Still looking for hope.

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2copies@43
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Still looking for hope.

Post by 2copies@43 »

Is there anyone here that is E/4 E/4 and over 65 that is still cognitively healthy?
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floramaria
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Re: Still looking for hope.

Post by floramaria »

2copies@43 wrote: Tue Sep 06, 2022 9:17 pm Is there anyone here that is E/4 E/4 and over 65 that is still cognitively healthy?
. Yes, 2copies, there are definitely ApoE4/4’s here who are over 65 and cognitively healthy. I hope some of them will see your post and respond. As you spend more time on the site reading posts, you’ll run across many people who fit that description. One of them, NK52, posted on another thread. I couldn’t copy and paste the answer here but it is in the thread
“Dealt the 4/4 gene and have anxiety….. “. Reading her response will be reassuring to you. Link is below :

viewtopic.php?t=7962
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TheresaB
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Re: Still looking for hope.

Post by TheresaB »

Almost! I'm 2 years shy of 65, but besides being a 4/4, I also have epigenetic inheritance from a mother who suffered Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) (we inherit our parent's trauma, especially from our mother) AND my two older siblings are currently suffering from dementia (first degree family history). Yet I remain optimistic. I follow the lifestyle recommendations of this website and Dr Bredesen for prevention. ApoE4 is not a deterministic gene. Lifestyle holds more influence than genes, so much of our brain health destiny is in our own hands.
-Theresa
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Chicagogirl
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Re: Still looking for hope.

Post by Chicagogirl »

2copies@43 wrote: Tue Sep 06, 2022 9:17 pm Is there anyone here that is E/4 E/4 and over 65 that is still cognitively healthy?
Greetings 2 copies@ 43. I am 4/4 in my early 70's and still doing well. Until recently I was the treasurer for a senior social club in the city (took up too much of my time). I am currently going through the screening for another clinical trial. See my posting in Prevention and Treatment forum under AHEAD 3-45 STUDY CLINICAL TRIAL (LECANEMAB) for a little bit about my history. viewtopic.php?t=8195

The day my husband and I found out I was 4/4 was a dark day and I felt overwhelmed. It was a very long and quiet trip home.

You can decide to approach it as any other disease and research prevention (probably delaying...) strategies. This site will help with some choices you can make. I decided my diagnosis wasn't going to dominate my days. I started eating better, exercising more and joining a senior club so I had more socialization. Made sure my will and POA's were in order. I also researched clinical trials I might be eligible for. I was in the Generations Study (2017) and am currently screening for the AHEAD study.

Welcome to the group NO ONE wanted to join.
Last edited by Chicagogirl on Sun Sep 11, 2022 6:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
;) 4/4 “Choose to be optimistic. It feels better.” Dalai Lama
NF52
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Re: Still looking for hope.

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2copies@43 wrote: Tue Sep 06, 2022 9:17 pm Is there anyone here that is E/4 E/4 and over 65 that is still cognitively healthy?
A warm hug, again, from a 70 year old, cognitively healthy ApoE 4/4 woman! I responded to a couple of your earlier posts and greatly respect your grit and your decision to be a mom, while also being concerned about your own mother's health. You don't have MS as she does, and you haven't had the life that she had. You may in fact be much more like your long-lived paternal grandmother!

[In case you're wondering what you said in earlier posts, you can always find them by clicking on your user name in the upper right corner of the screen, or even on your user name in my quote of you, and it will show your Profile with all of your posts. Here's a link to reading them: 2copies@43's posts. ]

So to answer a great question: Yes, there are thousands and thousands of healthy people with ApoE4/4 over the age of 65 around the world ! Four very large studies in the US and Europe followed people ages 60-70 who were born in the 1930's to 1940's for an average of 5-8 years. Only 24% of those with ApoE 4/4 were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia by the time they were 70-75. APOE-related risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia for prevention trials: An analysis of four cohorts

Those were people born around the time of your grandparents', who were exposed to LOTS of air and water pollution, had higher levels of smoking, and knew much less about the benefits of a healthy diet and exercise.

