Cable news pioneer Ted Turner faces latest major challenge: dementia
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Ted Turner has never been one to shy away from a challenge. He’s sailed to victory in America’s Cup races, assembled World Series-winning baseball teams, transformed a modest billboard business into a global media empire, and called attention to environmental crises around the world.
Now Turner faces a new challenge, this one perhaps the most formidable and personal of all: dementia.
“It’s a mild case of what people have as Alzheimer’s,” Turner said, speaking to Koppel on his Montana ranch. “It’s similar to that. But not nearly as bad. Alzheimer’s is fatal.”
"Thank goodness I don't have that," he said, adding that at that moment he couldn't remember the name of his condition. "That's dementia. I can't remember what my disease is," he said.
Lewy body dementia is a progressive brain disorder that affects an estimated 1.4 million Americans. Its symptoms resemble Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
It’s the same form of dementia that Robin Williams was diagnosed with prior to his death and is known to affect vision, which can result in hallucinations and delusions. The disease’s symptoms also include muscle rigidity and difficulty balancing. Turner said he is often exhausted and forgetful.
“Ted’s always been larger than life,” said Steve Stahl, a former CNN director of technical operations who has known Turner since 1984. “He had big ideas. He was several steps ahead of everybody else.”
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I have witnessed both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s dementia. We are dealing with this presently with a family member. It is hard to watch them personally struggle and it is hard to struggle dealing with them.
It is a disease that is still a mystery. Just when they think they understand what is the root cause they don't. The latest news is that the Lewy bodies don't seem to be the issue, but rather the side effect.
In many ways, the human body is a mystery.
Thread removed for off topic.
He has a great attitude regarding his diagnosis. I've always thought of him as one of those people that live life to it's fullest.
Also :
The Effects of Medical Marijuana on Alzheimer’s Prevention
A preclinical study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease found that very small doses of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a chemical found in marijuana, can slow the production of beta-amyloid proteins, thought to be a hallmark characteristic and key contributor to the progression of Alzheimer’s.
The study, published in 2014, is among others to support the effectiveness of THC in prohibiting the growth of toxic amyloid plagues.
Co-author of the study, Neel Nabar, cautions against drawing quick conclusions from their study saying:
It seems that the medical benefits of Marijuana keep growing. It might turn out to be the wonder drug for the brain. Thanks for that info.
Unfortunately there is also some evidence it could be harmful. There just isn’t enough conclusive evidence of the benefit or harm at this point.
Waiting for the stop sign to turn green......
I wonder if there is a way to harvest the THC into a pill form. My mom deals with chronic pain, and has high hopes for medical marijauna, but won't smoke. period. I'll have to be careful when she offers me a brownie.....if and when, of course.......
There is some evidence that smoking marijuana is harmful to your respitory system also....
Your mom doesn't need THC, she needs CBD's for chronic pain. She can get it in a tincture or in pill form, as long as she doesn't live in some ass backwards teatalitarian state. CBD pills save me $500 per month on pharmaceuticals that wreck livers and kidneys, requiring more pharmaceuticals.
Hey Spikegary...
Sativex is an oral spray, to my knowledge there are no natural THC in a pill form, THC is more of an oil .. however there are pill forms of synthetic Marijuana..
Check out the Stanley brothers in Colorado Springs, Colorado.. they are developing some amazing natural products.
My brother found her the oil, but it didn't seem to help her. I'll have to look into CBD. Thank you.
CMF, thank you. I will look into it. The pain is tough on her at 84. As I said above, my brother got her some of the oil, but didn't see any lessening. She suffers from Polymyalgia, and back issues stemming form when she was a little kid in the late 1930s and early 1940s, she fell out of a tree and broke her pelvis, then in 1972 a sleigh riding accidnet caused the doc to remove one of the discs in her lower back-and all the eyars since, her spine has settled........
Ooo my heart goes out to your mom - sounds like she metaphorically had a load of steel dropped on her like I did .. I wonder some days what life will be like at 80 if I am this crippled up at 52...
