BLOOD TEST FOR IDENTIFYING ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

 How much do Paris Summer Olympics medalists get paid?

Olympic medal bonuses

Table with 4 columns and 14 rows.

Hong Kong	$768,000	$384,000	$192,000
Singapore	$745,000	$373,000	$186,000
Indonesia	$300,000	$150,000	$60,000
Israel	$271,000	$216,000	$135,000
Republic of Kazakhstan	$250,000	$150,000	$75,000
Malaysia	$216,000	$65,000	$22,000
Spain	$102,000	$52,000	$33,000
France	$87,000	$43,000	$22,000
South Korea	$45,000	$25,000	$18,000
United States	$38,000	$23,000	$15,000
Japan	$32,000	$13,000	$6,000
Poland	$25,000	$19,000	$14,000
Germany	$22,000	$16,000	$11,000
Australia	$13,000	$10,000	$7,000

The bronze medal column will be cut-off in the original blog posting.  But you can see it here.

Hong Kong athletes in Paris have  so far won two golds and two bronze medals.  The last Singaporean athlete to win money was Joseph Schooling (left), who beat Michael Phelps in the 100-meter butterfly at the Rio Games in 2016, winning a gold medal and $745,300.  

Here are the 23 Singapore Olympians in Paris.  Watch for them.  In track & field, Shanti Pereira (right) in the women's 100m, 200m and 400m.  Marc Brian Louis will compete in the men's 100m.  Root for 20-year old Shannon Tan in women's golf.

Olympics Medal Leaders

Gold

Silver

Bronze

Total

• United States
• France
• China

• 14
• 12
• 16

• 24
• 14
• 12

• 23
• 15
• 9

• 61
• 41
• 37

FULL MEDAL COUNT

Incidentally at the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2021, the USA won 39 gold medals to 38 for China, and 113 total medals to China's 89.  We are about halfway through the Games, which end on Sunday, August 11.

Thursday was supposed to be my day for COVID-19, other medical issues and nutrition, so this posting is one day delayed.  According to the CDC, 20 states have detected VERY High levels of COVID-19 in their wastewater.  This is three more states than last week, and and 13 more than the middle of July.  Only one state, New York, had low levels of COVID-19.  Below, red is high.

Here is another CDC report which  below shows positivity (dark orange is high).  National positivity is 14%.  In short, best to avoid states in and around Texas if you fear covid, for they are the highest for both wastewater measurements and positivity.

Moving along to another medical matter, at 15 Craigside where I live, dementia is somewhat common.  What do you know about dementia?

• There are over 100 forms of dementia.

• 
  More than 55 million people with dementia in the world.
• This is less than one-tenth of one percent the world population.  So what is the bid deal?  
• In 1960, only those 65 and older represented 5% of the world.
• Today, this figure has doubled to 10%.
• Dementia mostly affects the very old, and the older the higher the incidence.
• 
  In a dinner table discussion I surmised that perhaps 10% of residents in our senior community building had some form of dementia.  However, the overwhelming consensus of others was that this figure might be closer to 50%.
• The average age here is around the mid-80's, so 25% would be about statistically normal.
• This is a joke, I think, but there is a barber shop here.  I remember once asking the barber, what percent of residents do you think has dementia?  She said 75%.  People tended to forget they had appointments.
• Dementia globally costs $1.3 trillion/year, but expected to rise to $9.1 trillion by 2050.
• Females have 70% of all dementia cases.
• What causes dementia?

• age (more common in those 65 or older) 
• high blood pressure (hypertension)
• high blood sugar (diabetes)
• being overweight or obese
• smoking
• drinking too much alcohol
• being physically inactive
• being socially isolated
• depression.

• 
  Dementia is a condition which over time destroys nerve cells in the brain.  Many have plaques, a protein called beta-amyloid, and tangles of tau protein.  The presence of certain genes, like apolipoprotein, are more prevalent.  This defect is genetic, and your odds of getting dementia are linked to others in your family.

• Early signs and symptoms are:

  • forgetting things or recent events
  • losing or misplacing things
  • getting lost when walking or driving
  • being confused, even in familiar places
  • losing track of time
  • difficulties solving problems or making decisions 
  • problems following conversations or trouble finding words 
  • difficulties performing familiar tasks
  • misjudging distances to objects visually.

  Common changes in mood and behaviour include:

  • feeling anxious, sad, or angry about memory loss 
  • personality changes
  • inappropriate behaviour
  • withdrawal from work or social activities
  • being less interested in other people’s emotions.
• There is no cure, but medication will more and more become available to retard the progress of dementia.
• Cholinesterase inhibitors like Donepezil.
• NMDA receptor antagonists like memantine.
• Control of blood pressure and cholesterol.
• Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors help reduce depression.
• Haloperidol and risperidone.
• The older you are, the more prevalent.
• 77-79  5%
• 80-89  24.2%
• 90 and older  37.4%
• More specifically, Alzheimer's disease is 60-70% of all dementia.

About Alzheimer's disease.

• 
  German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer in 1901 identified the first case,  50-year old female Auguste Deter (right).  She died five years later.
• A person with Alzheimer's usually lives 4-8 years after diagnosis, but can hang on for 20 years.  Major problem for families, and a looming burden for medical plans.
• While there is no cure, there are three treatments.  They remove beta-amyloid from the brain.
• Aduanumab (Aduhelm)
• Donanemab (Kisunla)
• Lecanemab (Leqembi)
• Alzheimer's helpline:  800 272 3900.

Not sure if this is good or bad news, but a new blood test was recently disclosed to test for Alzheimer's.

• The test indicates the presence of sticky amyloid plaques and tangled fibers called tau (abnormal protein ptau217) in the brain.  The accuracy is 90%.  A dementia specialist gets 75%.

• 
  Previously, this would have required an uncomfortable spinal tap or a costly PET scan.
• There has previously been a variety of blood tests, but the accuracy of them has been questioned.
• This new test cost several hundred dollars and is already commercially available, although not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration.  Thus, medical insurers don't yet cover the cost.

Getting a positive diagnosis is just the second step.  Then what?

• Most medical plans supposedly cover dementia care.
• But there are huge questions on daily benefit, length, maximum lifetime payout, etc.  Tax implications?
• The toll on families is huge.

Tropical Storm Debby formed southeast of Florida, and will make landfall over the Panhandle as a possible hurricane, with eye currently projected to pass Tallahassee to the east.

There are three ocean storms in the East Pacific, with two of them headed for Hawaii.  Hurricane Carlotta was at 90 MPH earlier today, but has weakened to 85 MPH, and should further weaken in her trek west.  Tropical Storm Daniel began by going west, but almost reversed himself northeast towards Baha, then more recently again seeming to turn west.  Behind Carlotta is a third pre-tropical storm that seems to be moving in the Hawaii direction.

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