I have an idea I'd like to throw out there. Since we are a group all going through the same thing and are witnesses to this AD from beginning to end, and as of now no one has come up with a reason why AD happens in certain people.......maybe we could think back to certain events or habits or injuries or whatever and see if among us there is any common thread.
I will start by listing known things that my husband did or that happened to him.
(1) When he was two years old, he was accidently hit on the head with a shovel that laid his head open. We have been told that doctors picked his hairs off his brain.
(2) He smoked heavily from around the age of 14 until his mid 50's and he his now 67.
(3) He drank several Pepsi's everyday.
(4) He fell about 13 years ago on an icy steep driveway and cut his head again although it didn't require stitches. It was soon after that that he started showing signs of AD (although we didn't know that that was what it was at the time).
Maybe there is no common thread but who knows. I am going to chart the different responses and see what we come up with. It can't hurt to see. Let's compare notes.....Anita
Anitalynn, no head injuries or any of the others for us, but exposure to Agent Orange in Viet Nam in 1966-66. EOAD is common among Viet Nam Veterans, so my DH is participating in a research project at the VA in Los Angeles. If you're tracking, I'll help.
My husband has FTD so I'm not sure if this will help you. He did have a head injury while in the service due to a car accident and he was exposed to Agent Orange while in Viet Nam.
He also had bladder cancer in 2004 and underwent chemotherapy and radiation. We started noticing changes in him after the treatments. He has smoked since he was 13 or 14.
He also worked around many chemicals when he was working. He worked for a paper mill for 19 years before having to stop due to the FTD.
My DH was born and raised in South America (his parents were Americans: from NY and TX). He never smoked. He has exercised 2-3 times per week for 25+ years. He takes no medication other than for AD. In 2005 we traveled to South America for 3 weeks. He became extremely ill and once home took super antibiotics ($500) to knock out the illness. A few years ago he bent over, raised up suddenly and hit his head on an open drawer - required an emergency room visit and stitches - no concussion. He was diagnosed last summer with AD at age 76. We do believe that he has a family history of dementia on his Mother's side. Lots of stories that sound like AD but no diagnosis that many years ago.
my dh had a couple closed head injuries the dr thinks that is why the eoad he had 2 trucks fall on him while working on our kids trucks one broke his cheekbone 5 places we thought we were lucky at the time he did these fool things now however who knows he was lucky to survive what happend
No head injuries. My husband is EO, having shown symptoms mid-50s, no family history. I suspect, if it's worth suspecting anything, exposure to chemicals. In his teens he stripped furniture as a part time job, being cavalier about safety measures--i.e., he was completely careless with chemicals. He went on to build/renovate houses where he never exercised a bit of caution in using adhesives, solvents, spray paints, etc. His main job was running the family hardware store. One brother recalls a time that all sorts of nasty garden chemicals--pesticides, etc--spilled in the store, and they sloshed through it, using no precautions, while they cleaned it up.
FWIW, my Dad, who died this summer of injuries related to Parkinson's disease, suspected his disorder might be linked to a teen job as a crop-duster in Virginia. He was not the pilot at the time--he and another guy were in the back, maneuvering the chemicals to dump.
Anitalyn...excellent idea. Here's Johns background. Dr. believes he has FTD 1) Head injury from car accident at age 16 2) life-long smoker 3)poor diet 4)heart attack and by-pass at age 45 (1988) 5)mitrol valve failure and replacement at age 57 (2000) Many other problems since dx.
DW has no history of AD in extended family. Her mother passed away in January at age 89. She has five older siblings with no AD. She taught for 35 years in an old building in an urban school district, all but two years in the same room. Her classroom was sprayed twice per month with insecticide.
dh was born with head injury from forcepts, had seizhers related to that when he became 18, took meds for that till he was well in his thirities, a year before diagnosed AD he fell and hit the back of his head on the ice.
My husband's mother had "hardening of the arteries"--symptoms started at age 60 He didn't smoke and no one in family smoked Owned a print shop and worked with chemicals used to develop film and printing plates Diagnosed at age 70 No head injuries that required medical attention that I am aware of
Anitalynn, your mention of the Pepsi's makes me think of something a friend told me. She has a PhD in nutrition. When she was in grad school (50 years ago) she worked in the labs with mice. One day she took some mice to a classroom for the prof to dissect. Some of the mice had CocaCola added to their diet. After seeing the livers of the mice fed Coke, she never had another soft drink in her life.