I have back issues causing severe nerve issues .. CBD's did not seem to benefit me .. I use a THC butter .. just had some banana bread : ) it is a body high, does not mess with my head - recently a friend delivered some THC infused honey that he picked up in Oregon .. I have not tried it as of yet - but I am thinking a nice hot cup of tea is in the works this evening...
I will remain hopeful that your mom is able to find some relief .. I highly recommend trying butter, instead of popping a pill, just have a warm piece of cinnamon toast or a bagel : )
I'll yield to your expertise on that.
Coming to a state near you...sooner or later.
Check out all of the munchies...
There's always a slight risk to everything, smoking especially,
but pot and tobacco are different.
The worse part of smoking dope is not knowing what, if any herbicides were sprayed on what you're smoking.
I misspoke. I call them pills, they're actually candy like, but I swallow them whole. I've only found them at one dispensary. I stop using them for a month before my random UA comes up, since they still have a trace of THC in them. I won't risk my federal clearance. Kind of shoots the MJ addictive meme in the ass though, don't it.
Double the dose on the CBD oil. You can't OD on it. Like any medicine it takes time to fully work based on weight, level of pain, and metabolism.
That sucks, I had no idea that CBD's would show up as dirty on a UA - I do not blame you for not wanting to risk your job - has to be difficult to stop taking something that works for you..
Yes, the 'Devil's weed' thing that the federal government still hangs onto is a bit outdated - I believe big pharma is the issue there .. they have some powerful lobbyists working the government..
My mom used to take eye drops for glaucoma, until I read the ingredients and blabbed it was synthetic THC. oops. She stopped taking them fearing addiction. My sister got her to switch to MJ chocolates before bed after she spoke to her Dr. and was consoled that it was more or less the same. It saved her the deductible on the costly eye drops and fixed her decades old Russell Stover addiction, hopefully.
I don't know whether they do or not, but why risk it. Lose a fed clearance to "drugs" and you can't get it back. At my age, alcohol and weed are only for special occasions anyway. I no longer require any assistance doing stupid and forgetful. The last 1/8 I bought lasted almost 8 months. I'm a horrible insomniac. In high school I was at an oz per week, granted it was ditch weed compared to what's available now.
Gary,
When my mother in law was dying, they gave it to her in a liquid form. No side effects from smoking and it did help.
I've met a few grannies I'd like to give it to in liquid form. Unfortunately, even when the barn door is open, the stallion still as to be able to get up off the barn floor. Not a lot of potential dates my age are CPR certified. Please don't flag me and ticket me for being off topic. Sucks being old.
Last time I was in a dispensary the only people younger than me were the bud tenders.
Most of it is grown indoors where I'm at. Clean rooms, tested for herbicides.
I looked it up, and it appears that it depends on the test used as to whether or not CBD's will show in a UA, and quality of the CBD's comes into question as well .. they should be made with hemp oil that is THC free - yet that is not always the case … long story short your natural instincts are correct .. do not risk it … : )
I make my product stretch as well, one can only get so high, or so relaxed … very rare for me to smoke, but I do break the whale bong out from time to time …
I grow my own .. one plant at a time (I am legal to do so : ) … I found a nice blend that does not blow the top of my head off .. some of what is available now can leave one drooling on themselves for a period of time - I do not like that!
Hi AJP,
Stem cell research is very promising for some things like quadriplegia, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis because we know what caused the damage, the damage is stable and we understand the process. In cases of Parkinson's, Lou Gehrig, and Alzheimer's, we are unclear to what causes these disease or the exact process that is happening before the damage happens.
My uncle passed away from ALS, (Lou Gehrig's disease) and my daughter presently works in an ALS lab. They used to think that Lewy bodies were the cause of the problem, but now they see that where Lewy bodies are not present, there is still progression. They believe the clue is in a cell called an astrocyte. View them as the garbage men for the brain. It seems that in these diseases, the astrocytes stop working properly. Of course, this is all new, so we will have to wait until there is more data. But as we speak, my girl is growing millions of them in the lab she works in.
In any event, the chemicals in pot seem to slow down the progression. Again, it is not understood why.