8 ms·

Long-winded speech could be early sign of Alzheimer's disease, says study

108 points by Hooke 10y ago

w00tw00tw00t 10y ago
Long winded title could be a sign of long winded article
melling 10y ago
Third time is a charm? https://hn.algolia.com/?query=alzheimer&sort=byPopularity&prefix&page=0&dateRange=pastWeek&type=story https://hn.algolia.com/?query=alzheimer&sort=byPopularity&pr...
- pimlottc 10y ago
  There's nothing wrong with resubmitting an article, as long as it's not done excessively.
  - melling 10y ago
    I never said there was something wrong. I simply pointed out that it took 3 times in 24 hours before the story gained traction. It was an interesting story. I'm glad it finally got traction.
Declanomous 10y ago
> Worsening “mental imprecision” was the key, rather than people simply being verbose, however. “Many individuals may be long-winded, that’s not a concern,” said Sherman. For a minute I was worried I might be losing my mind. Thankfully I've always been garrulous, though I'm sure other people don't see that as a blessing.
- notheguyouthink 10y ago
  Worrying for me still, heh. I'm both long winded and imprecise as hell. I constantly forget names of things / people. Though, i do suppose it's limited to that. Ask me to remember what something is called, who acted in what movie, etc and i fail to remember the specific names. However i can remember the details of the movie, where i am, how to get places, where things are stored, etc. My memory worries me.
  - ttrider 10y ago
    Well, I'm 45 now and noticed all the same stmptoms as you have. I went to a doctor and after 3 hours of testing he told me that no, I don't have Alzheimer, but yes I do have ADHD.
    - Declanomous 10y ago
      I have ADHD as well, so I wasn't really worried that the symptoms were indicative of Alzheimer's or dementia, but I was still a little worried.
    - empath75 10y ago
      yeah i have adhd. It's not that I forget things, it's that I wasn't really paying attention to begin with.
      - S_A_P 10y ago
        This! As Ive aged(Im 40 now) Ive become more acutely aware of it, but I also really don't have a way to turn it off, and then it can get me into some sort of metacognitive loop of why cant you pay attention better all the while Im thinking about that instead of paying attention...
    - mistermann 10y ago
      Can anything be done, as I have similar memory problems.
    - stevenh 10y ago
      3 hours? What were the tests like? Also, do you have any advice on how to get a doctor to listen to you for more than 3 minutes before rushing you out with a half-baked diagnosis and a prescription for a medication they barely know anything about?
  - SomeStupidPoint 10y ago
    I can't remember names of people, but I'll remember their faces for years even if we just meet once or twice, and recognize them walking down the street. I always figured it's just what I regard as important or not.
- gpawl 10y ago
  The headline was imprecise; perhaps the author has Alzheimer's.
- rdiddly 10y ago
  The title says being long-winded is a sign of Alzheimer's. Then this quote says being long-winded is actually not the concern. Then later somebody says subjects with cognitive impairment were (I'm paraphrasing) long-winded. Can somebody at the Guardian make up their damn mind, or are they suffering cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer's?
paulpauper 10y ago
“Fred visited Bob after his graduation” such a sentence could be ambiguous because it's not obvious who graduated. Some may argue it's bob
- debacle 10y ago
  Some may argue that it's neither Fred nor Bob.
  - Kluny 10y ago
    Some say they're still arguing.
- pbhjpbhj 10y ago
  "... of the conical flasks was found to be deficient." ?
rconti 10y ago
"... I was wearing an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time..."
pklausler 10y ago
Well, that's a relief. I'm getting older, but I've actually been speaking less, mostly because it's a waste of time to speak when nobody is actually paying attention.
- trendia 10y ago
  Well, I read your comment, if that's worth anything.
torrance 10y ago
When I read this, I assumed it was an indirect jab at Trump.
- buckbova 10y ago
  Of course it is. That's why it's published now and any evidence is cited from 2004[1] and 2016[2]. [1] http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041129/full/news041129-4.html http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041129/full/news041129-4.htm... [2] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/nov/02/a-decade-of-deadlock-over-alzheimers-treatment-may-be-drawing-to-a-close https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/nov/02/a-decade-of-...
- james_pm 10y ago
  Exactly what I thought. The article written by a journalist with a Twitter feed full of anti-Trump tweets, about a speech at a conference in Boston that also featured an anti-Trump protest. Bringing the Reagan angle into the story sealed it. The biggest tell is that this article, and the many that were also written in other news sites (rewritten, really) don't cite a specific study.
sofaofthedamned 10y ago
This is basically every academic I know, including the missus. I daren't show her this...
hoprocker 10y ago
"Ronald Reagan started to have a decline in the number of unique words with repetitions of statements over time,” said Sherman. “[He] started using more fillers, more empty phrases, like ‘thing’ or ‘something’ or things like ‘basically’ or ‘actually’ or ‘well’." Seems like history might be coming around again on this one.
- Nomentatus 10y ago
  Had this thought within the hour listening to the business roundtable Trump hosted (on Youtube), before reading this article. Saw a very old interview on Charlie Rose yesterday and he (Trump) seemed sharper then.
Mikeb85 10y ago
Assuming this is talking about Trump and politicians in general (since it's the Guardian and brought up Reagan), repetition is key in politics (or business) to drive home a point. How many times have we seen a product release that repeats ad nauseum, but it's deliberate. Also, being imprecise avoids having to stick to a promise. While I wouldn't say it's a great trait, it's probably still preferable to a politician who makes explicit promises and breaks them. Anyhow, I have no doubt that it could be a precursor to Alzheimer's, but long-windedness can also be a conscious decision; it convinces enough people that you must know what you're talking about, since you're spending so much time talking about it. Concise speech using appropriate vocabulary is overrated - it just flies over most people's heads, and if you don't pad your speeches with fluff, they'll mistake conciseness with having nothing to say. Skirting around issues whilst saying nothing using many words is usually a conscious choice among politicians and businessmen.
burntrelish1273 10y ago
Interesting but probably not Alzheimer's related: ever since my 60's-yo mother had a stroke (ICH) about 2 years ago, she now uses the "well" most often as embolalia when contemplating something because it takes her more mental effort now. Not sure how it relates to the possibility of an elevated Alzheimer's risk. Clarity of thought is speaking less and saying more, which is a constant struggle to maintain health and energy against the inexorable march of entropy, per genes and habits.