DH's mother died from Alz. He served in Vietnam. He worked 35 years in an automotive plant (GM). He had carotid artery surgery in 2006. He smoked since he was 12 until he quit about 16 months ago. He has been a drinker all his life (beer). Before I was in the picture, he had a headache once for a year and an MRI showed blood in his brain, but they could never find where the bleed was. The headache just eventually went away.
My husband has LBD. Vietnam era veteran but never went overseas. No family history or significant head injuries. Undiagnosed ADHD. Never smoked, drinks wine but I think never went over about 1/2 bottle per day. Employed as a professor--no obvious exposure to chemicals. Has always taken a lot of medicine--has ringing in the ears from taking too much asprin, takes double the standard prescription dose of Omeprazole for acid reflux and still uses 4-6 or more Tums a day. Diagnosed with pre-diabetes but changed his diet to control it.
I don't know if this belongs here, but I had a colonoscopy in March (not my first, but my first one that caused a problem afterwards, strong urge to "cut" myself that lasted three days). I have been having some memory problems ever since. The anesthesia this time was diprivan. Since my dh passed away from alz I know what to watch for, and this has me very worried. My dh had a hit on the head in 1986, didn't notice anything afterwards. But in 2001 he had surgery for stomach hemorage (had anesthesia of course) and he was never the same after that. Passed away in 2007 from end stage alz.
After reading all your responses, I remember something that I didn't list. After my husband retired, he got a part time job at a local golf course mowing the fairways and greens.....but.......he also was constantly exposed to the chemicals, pesticides and gasoline and whatever else a golf course uses in maintenance. That was just a couple of years before he started showing signs of AD. Hmmmm.....
My husband is a ww2 vet. his mother died of alz. He smoked from the time he was 15 til he was 55. stopped when we got married. I don't know of any injury to his head, however, he was shock blinded during the war, and underwent many treatments over the years for his vision. 2 cornea transplants, the first in 57, which caused nerve damage to that eye. the second in the other eye in 69,was successful. Who knows what chemicals he might have been exposed to - he's 86, and in those days, no one knew what to be careful of.
Take care of yourself. I had the urge to cut after my son had surgery when he was 4--stress can bring it up and also cause memory problems. Do you have time now to work on your own healing?
My DH never smoked and has never drunk exessively. He was a chemical engineer, did the usual lab work as a student then worked in an oil refinery for 17 years, mostly in management and plant design but I suppose he had some exposure to chemicals. No health problems, only one accident: he turned a jeep over when he was in the army, which caused back problems for many years. (No head injury). He has forgotten the backaches now, claims he never had any. He is diabetic, controlled by medication. Diabetes very strong in his family, mother died of end stage AD, father was becoming confused and caused a car accident which gave him a stroke from which he never completely recovered, increasingly confused.
My husband had no medical issues. He stopped smoking long ago and rarely drank. He ate a very healthy diet, played tennis 4xweek and biked all over. Did the daily puzzles and maintained his intellect until the monster got him.
Pamsc, I only had that urge for 3 days and never again, thankfully. I hope my memory problems stop, that is the only thing I worry about now. I am okay. Thanks for your concern. Hope you are well also.
DW: 1) Never smoked, drank only occasional wine 2) Has mild diabetes and hypertension, both well controlled on medications 3) Never had any significant injury 4) Other than for our 3 kids, was hospitalized only once - shortly after our youngest was born for retained placenta 5) Was physically active, walking in preference to taking the car 6) Read everything she could find, did cross-word puzzles 7) No exposures to chemical. Has Masters degree in biochemistry, but was stay-at-home mom for most of our marriage. 8) Mother died at 90 with only mild dementia, probably due to TIA's and diabetes. Father died at 64 from prostate cancer brought on by working with carcinogens in research lab.
Interesting string..G was very physically active his entire life, smoked but quit 35 years ago, drank quite a lot of wine...but...as a dentist worked for 45 years with mercury daily. It does seem chemicals are the common thread here.
My husband was as sedentary as they come, professor who sat all day except when giving lectures. Bad leg from the age of 14 which precluded military service, active exercise except walking. Stopped smoking 50 years ago (he's 85). Read, used computers. No chemicals. Trouble with the leg meant that he did have anesthesia once about 15 years ago (plus a time or two way back) However, his father had alz. Put chili powder on everything for a while.
Husband had numerous times for anesthesia: T & A, hernia repair, surgery for GERDS, two colonoscopies; had whiplash from car accident twice; got an STD while in the Navy - it was treated as gonorrhea but the drugs didn't cure it, he passed it on to me and was told by my gynecologist that it looked like herpes (he stopped having symptoms but I still occasionally and dr never took a swab to test); had a massive infection from a botches root canal the Navy did right after he got out; He worked as a printer from the age of 15 until he lost his job in 2004 when he did some weird things not normal for him - I was always worried about how all those chemicals and solvents would affect his health. Spent two years in the Navy on a ship breathing in that asbestos and fumes, probably lead from the paint when chipping and painting the ship. He too has never been careful when around chemicals, pesticides, etc.
