Scientists may have found mechanism behind cognitive decline in aging • Hacker News Board

Re: Scientists may have found mechanism behind cognitive decline in aging

#301

Post by jpcfl » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 12:29 AM UTC

DANmode wrote: post #185

jpcfl wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Holy shit this. I went years undiagnosed. Saw a dozen doctors. Couldn’t get an clear explanation for why I was always tired, brain fog, vision problems, joint pain, memory issues. The list goes on. Then my _dentist_ of all people ordered a Watch-PAT take-home sleep test (took a lab sleep test, but it was useless) which finally revealed I was having more than 10 events per hour. The dentist made me a Herbst appliance…

What region is this? Excellent catch.

Mountain View, CA.

I should say that my health issue weren't all magically solved by the Herbst appliance, but addressing my sleep apnea was a major improvement.

Re: Scientists may have found mechanism behind cognitive decline in aging

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Post by banq » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 12:34 AM UTC

criddell wrote: post #225

copperx wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is a shame that NR is quite an expensive placebo, though. I've found similar results, but I have zero faith in it being some sort of anti aging agent in humans.

I think it is costing me less than $2 / day. In the world of supplements, it's not that much.

NMN is cheaper, and better than NR

Re: Scientists may have found mechanism behind cognitive decline in aging

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Post by robwwilliams » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:44 AM UTC

freehorse wrote: post #25

> Researchers using mouse models found that altering the CaMKII brain protein caused similar cognitive effects as those that happen through normal aging. This should be the title of the article. Honestly these supposedly dissemination articles do not offer much more than reading the abstract or skimming a bit through the article itself. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scisignal.ade5892

Agreed. This press release is over-the-top and implies that THE one major cause for neurocognitive decline with aging has just been discovered. I doubt the article is quite so hyperbolic. The temperature of press releases for research papers in aging and dementia research needs to be cooler.

Re: Scientists may have found mechanism behind cognitive decline in aging

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Post by Zetice » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 3:53 AM UTC

yjftsjthsd-h wrote: post #282

Zetice wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why did you italicize a word? Why speak with any emotion ever? Why not focus exclusively on the optimal method of transferring information from one being to another?

In this case, I believe that using italics to convey emphasis and a bit of emotion is the optimal method of transferring information (here, expressing surprise and questioning someone apparently favoring a practice that is generally correctly viewed as a pure negative).

I disagree, he could have made his point more efficiently, therefore undercutting his complaint.

Re: Scientists may have found mechanism behind cognitive decline in aging

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Post by JoshuaDavid » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 7:05 AM UTC

onurcel wrote: post #193

freehorse wrote: post #25

> Researchers using mouse models found that altering the CaMKII brain protein caused similar cognitive effects as those that happen through normal aging. This should be the title of the article. Honestly these supposedly dissemination articles do not offer much more than reading the abstract or skimming a bit through the article itself. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scisignal.ade5892

Realistically, with the title you suggest nobody would have read the post. A title is not "the most informative and complete sentence summarizing the article", it also has the goal to stimulate curiosity. I understand that we don't want misleading titles but this obsession on titles is not very helpful. I am participating in this useless conversation but I couldn't help myself. Now every single HN post has a comment…

How about

> Researchers found aging-like cognitive effects in mice by altering the CaMKII brain protein

Only 3 more words than the original, but contains quite a bit more information about what exactly the claim is while still having a strong "hook".

Re: Scientists may have found mechanism behind cognitive decline in aging

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Post by [deleted] » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 9:32 AM UTC

traceroute66 wrote: post #106

smallkitten wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mouthwash is not really a dental hygiene thing. If you need to use mouthwash to prevent bad breath even when you brush your teeth and clean your mouth properly, you need to look into what might be causing that problem in the first place. Mouthwash is like a duct-tape workaround and probably not very healthy for you either. Btw - interdental toothbrushes. If you’re not using them already, you may want to start. Very h…

> interdental toothbrushes. If you’re not using them already, you may want to start. Very helpful. Much better than flossing Interdental brushes are IN ADDITION to, not instead of flossing. Interdental brushes, by definition, cannot get down to the gumline gap between tooth and gum. Something which ONLY correct flossing can do. Ask your hygienist next time you see them.

[deleted]

Re: Scientists may have found mechanism behind cognitive decline in aging

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Post by 6510 » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 11:00 AM UTC

wernercd wrote: post #151

bluepod4 wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should try it southern or soul food style similar to how collard greens are cooked. It’s cooked along with meat and a bunch of seasonings. Definitely a different flavor. But also less healthful.

Just as a personal opinion: I hate the way kale tastes. I also hate coffee. I love broccoli and tons of other greens. I love tea. The only way I enjoy kale is having it as garnish that gets tossed away. my better half loves steamed kale. no amount of salts and seasonings has changed my mind. cheese and salt/pepper took me from a broccoli hater into a broccoli lover lol. but I digress.

