Ending Blog

First written June 2018 and finished September 2018

After giving it a lot of thought over the last few months, I have decided to finally stop writing this blog now

This is for a few reasons, but first and foremost I am struggling to put my thoughts into writing,  without saying the wrong thing and sounding rude or aggressive.

I know I am getting very tired these days, and struggling to think clearly, but I guess this is a build up of medical problems  which are starting to make life very difficult. 

However I was starting to  think of closing the blog down in January and then in June,  because of my problems of putting my thoughts into words. 

I have re-used a few old blogs over the last  few months, in the hope of getting myself motivated, but realised that it's not going to work 

I have enjoyed doing this over the years, but I have lost total  interest,  but will let the blog run as it may help others.

I vaguely remember the fact this blog was  started by mistake, but it's been a journey, which I never expected, and lead to many new friends over the last few years.

My wife and I looked at the blog the other month,  and realised that it's been read by nearly 300-000 people in 120 countries,  which was quite an achievement, and one I am pleased with.

It's hard to accept that this post took nearly 6 months to write properly and get ready to send off, but that's life 

Shortly I will also be stopping using Twitter, for the same reasons. 

But life goes on. Thank you for all of your kind comments over the years.

Best wishes

Ken

Revolutionary Alzheimer’s blood test is 94% accurate 20 years before symptoms develop

Revolutionary Alzheimer’s blood test is 94% accurate 20 years before symptoms develop

6th August 2019

Healthcare news (industry news)

A new blood test has been developed that can detect Alzheimer’s-causing proteins in the brain up to two decades before symptoms begin to appear. A study from Washington University St Louis outlines the benefits of the test, which has a 94 per cent accuracy rate.

Early Alzheimer’s diagnosis is vital to combat the condition, because there’s currently no cure, and treatments can delay onset. Most people are not tested for the disease until symptoms, such as memory loss, start to occur and by then the condition already has a hold on the brain.

Early detection could mean many extra years with good quality of life, and the individual retaining their independence for a lot longer. At present, the average life expectancy after Alzheimer’s diagnosis is just four to eight years.

The progression of the disease can vary between cases, with some relatives seeing parents and grandparents slowly deteriorating. In others, the rate at which they become confused, isolated and scared is much more dramatic.

It’s widely accepted that there are seven stages of Alzheimer’s, starting with no clinical impairment right through to very severe cognitive decline. Most diagnoses occur during the third phase of the disease when people who know the patient very well notice changes in their loved one.

Despite scientists all over the world working on a cure for Alzheimer’s, the drugs on the market only slow down memory loss and reduce changes in behaviour, including agitation. Furthermore, these medications are only useful if the condition is detected in its mild to moderate phases.

While PET scans and spinal taps remain effective ways to diagnose Alzheimer’s, they are very expensive and intrusive, causing a lot of pain to the patient. This means a subjective test is usually used, which focuses on a number of questions directed at the individual and it is not up to the level of detail required.

The new blood test, which has been developed by Dr Suzanne Schindler and her team at Washington University St Louis, could be an effective and cheap method of diagnosis. Using the test alone, it matched the PET scan of plaques in the brain 88 per cent of the time, but once genetic tests for Alzheimer’s were taken into account, the accuracy reached 94 per cent.

In terms of what this could mean in the development of a cure, Dr Schindler said earlier detection of plaques could “speed up the process so we can find an effective drug faster. The value of the test is in identifying people very early in the course of the disease…and essentially clear out amyloid, and those people theoretically would not go on to develop dementia.

“Of course this has to be proven, but we think it might work. But to do this, you have to have a good test.”

One in six over-80s in the UK have dementia, with Alzheimer’s being the most common form. There are also 42,000 under-65s living with the disease. While these numbers are already substantial, they’re expected to increase in the coming years, making finding ways to effectively tackle it a pressing issue.

Mental Health and Dementia

Mental Health and Dementia

New findings promote lifestyle modifications.

Posted Jul 24, 2019

Source: kmac

Dementia is, unfortunately, a very common phenomenon among the elderly. As of 2017, there were as many as 44 million individuals worldwide living with dementia. In the United States, as many as one in three seniors has some form of dementia when they pass away.  

More than just a mental-health issue, dementia can be extremely taxing on the family and friends of the individuals who are struggling with the condition. It is far more severe than merely telling the same story that everyone has heard before. As the condition progresses, individuals with dementia lose their ability to live independently because they find it too difficult to conduct the activities of daily living—from doing household chores down to feeding, dressing, and grooming themselves—and this can often lead to frustration and aggression. In the later stages of dementia, individuals may not recognize family and may come to seem like completely different people. As they exhibit increasingly dysfunctional behavior, it may even make it too difficult for family members to continue to offer care.  