Most important: family history, but I do not think any as young as his sister and him. His dad I notices around age 63 was getting 'weird', his dad's brother's, his paternal grandfather, his sister at age 55 (she is 3years younger than him).
The just-published Florida ADRC study included 55 mice genetically altered to develop memory problems mimicking Alzheimer's disease as they aged. After behavioral tests confirmed the mice were exhibiting signs of memory impairment at age 18 to 19 months – about age 70 in human years – the researchers gave half the mice caffeine in their drinking water. The other half got plain water. The Alzheimer's mice received the equivalent of five 8-oz. cups of regular coffee a day. That's the same amount of caffeine – 500 milligrams – as contained in two cups of specialty coffees like Starbucks, or 14 cups of tea, or 20 soft drinks.
My DH worked for DuPont for 38 years ("Better Things Through Chemistry" was their motto) He began work with them as a Textile Engineer, developing dacron, continuous filament nylon used in carpets (one of HIS personal projects), He never commented on being around noxious chemicals. Later in his career, his post required he visit petrochemical companies, but he was not around them day in and day out.
He was a heavy smoker for about 35 years, beginning in WW11 when cigarettes were practically forced on soldiers..in their meals, free in canteens, USO, etc. As he moved up the corporate ladder, he becme a 2-3 Martini lunch guy + more after he got home. Back in the 50's - 60's - 70's, people drank Scotch, Gin, Bourbon...instead of wines. Those were his main years with the Company...and his became a high ranking executive where extended lunch hours and golf course outings were the norm. His doctors have said that his MRI showed signs of extreme alcoholism. ( He did not smoke or drink heavily when we were married in 1991.) Thank goodness.
His father died in his 40's, but uncles were known to have "hardening of the arteries".. and he tested positive for the ApoE4 gene in his preliminary blood work. He does not have high blood pressure -heart disease or diabetes. However, I have read on the Diabetes site that A.D. is frequently diagnosed among diabetics.
He has suffered approximately 12 'noticible' TIA's or mini strokes, and in approximately 6 of the incidents, he was taken to the hospital. There are visable markers in his brain MRI confirming this history. He was diagnosed with 'multiple cause Alzheimer's Disease in 2004.
I believe - if twe do find one common thread - it would be in the ApoE4 gene first. Second would be history of strokes. Alcoholism would be somewhere in the top 5. I don't believe top researchers have found ONE particular common thread beyond the DNA test...but I may be wrong.
Carol did not drink, smoke or cuss. But she did take a Dr Pepper at 10, 2, & 4. with a few cokes mixed in. Only chemicals was Clairol products for her beautiful blonde hair. Had colostomy surgery and put back surgery and pacemaker surgery and the hospital stay w/ anethesia was really bad on her. She is still very physically healthy with the cognitive and memory gone.
I think it is still heridity and the genes. Carol's father and grandmother died of AD. bill
Father had what we now call EOAD in his 40's. Stopped smoking years ago. Exercised 5 days/week for years. No other health problems. No exposure to chemicals. Was a CPA, college educated. Good diet with moderate alcohol consumption. No head injuries. Was treated as a child (in the 1950's) with something radioactive for nasal problems--has resulted in head cancers in some people who received this treatment.
Lynn has no other ailment than AD. His bp, cholesterol, heart, everything is excellent. He has never spent a night in the hospital other than the day he was born.
History....
Childhood migraines
Served in the military, 2 tours in Korea
Never had an alcoholic drink in his life.
Never smoked.
drank mostly water, loves his meat and taters
Did have a major head injury from a car accident in the early 90's
WW2 and Korean Vet. Had very bad teeth and they all were pulled and dentures put in when he came home from Korea in 1955.
Neck and lower back injury due to car accident when he was early 40s.
Heavy smoker from age 12 until 69 - quit a few times but not permanently until he was electrocuted on the job in 1991 and had to have open heart surgery (mitro valve replacement). High blood pressure after the surgery, controlled with meds.
Fairly heavy beer drinker from teens until mid 40s.
About 30-35 pounds overweight most of his life.
Mild stroke in 1999, TIA in 2003
Numerous anesthesia from various surgeries
High cholestrol, controlled by meds
Diagnosed with pre-diabetes in 1997. Weight loss and exercise brought it under control.
