthy as well as diseased brains. Today, not only is the role
beta amyloid plays in healthy brains understood (normal levels), the
relationship between the normal levels, excessive levels and blood chemistry
provide additional evidence of disease onset.
When Dr. Schenk developed the
Alzheimer's Vaccine theory (first in mice then moving into human trials) -
there was a common assumption that the blood/brain barrier - the isolation
of the brain from the circulatory system's anti-body and immunity systems)
- prevented the basic immune functions within the cranial cavity (skull).
The first participant (was administered the vaccine in clinical trials) to
die (not from clinical trial related issues), at autopsy provided evidence
the middle stage plaque deposits were cleared from the disease brain. A
growing number of research projects have now duplicated Dr. Schenk's mice
models - and are advancing their research towards human trials.
After initial inoculations, a small
percentage of the over 300 patients developed inflammation - so dosage was
halted - but the research continued. It was found that patients who received
the vaccine, had their
memory performance stabilize or get better.
The Alzheimer's LifePlan, Dr. Ashford,
and The Neurological Disease Foundation, have joined forces and launched the
Memory Assessment Project - which validate the clinical versions of Dr.
Ashford's short term memory and learning performance testing platform within
Alzheimer's treatment clinical trials.
Clearly, the mechanism of stimulating
the body's anti-body/immune responses that clear the beta amyloid plaque
from the short term memory forming areas of the brain - have a positive
effect for the patients - and could lead to an effective treatment - not a
cure - but a treatment that allows people to live normal lives with their
Alzheimer's condition being managed.
Of course, the promise of promises would be that
early inoculation with a safe vaccine to those at high risk of developing the
Alzheimer's disease process - could prevent development of the disease in their
remaining lifetime.
The Great Debate
Is Beta Amyloid the Cause of Alzheimer's
Disease and Is It The Best Treatment?
Comments on events
leading to the development of the Alzheimer's Vaccine and the overview of
continuing
clinical trial research - forms Dr.
Schenk's opinions regarding Alzheimer's Treatment.
The complete interview with
Dr. Schenk,
click here.
The Alzheimer's LifePlan Online
Memory Fitness Community
You can open a personal Memory
Fitness Testing, vital sign and personal disease prevention fitness program
record account when you join the LifePlan Online Community.
There is a $50 one time fee for
this, and your membership will extend through 2012 - at which time we hope
to open the service to all online visitors adopting the Alzheimer's Prevention
programs.
Here is what Members have to
work with:
A Personal data
(profile) record - set to record the results of your memory fitness tests - which allows you a wide latitude of control over
the number of images, length of exposure, and sets of images - so you can
develop a "Mental Muscle Building" program - or create the right test that
consistently rates your memory fitness at near 100%.
When you wish, you
can produce a "Printer Friendly" report - containing all of your personal
account information - even your vital signs history in graphic form. This
is a perfect way to give your doctor much more information about your
"normal" fitness conditions - in medical terms this is called your
baseline data.
You can also print
out your graphic history of memory tests results. Each test records about
250,000 pieces of information, rating your brain's performance and if you
take the same test every 90 days, you will establish your normal baseline
of memory performance.
You have control
of your account - and can access it anytime through an online browser
equipped computer - which are becoming common in community centers,
libraries, public buildings, sometimes even in shopping centers.
You will have
access to the internal publishing service - where all of the continuing
research, video, and research community events (like the Neuroscience
conferences) form the backdrop for these historic developments ending
Alzheimer's.
The Alzheimer's
LifePlan members will have direct access to the research projects
organized by Dr. J. Wesson Ashford, MD, PhD., and those research projects.
An excellent
reference and support service if you are trying to "train" your older
family members to adopt healthy lifestyle habits, obtain peace of mind
regarding their fears and concerns about Alzheimer's, and build a bridge
between the health of those at risk and their doctors. Your membership is
easily "shared" with other family members - or each member of your family
can have their "private" membership - where they feel comfortable
reading/viewing the content presented, and managing their own vital
sign/memory testing accounts.
There is the
opportunity to form online fellowship, as you meet new people, are
introduced to new activities, and perhaps even craft your own Alzheimer's
LifePlan affiliation - it is a good thing to share with your neighbors -
right next door as well as online.
Please understand that
membership (meaning paying $50) isn't necessary to have access to all the news,
information, videos, articles - content - that has been produced and will
continue to come from my studios.
It is far more important to me
that you learn about your personal Alzheimer's risks and adopt a lifestyle that
reduces your chances of developing the disease - that is my goal - and I hope
your goal as well.
My wife and I funded the entire
Alzheimer's LifePlan and Memory Fitness Testing Center projects, and had some very valuable help from people I have
mentioned earlier.
I continue to pay for the
operations and still have an obligation to pay some of those people for helping
me get everything up and running. Then there is the ever-growing need for money
to go towards research. On that note I am committed to helping Dr. Ashford
continue his groundbreaking work in memory assessment and early Alzheimer's
onset diagnosis.
Enough of the sales pitch -
thanks for taking charge of your personal Alzheimer's situation - I hope I have
saved your life or the life of a loved one - together we can make a difference
and I greatly appreciate your efforts in ending Alzheimer's - Let's do it by the
end of 2012!
If you've made it this far - you are
really interested in Alzheimer's
Thanks again for taking the time to hear my
story - I consider you a friend and pray that Alzheimer's will never develop in
you or your loved ones.
Disclaimers: The Internet Broadcasting Association - iBA, The
Internet Broadcasting Network - iBN, The iBHealth Network,
The End Alzheimer's Life Plan: are in no way providing medical advice, or
selling medical advice, knowledge,
cures, treatment - or representing themselves in any way as medical
advice, knowledge, cures, treatment - and any
visitor to the iBA, iBN, iBHealth, or End Alzheimer's Life Plan Internet space
(and any affiliated or sponsoring spaces)
are doing so by their own interest and free will - understanding that the iBA,
iBN, iBHealth and End Alzheimer's Life Plan,
the Directors, members, sponsors and affiliates of these organizations are in no
way liable for any misconception or
misuse of information presented to any visitor.