Dementia is not a disease itself, but a series of conditions that can arise when an individual is afflicted with one or more of the over 60 diseases that can cause dementia—most of which are quite rare. In approximately 60 percent of dementia cases, the underlying ailment is Alzheimer’s disease. In approximately 30 percent of cases, it is Lewy body dementia or vascular dementia. Of the remaining 10 percent of dementia cases, the underlying condition could be one of the following: Frontotemporal dementia, corticobasal degeneration, depression-related dementia, alcohol-related dementia (typically manifesting as Korsakoff’s syndrome), Creutzfeld-Jacob disease, Huntington’s disease, normal pressure hydrocephalus, or certain forms of Parkinson’s disease and some related conditions. It is often the case that diseases co-exist, most frequently with Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. When this happens, it is known as mixed dementia. 

In most cases, genetics plays a dominant role in determining if an individual will develop dementia, and researchers have been relatively fatalistic about the prognosis of the condition. In other words, there has been a longstanding belief that dementia is inevitable for certain individuals with genetic predispositions, and that environmental factors such as lifestyle and diet do not play a major role in determining the course of the diseases that can give rise to dementia, with the obvious exception of alcohol-related dementia or dementia that arises from head injury, stroke, or a disease like meningitis). This is particularly true with forms of dementia that occur earlier in life, such as frontotemporal disorders or Huntington’s disease.  

New research, however, indicates that the environmental components behind some common diseases that give rise to dementia have a greater impact than previously thought. This is true for the three most common diseases that cause dementia: Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia, and vascular dementia. 

A New Hope 

A new study from the University of Exeter that spanned eight years and analyzed the data of 196,383 adults of European ancestry over age 60 is challenging the belief that one’s genetics solely influence whether one develops dementia. The study found that participants who had both a high genetic risk and an unhealthy lifestyle were three times more likely to develop dementia than those who had a low genetic risk and a healthy lifestyle. This should not come as a tremendous surprise. What was shocking was that the study also found that the risk of dementia was 32 percent lower in participants who had a high genetic risk if they maintained a healthy lifestyle when compared with the group who had a less favorable lifestyle. 

Londoner smashes world record for 289-mile triathlon by more than four hours

Londoner smashes world record for 289-mile triathlon by more than four hours

Megan White

The Evening Standard

Chris finished the gruelling triathlon on Tuesday ( Aurelien Meunier )

A Londoner has broken the world record for an epic 289-mile triathlon from London to Paris by over four hours.

Chris Leek set a time of 69 hours and 29 minutes, shaving four hours and ten minutes off the previous record of 73 hours and 39 minutes held by Mark Bayliss since 2012.

The 32-year-old from Orpington, Kent, completed an 87-mile run from Marble Arch to Dover, followed by a 21 mile swim across the English Channel, and a 181-mile bike ride from Calais to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

He also became only the fifth competitor ever to complete the feat without wearing a wetsuit for the Channel swim section, 

After setting off at 5pm on August 2, Mr Leek arrived in the French capital on Tuesday.

Chris and his dad Dennis at the finish line in Paris (Aurelien Meunier)

He said: “I’m completely lost for words. That was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. I can’t thank everyone who has helped me and supported me on this journey. 

“I genuinely can’t believe it’s over. I am tired. I am proper tired!”

Chris (with mum Linda) smashed the world record by four hours (Aurelien Meunier)

Mr Leek, a beer sales manager, is hoping to raise £1 million for charities which are close to his heart: Parkinson’s UK, Lewy Body Society and Saxon Day Centre.

His father Dennis, who is now 64, was diagnosed with Parkinsons at 49, before being diagnosed with dementia at 57.

The record-breaking attempt is made all the more impressive by the fact that he only trained for eight months, compared to most people, who train for around three years before launching the attempt.  

Chris and his supporters at the start line at Marble Arch (Charlie Crowhurst)

Linda Leek, Chris’ mother, says: “We have great pride in our son and what he’s done for his dad and those in similar positions. His training has taken up a massive part of all of our lives and it’s incredible that his wife, two sisters, friends and family have been able to support him through it all. 

“He’s always been very competitive, if he’s doing anything, he does it to win. Now the whole world knows that they don’t mess about with Christopher Leek! We love him very much.”

Mr Leek’s effort was sponsored by beer brand Michelob Ultra, who are offering a ‘pint of thanks’ to all who sponsor him.

To sponsor Chris, visit his Virgin Money Giving page.