4 ms·
Ever since a family member was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, I've been paying attention to reports like these. Every other year, there is a paper about a major br
by wobbleblob 11y ago
Ever since a family member was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, I've been paying attention to reports like these. Every other year, there is a paper about a major breakthrough, and surely a cure should be just around the corner any time now.
Every few years there is a paper that claims that we now finally know what causes the disease, and every time it's something different, and every time you never hear of a followup.
It's about 3 decades later now, and as far as I can tell, there is still no actual progress in the way of treatment. An alzheimer's diagnosis still means the same as it did in the 80's or in the 60's for that matter.
About this cure that is just around the corner. It came too late for my grandparents generation, it came too late for my parents' generation, it came too late for my generation, I wouldn't be surprised if it came too late for my children's generation. I don't believe in it any more.
- austinjp 11y agoYup, I feel that.
- CamperBob2 11y agoWhen you realize that pretty much every disease and condition has similar papers written about it, you start to realize that the way we do medical research is pretty messed up. Keep in mind that they still haven't really decided whether salt is bad for you or not, or what the real effects of dietary cholesterol are. Widespread conditions that should be much easier to research and understand than Alzheimer's are still very controversial.
- CWuestefeld 11y agoyou start to realize that the way we do medical research is pretty messed up. The way the media reports on research (not just medical) is really messed up.
- CamperBob2 11y agoBoth are true, IMHO, again returning to the dietary salt/cholesterol example. It is easy to point to peer-reviewed literature that backs up any point of view you want to take. The scientific community needs to get its own act together before criticizing the popular media. Few other scientific disciplines are less reliable than medical research, and even fewer are more important.
- bootload 11y ago"The way the media reports on research (not just medical) is really messed up." Might have something to do with wanting simple answers. I notice this happening on HN. If I add a new post where it's a general science article I post both the general article and the original academic paper. HN readers choose the general over the technical article most times except when it comes to HN technical areas of interest. The level of reader understanding may influence article choice.