4 ms·

The Neurofix

36 points by Hooke 11y ago

kough 11y ago
As someone who hasn't read much about this sort of research, I'm impressed and hopeful for the future based on the advances described here. I just watched my maternal grandparents go through the sort of horrible, prolonged, process of slow brain-death (alzheimers, parkinsons) and general neural decay before death. Heart breaking. For those who know more about this: how far out are we? Tens of years? Hundreds? What stands in the way?
- volkk 11y ago
  as far as i remember reading somewhere, i think one of the main problems is that we don't really know what Alzheimer's disease is. We know the symptoms and we know what the brain looks like after the disease comes (in an autopsy once the person is dead) which makes diagnosing very difficult as well. But mainly we don't really know how and why or what it is.
Xcelerate 11y ago
That was a rather sad article. The juxtaposition of how her parents were in their younger years to how they were later in life is disconcerting. As a 25 year old, I don't think my fear of death is necessarily greater than the average person, but I do seem to have a stronger fear of aging than most people my age. And that fear is almost entirely due to the way the human brain changes as it ages. I could handle a deteriorating body, but a deteriorating mind is a horrifying thought, since the mind essentially constitutes who I am. Alzheimers and dementia unnerve me. Less acutely, even the way that people tend to get "stuck in their ways" and quit trying new things later in life scares me as well. I make a conscious effort to keep trying new things, even if I think I won't like them. Some people are afraid of change, but I'm afraid of monotony, boredom, and routine — traits that characterize the concluding years of many lives that were formerly full of excitement.
- ideonexus 11y ago
  I think your fear is healthy if it motivates you to fight the effects of aging. I know many people in their 60s and 70s and it's amazing the effect lifestyle has on where you end up. I know 60-year-olds who are senile and frail after a liftime of recreational drinking, poor eating, and inactivity. I also know 80-year-olds who are sharp as me, learning new things, and biking, hiking, or running more than ever to stay young. My 70-year-old mother just got her PhD and teaches nursing thanks to a liftime of healthy eating and intense exercise. Those are the seniors I think of when I go to the gym and choose salad over my craving for burgers and fries when out to eat.
  - Xcelerate 11y ago
    > My 70-year-old mother just got her PhD and teaches nursing thanks to a lifetime of healthy eating and intense exercise. That's really impressive!
  - drone 11y ago
    Sadly, even exercise and good living doesn't always work. I have a family member living with dementia right now who lived a model life as far as diet (vegetarian), exercise (daily for life), no drinking or drugs, and an overall focus on doing everything possible to be as healthy as possible. Conversely, my own grandfather watched all of his coworkers die from cancer due to the chemicals they worked with, was generally sedentary, and lived into his nineties with no major degenerative diseases. That said, I agree that one is more likely to have positive late-life outcomes if one chooses to live more healthfully in younger life.
    - ideonexus 11y ago
      Thank you for pointing this out. I almost went back and edited my original post to add this qualification. There are absolutely exceptions to the trends, and just because someone is having health or cognitive issues in their senior years, we should not assume it's because of their lifestyle. I think you stated this fact very well and I appreciate it.
  - 11y ago

36 points by Hooke 11y ago

kough 11y ago

As someone who hasn't read much about this sort of research, I'm impressed and hopeful for the future based on the advances described here. I just watched my maternal grandparents go through the sort of horrible, prolonged, process of slow brain-death (alzheimers, parkinsons) and general neural decay before death. Heart breaking. For those who know more about this: how far out are we? Tens of years? Hundreds? What stands in the way?

volkk 11y ago
as far as i remember reading somewhere, i think one of the main problems is that we don't really know what Alzheimer's disease is. We know the symptoms and we know what the brain looks like after the disease comes (in an autopsy once the person is dead) which makes diagnosing very difficult as well. But mainly we don't really know how and why or what it is.

Xcelerate 11y ago

That was a rather sad article. The juxtaposition of how her parents were in their younger years to how they were later in life is disconcerting. As a 25 year old, I don't think my fear of death is necessarily greater than the average person, but I do seem to have a stronger fear of aging than most people my age. And that fear is almost entirely due to the way the human brain changes as it ages. I could handle a deteriorating body, but a deteriorating mind is a horrifying thought, since the mind essentially constitutes who I am. Alzheimers and dementia unnerve me. Less acutely, even the way that people tend to get "stuck in their ways" and quit trying new things later in life scares me as well. I make a conscious effort to keep trying new things, even if I think I won't like them. Some people are afraid of change, but I'm afraid of monotony, boredom, and routine — traits that characterize the concluding years of many lives that were formerly full of excitement.

ideonexus 11y ago
I think your fear is healthy if it motivates you to fight the effects of aging. I know many people in their 60s and 70s and it's amazing the effect lifestyle has on where you end up. I know 60-year-olds who are senile and frail after a liftime of recreational drinking, poor eating, and inactivity. I also know 80-year-olds who are sharp as me, learning new things, and biking, hiking, or running more than ever to stay young. My 70-year-old mother just got her PhD and teaches nursing thanks to a liftime of healthy eating and intense exercise. Those are the seniors I think of when I go to the gym and choose salad over my craving for burgers and fries when out to eat.
- Xcelerate 11y ago
  > My 70-year-old mother just got her PhD and teaches nursing thanks to a lifetime of healthy eating and intense exercise. That's really impressive!
- drone 11y ago
  Sadly, even exercise and good living doesn't always work. I have a family member living with dementia right now who lived a model life as far as diet (vegetarian), exercise (daily for life), no drinking or drugs, and an overall focus on doing everything possible to be as healthy as possible. Conversely, my own grandfather watched all of his coworkers die from cancer due to the chemicals they worked with, was generally sedentary, and lived into his nineties with no major degenerative diseases. That said, I agree that one is more likely to have positive late-life outcomes if one chooses to live more healthfully in younger life.
  - ideonexus 11y ago
    Thank you for pointing this out. I almost went back and edited my original post to add this qualification. There are absolutely exceptions to the trends, and just because someone is having health or cognitive issues in their senior years, we should not assume it's because of their lifestyle. I think you stated this fact very well and I appreciate it.
- 11y ago