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The Case for Transmissible Alzheimer's Grows

blogs.scientificamerican.com

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Re: The Case for Transmissible Alzheimer's Grows

#71

Post by alpineidyll3 »

nonbel wrote: post #47

An increase in amyloids will be observed any time cells are malfunctioning for whatever reason. They are the most thermodynamically stable structure that polypeptides can form, and require constant housekeeping to prevent. Accumulation of amyloids is like failing to taking out the trash in your house. Afaik, there has never been a disease state checked for amyloids that failed to be associated with them (heart diseas…

Please keep mentioning this stuff. It's shocking how poorly informed the average scientist is about this topic.

Re: The Case for Transmissible Alzheimer's Grows

#72

Post by manmal »

SubiculumCode wrote: post #37
manmal wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My wife‘s grandmother had all her teeth pulled and replaced with implants (probably a hint towards lifelong gum issues, and PERHAPS stirring/aggravating infections), and 2 years later developed aggressive Alzheimer’s, dying about 3 years later. She was only 64 when she died. To my knowledge, she never had any neuro or eye surgery. It’s just n=1 of course, but to me the gum disease hypothesis looks way more promising.

Or perhaps infection by prions by metal dental equipment.

Unlikely because only eye and neuro tissue would carry prions for contamination of equipment, right? Dental equipment should never come in contact with such tissue.

Re: The Case for Transmissible Alzheimer's Grows

#73

Post by DaiPlusPlus »

awakeasleep wrote: post #70
analog31 wrote: post #68

Ask HN: Are there readily available chemicals that will break down proteins, that would work on prions? How do our digestive systems do it?

Anything that you think of as 'corrosive' will generally break down proteins. Strong bases or acids.

Unfortunately they also tend to break down living tissue too.

Relevant XKCD: https://xkcd.com/1217/

Re: The Case for Transmissible Alzheimer's Grows

#74

Post by [deleted] »

nonbel wrote: post #47

An increase in amyloids will be observed any time cells are malfunctioning for whatever reason. They are the most thermodynamically stable structure that polypeptides can form, and require constant housekeeping to prevent. Accumulation of amyloids is like failing to taking out the trash in your house. Afaik, there has never been a disease state checked for amyloids that failed to be associated with them (heart diseas…

[deleted]

Re: The Case for Transmissible Alzheimer's Grows

#75

Post by manmal »

colanderman wrote: post #11

Dumb question (Wikipedia was of no help), if amyloid beta looks and acts like a prion, why isn't it classified as a prion?

Another dumb question: If Amyloid beta is a prion, why is it so common for Alzheimer's to occur only later in life, while teenagers can suffer from BSE? Does it have a longer incubation period?

Re: The Case for Transmissible Alzheimer's Grows

#76

Post by DoingIsLearning »

beering wrote: post #62
uncleberg wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Forgive me; isn't Lasik all via laser though? Isn't this more like - you share binoculars with someone and your eye fluids mix (if you both push them too close)?

The steps of fixing your eyeballs in place and peeling back the cut-out flap require physical contact with tools.

But those are all tools that interface with the anterior cornea part of the eye.

Is it correct to assume that the type of contact that would be a risk in this case, is with posterior vitreo retinal surgery where you might have contact with the optical nerve tissue?

Re: The Case for Transmissible Alzheimer's Grows

#77

Post by nonbel »

alpineidyll3 wrote: post #71
nonbel wrote: post #47

An increase in amyloids will be observed any time cells are malfunctioning for whatever reason. They are the most thermodynamically stable structure that polypeptides can form, and require constant housekeeping to prevent. Accumulation of amyloids is like failing to taking out the trash in your house. Afaik, there has never been a disease state checked for amyloids that failed to be associated with them (heart diseas…

Please keep mentioning this stuff. It's shocking how poorly informed the average scientist is about this topic.

I plan to. I was similarly ignorant until I looked into the topic of natively unfolded peptides for a different reason (anomalous western blot results).

If you have any examples of these "uninformed scientists" on display it may be helpful to others. The purpose is not to point fingers, but to see where things may have gone wrong.

Re: The Case for Transmissible Alzheimer's Grows

#78

Post by mhkool »

Dr Dale Bredesen has a treatment protocol that improves the conditions of all patients from moderately (late Alzheimer) to significantly (early Alzheimer). His treatment protocol recognizes 3 different types/causes of Alzheimer with an additional 2 subtypes. In December 2018 Dr Bredesen published an article where he shows the results of treatment of 100 patients in various health centers: https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/reversal-of-cognitiv... It is a shame that Scientific American does not know of Dr Bredesen since he is publishing about his treatment a long time. In 2014 he published an article where he reversed Alzheimer in 9 out of 10 patients (which are still well in December 2018!).

Re: The Case for Transmissible Alzheimer's Grows

#79

Post by IAmGraydon »

nradov wrote: post #60
barbarr wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://thejns.org/abstract/journals/j-neurosurg/113/3/artic...

Is it possible that neurosurgeons don't actually have a higher rate of Alzheimer's Disease, but just get correctly diagnosed more often than the general population? I suspect a lot of poor people with limited access to health care die of that disease but it never gets labeled or recorded. But neurosurgeons can recognize their own symptoms and generally have access to the best possible care. The only way to be sure wo…

The problem with that theory is that they get diagnosed at a higher rate than other types of surgeons. This would indicate that their direct exposure to something related to the neuro part of their job title is involved.

Re: The Case for Transmissible Alzheimer's Grows

#80

Post by saluki »

manmal wrote: post #24
SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #18

Does this line of inquiry mesh at all with the idea that "Gum disease–causing bacteria could spur Alzheimer’s" Or are they competing hypotheses? reported here in January: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18987015

My wife‘s grandmother had all her teeth pulled and replaced with implants (probably a hint towards lifelong gum issues, and PERHAPS stirring/aggravating infections), and 2 years later developed aggressive Alzheimer’s, dying about 3 years later. She was only 64 when she died. To my knowledge, she never had any neuro or eye surgery. It’s just n=1 of course, but to me the gum disease hypothesis looks way more promising.

We had a family member have all their teeth pulled and go with dentures/implants and it seems to have triggered aggressive Alzheimers as well.
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