Broccoli is disgusting if not prepared well.

Chop it small (the stems really small) add sliced garlic, sliced hot pepper, some olive oil and a cup of water then cook it for 3-4 minutes only. Drink the water and (if you must) serve with lots of cheese and bacon. (add the cheese immediately or it wont melt)

Like with broth, the first day it tastes good. If you prepare it again within the next 2 days the body screams for more. Specially the water is funny, it feels as if some magic potion.

Re: Scientists may have found mechanism behind cognitive decline in aging

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Post by nottorp » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 11:10 AM UTC

CodeSgt wrote: post #216

morelisp wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Exercise helps post-COVID cognitive decline and insomnia" is absolutely bro science, and especially since it can make the whole situation much, much worse.

That was never the claim. The claim was that it helps with brain fog and mental clarity in general, not specifically that caused by long-COVID, which had been proven to be true. And a cursory look at the literature for PEM[1] will show you that the recommended path to recovery isn’t “avoid physical exertion at all costs”, but to do what you’re capable of and slowly ramp up the intensity, in which case small amounts o…

Actually I was answering to the person demanding pills for sleep quality...

Re: Scientists may have found mechanism behind cognitive decline in aging

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Post by AnthonBerg » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 12:27 PM UTC

johnnyanmac wrote: post #295

AnthonBerg wrote: post #288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I assure you that there is literature on it. Here’s an almost random sample of papers. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2022.10.006 https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs10238-022-00871-8 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nerep.2022.100154 https://doi.org/10.1042/BCJ20220016 I would like to point to this kind of statement that doctors often make, that there is “no literature” or that “nothing is known”. This is very often flat out wron…

your earliest link here was August of last year. I have heard people taking about long COVID as early as early 2021. Properly researched literature takes time to be written and much longer to be peer reviewed and disseminated into the circle of the academic conscious. I don't think there's much value taking the word that literally. I simply assume the acedemic conscious when I hear "there is no literature on X". I ce…

Yes, the earliest publication of those three is from almost a year ago. Random sample of papers. There exist studies / results / observations with actionable information older than that. (There’s probably something in the references sections of those papers, for instance.)

I of course accept the fact that information takes time to propagate, but the fact remains that I have been to specialist doctors for serious issues which have stated flat out that “nothing is known” – where they literally meant ”nothing is known”, which was completely contradicted by papers. Ten year old papers. Twenty year old papers. Fifty year old papers.

Again and again.

Certainly not all doctors are part of this culture. More than one time I have been present when a doctor who reads academic papers makes a decision based on that information which effectively saved a life.

Nonetheless, this hazard is a very real part of medical practicioner culture.

I certainly wouldn’t want a neurologist to treat last week’s news as gospel either. Absolutely not.

I just don’t know yet how to tell people how big this gulf can be between existing knowledge – established, proven, actionable knowledge – and what a given doctor acknowledges and/or doesn’t flat out deny the existence of.

Maybe this:

Anyone can read academic papers. In biology and medicine. Anyone. Really. And it is the minority of doctors who actually do so. I suggest that people verify doctors’ statements about the complete non-existence of knowledge about any given thing, should they make such statements. Read. Read as if lives were at stake.

—

Part of the reason doctors don’t read is that they are often overworked. They really, really are. (It’s not the only reason though.)

And: Of course!, reading science papers online IS NOT a substitute for medical training.

What I suggest people do is this: Help your doctors to help you.

With the utmost humility. As if lives were at stake.

Re: Scientists may have found mechanism behind cognitive decline in aging

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Post by ddmf » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 1:46 PM UTC

herval wrote: post #136

swalsh wrote: post #16

I've noticed a cognitive decline in myself the past couple years. I'm in my mid 30's though so I assume it's more related to long covid. One of the biggest side effects of long covid for me was horrible insomnia, which was killer. The insomnia is mostly gone, but I'm still not my previous cognitive self. It's terrifying to be honest.

I had the same after COVID. Took me many months to start feeling functional again. Any time I tried to think about something, it'd just... noise out? First 2-3 months were just awful I went to a neurologist who said there's tons of people coming in with the same complaint after COVID, and since there's no literature on that yet, he couldn't really do anything. It gets better.

I remember sitting trying to solve a problem to do with parent/child codes and modifiers, and I'd never had nothing come out, that was absolutely scary. 8 months later and I looked at it again and solved it so easily.

The big problem was that I'd always been able to hide my adhd symptoms, or at least 'clever' my way around them, and long covid / covid brain just laid them all bare.

Over 3 years after my first covid infection - still can't really taste or smell - I'm medicated for adhd, and I feel almost like how I was in March 2020.