What's more important is that right now, people with ApoE 4/4 are using all sorts of strategies for healthy eating, exercise, social support from friends and family, meditation, yoga and even joining clinical trials, to show that we can lead long, healthy and happy lives. None of us knows exactly what the future brings (except that it brings pumpkin spice to everything in fall!) So I think most of us who have gotten to the age of 65 feel incredibly lucky--not doomed--to live in a time when science is making it possible to understand how to stay healthy.

Your little one must be walking and beginning to talk--or at least making their views known! The best gift you can give your future self is to enjoy that little person, and let friends and family also enjoy baby-time, so you can have some much-needed ME TIME to re-charge, enjoy fresh air, and know that you will be fine for decades to come!

Hugs,
Nancy
4/4 and still an optimist!
2copies@43
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Re: Still looking for hope.

Post by 2copies@43 »

Hi Nancy,

Thank you again for your words that always calm my anxiety. Every now and again it comes back and I find myself researching for new prevention treatments they might have come out with, while doing that I go down the rabbit hole. I think you are great and have alot of good advice and energy that you offer through kindness. You have answered me many times and you have helped me rise out of the darkness a bit. I'm glad you are out there.
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Re: Still looking for hope.

Post by NF52 »

starfish77 wrote:
2copies@43 wrote: Mon Sep 12, 2022 3:09 pm Hi Nancy,

Thank you again for your words that always calm my anxiety. Every now and again it comes back and I find myself researching for new prevention treatments they might have come out with, while doing that I go down the rabbit hole. I think you are great and have alot of good advice and energy that you offer through kindness. You have answered me many times and you have helped me rise out of the darkness a bit. I'm glad you are out there.
We help each other here!

I was greatly reassured by "Starfish77", who I've "quoted" above, when I was 62 and had just discovered my ApoE 4/4 status and she was 77 or 78 and doing great. She's now a still-healthy 84 year old with ApoE 4/4--and still an inspiration!

So at age 46 or so, please know your brain is not circling the drain, or filling with amyloid or doing anything other than being happy it's still on duty! When you move towards peri-menopause, the years before your periods completely stop, I'd personally recommend you talk to your OB/GYN or family practitioner about hormone replacement therapy for either peri-menopausal symptoms of hot flashes, brain fog, etc, or help in replacing some of the estrogen that drops after menopause. Never too early to think proactively--even if it's years away. That's just one more way in which your generation will have so much more brain support than previous ones.
4/4 and still an optimist!
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Re: Still looking for hope.

Post by Starfish77 »

Hello NF52,
I get a message when you mention Starfish77. That is why I'm responding. Quite honestly I haven't thought about being an e4/e4 for quite a while. Old age has provided me with enough medical events to take my mind off worrying about being an e4/e4. Thanks to good medical coverage many of the things got fixed up. Things like a bad back that can't be fixed with surgery are still with me but there are so many interesting and fun things to do and learn about I don't have time to worry about the things I can't do. Because of the lung damage I got from the high dosage of radiation for breast cancer in 1980, I am in one of the high risk categories for Covid19, so I am extra careful and only do things with small groups of friends that I know are vaccinated.

I'm very thankful that I had the benefit of Apoe4-info when I found out I was an E4/E4 and that was at the top of my worry list. I'm sure my health is way better from all the good health eating habits and medical information I learned from this group. The fellowship with the members was invaluable.
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SusanJ
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Re: Still looking for hope.

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Starfish77 wrote:Things like a bad back that can't be fixed with surgery are still with me but there are so many interesting and fun things to do and learn about I don't have time to worry about the things I can't do.
Good to see you posting and glad you are still keeping yourself busy! Your advice, about not worrying about the things we can't do, is a great reminder to of all us. Hugs to you!
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Re: Still looking for hope.

Post by J11 »

I have been reading a lot recently about the neurotoxicity of lead. {Strangely lead appears to interact with the amyloid protein.} Lead caused an enormous social crisis in America in the 1960s, 1970s 1980s and 1990s with sky high crime rates and a wide range of social dysfunctions. For those who lived through this first wave of lead neuropathology, there could be a second round as they age and then experience the delayed effects of lead on neurodegeneration.

It is, thus, probably a significant advantage for those who are now in their mid-60s, 70s and over instead of those in their 30s, 40s and 50s in terms of AD risk because ambient lead levels maxed out in the mid-1970s and those who are somewhat older will have avoided peak lead during critical periods of their brain development.
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