Mother passed on at 91 with mild dementia, father at 82 from heart attack. Brother had mild dementia and passed on at 84 from colon cancer.
Diagnosed in 2004 - Stage 3/4. Looking back, there were some symptoms starting in 1991 after the electrocution.
Diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2008. Put on meds. I was going to talk to the neurologist about Lewy Body testing last Sept. but Dr cancelled the appt. Appt was rescheduled for November, but Claude started going rapidly downhill and was put under Hospice care.
I think my children are concerned about the "family history" aspect of this. My husband's mother also had dementia. However, she was one of ten children and I think the only one with dementia. My husband is the only one of his three siblings with problems--so I wonder if their concerns are unfounded.
Father died from "hardening of the arteries". Mother and two sisters died from cancer. Is a Viet Nam vet. Says he wasn't exposed to Agent Orange, but according to VA website anyone who served there during the time he was there is presumed to have been exposed. Heavy smoker from age of 20 to 55. Is now 70. Drinks beer. No hospitalizations or severe illnesses. Has high blood pressure and was recently diagnosed with anklyosing spondylitis. Has sleep apnea. Diagnosed with MCI at age 68.
I knew nothing about Paul's parents except that his Mom died young (52- brain aneurysm) and his Dad was a mean ol' dude who died of a lung issue at about 64.
He had 7 brothers, and out of the 8 boys at least 5 had some form of manic depression, a couple pretty seriously. DH never officially diagnosed with manic depression, but all the other wives of the brothers felt my DH had a touch of it too.
5 of the boys were "golden gloves" boxers in their HS and early college years. "Boxing." "Ali."
DH drank fairly heavily from the time he was 18 to about age 62. In part, "Alcohol induced dementia" per neurologist.
Hit in head at base of skull with a very fast moving foul ball at a tournament.
Hit head in a fall that was hard enough to actually knock his eyes out of alignment.
We think one brother who has already passed on had symptoms, and a couple of my SIL's report their DH's are having memory issues. Two rather seriously. A couple of the brothers I never knew, so can't speak to how they faired.
My husband has a PhD in chemistry. Worked in a lab until around 1983 when he began to spend most of his time as management in the office with little lab time. He was diagnosed at 64, symptoms earlier. He's now 67. Doctors uncertain as to whether AD or FTD. Nothing concrete showing FTD on MRI a couple months ago or PetScan early 2007.
We were discussing chiggers the other day as they're quite the nuisance here in the Ozarks. He mentioned that they sprayed his whole town when he was a kid. He grew up in West Lafayette, Indiana. I remarked at the time that I wondered if that could contribute to dementia.
He also has never been particularly careful of chemicals used in the landscape.
Never smoked, took little medication. Had periods of heavy social drinking. High blood pressure. Generally healthy. A runner.
I will check and see if there have been any studies done on West Lafayette. Perdue is located there so maybe someone has looked into it.
my dh passed away in april of this year. i did notice some common things in the posts. he was shocked very badly working on a washing machine,years ago, he also had a hard fall on the ice a few years ago,no open injury but hurt. i had forgotten about that until i read some of the posts here about falls on the ice. he was a fireman for 20 yrs,didn't drink but an occasional beer with his brother,did smoke some,not heavely,he could always take or leave smoking,had alot of headaches,had welders flash to his eyes several times over the years,he did have a colostopy a few years ago,he was hospitalized once for complications from tooth extraction,there was tremendous swelling and blood loss,he got in a car with closed windows and fell asleep during hot weather when he was little,he was a farmer and was exposed to farm chemicals most of his life. he started working at a very young age,he was very active,his paternal grandmother had some type of dementia,she is the only person that we know of in the family that had that problem. in january his neurologist also diagnosed dh with parkinsons,but his autopsy showed only anvanced alzheimers disease. dh was an extremely intelligent man that could do anything he set his mind to do. the common things i see here so far are falls,shocks,chemicals,anesthesia and of course family history.
Didn't mention this before because the timing seems to close to his diagnosis. He took a nasty fall on concrete and was in mergency room with stitches to his head a year and a half or so before diagnosis. He also had thyroid cancer and removal in 2005 which I always felt accelerated his symptoms. Both his parents lived to 90s, no family history of dementia.
vascular dementia is our main cause according to drs. extreme high blood pressure from late 30's. many years of high profile stress laden job and skipping BP meds off/on for years. test results showed small TIA/strokes over the years. sleep apnea has been discussed here and seems to be another constant in many of our spouses. lack of oxygen thruout their lives due to this could especially impact brain function at some point. DH was a welder early as well working with heavy metals. divvi
Terry, my wife's field was biochemistry. She did something with rats. I don't remember what. The only risk was that one of the rats bit her rather badly. Since she was sacrificing the rats to study whatever, I would have sacrificed that one next, but she left it until its scheduled time, and just was more careful handling it. I don't remember any significant chemical exposure, not like the heavy formaldehyde I breathed during anatomy class in medical school.
I forgot to mention Claude was raised on a farm and did farm work until he went into the service in WW2. After the war, he went back to being a farmhand until he re-enlisted in the Army for the Korean War.
Diane V........You mentioned that your husband is part of a study for the VA in Los Angeles for soldiers exposed to Agent Orange. Would it be possible for you to contact someone there and see if they have discovered that Alzheimers might be one of the results. There again that study involves a huge number of people.....Anita
DH was diagnosed 3 years ago at 52 with AD, but now the doctors are thinking it's Lewy Body Dementia.
He never had a head injury as far as I know, but he did have Viral Encepalitis as a teenager, which I believe could have caused brain injury, even though he fully recovered, went on to get a college degree, get a successful job, etc.
He didn't smoke cigarettes, but he did smoke a pipe pretty heavily. His sister suggested that he could have metal poisoning from tobacco. I'd never heard of this but researched it a bit. I don't think he would have deteriorated so quickly like this, and continued to deteriorate when he couldn't smoke any longer.
He wasn't a heavy drinker, except for a time in his early twenties, partying, etc. He drank more beer as the disease progressed (I drank more too), but not really excessively.
No family history that anyone knows of. His mother is 88 and still has her faculties, although her health is deteriorating due to heart problems. His older brother has MD and his son has it too, and there's no other family history of that either. I do believe that somehow, his illness and DH's could be related. It's just too strange that two sons in the same family have neurological diseases.
It's interesting that head injury is one common thread here.
Something I forgot: Art did binge drink in the Navy - when they had leave - and we would go out a couple weekends a month our first years of marriage. They says binge drinking is more dangerous to the brain than daily drinking.
But, the family history seems to be the link for him. I also think if he has had sleep apnea for years, that could be a big contributor especially since his short term memory seems to have improved after the CPAP.
Sleep apnea and CPAP: my husband had it for years, still does but there's no way I could get him to use a CPAP now. I wonder how many of them do have sleep apnea!!
My DH also had a severe blow to his head when he was a teenager. He smoked a pipe just a little bit (spent most of the time cleaning and packing it) when he was a young adult and drank a few beers. Hasn't smoked or drank for the past 55 years. He did a tour in Korea. He worked in asbestos for several years and has asbestosis in both lungs.
He became extremely ill and had to be hospitalized about 4 years ago, possibly a very bad case of food poisoning. We first noticed some memory problems while he was in the hospital but he got better later. Shortly after that, he had to have 3 surgeries, one right after the other. His memory became worse after each one. He was diagnosed with AD a year and a half ago.
My DH was hit by a car when he was 10 and had a concussion, unconsious for a few hours. Then 15 years ago he had a stroke. Between these two incidences he played football in highschool and college, I don't know how badly he was injured but he was a few times.
My Dh is diagnosed with EOAD. No family history of alz or dementia. At 30 years old, DH was in a bad car accident causing multiple injuries including concussion and very small infarct in the brain. Severall surgeries from this accident although I am unaware of the type of anesthesia used at that time. (1980) DH ate healthfully and exercised regularly. Hi has high blood pressure which seems to be familial. Interesting thread. Thanks. Sue
DH had surgery as an infant for club feet. Other than that, he had a normal childhood. He was type A in a stressful job managing others, had high blood pressure since his thirties. He had a heart attack when he was 44. He gave up smoking after the heart attack; he'd been a smoker since his teens. He always drank, never too much. When he was 53, he suddenly retired because his company was offering a package deal. He never discussed it with me before he made this decision. I was upset and still can't figure it out. I continued to work for 8 years. He noticed memory problems when he was 60 and had testing which did not show any impairment. After my retirement and being with him all day, I started going with him to his medical appointments. Since then it has been downhill. He was diagnosed with MCI and then AD in 2005. While he maintains a score of 21, 22 on the mini-mental test. I see a much greater decline. Sometimes he eats his breakfast and then eats it again. Right now, eating and napping while watching TV are his major activities. He doesn't even want to come with me on errands. I am not aware of any family history of AD. His father died of lung cancer at 56. His mother died of lung cancer at 75. DH does have the Apoe4 gene. He drinks decaf diet coke every day.