108 points by Hooke 10y ago

Long winded title could be a sign of long winded article

Third time is a charm? https://hn.algolia.com/?query=alzheimer&sort=byPopularity&prefix&page=0&dateRange=pastWeek&type=story https://hn.algolia.com/?query=alzheimer&sort=byPopularity&pr...

pimlottc 10y ago
There's nothing wrong with resubmitting an article, as long as it's not done excessively.
- melling 10y ago
  I never said there was something wrong. I simply pointed out that it took 3 times in 24 hours before the story gained traction. It was an interesting story. I'm glad it finally got traction.

Declanomous 10y ago

> Worsening “mental imprecision” was the key, rather than people simply being verbose, however. “Many individuals may be long-winded, that’s not a concern,” said Sherman. For a minute I was worried I might be losing my mind. Thankfully I've always been garrulous, though I'm sure other people don't see that as a blessing.

notheguyouthink 10y ago
Worrying for me still, heh. I'm both long winded and imprecise as hell. I constantly forget names of things / people. Though, i do suppose it's limited to that. Ask me to remember what something is called, who acted in what movie, etc and i fail to remember the specific names. However i can remember the details of the movie, where i am, how to get places, where things are stored, etc. My memory worries me.
- ttrider 10y ago
  Well, I'm 45 now and noticed all the same stmptoms as you have. I went to a doctor and after 3 hours of testing he told me that no, I don't have Alzheimer, but yes I do have ADHD.
  - Declanomous 10y ago
    I have ADHD as well, so I wasn't really worried that the symptoms were indicative of Alzheimer's or dementia, but I was still a little worried.
  - empath75 10y ago
    yeah i have adhd. It's not that I forget things, it's that I wasn't really paying attention to begin with.
    - S_A_P 10y ago
      This! As Ive aged(Im 40 now) Ive become more acutely aware of it, but I also really don't have a way to turn it off, and then it can get me into some sort of metacognitive loop of why cant you pay attention better all the while Im thinking about that instead of paying attention...
  - mistermann 10y ago
    Can anything be done, as I have similar memory problems.
  - stevenh 10y ago
    3 hours? What were the tests like? Also, do you have any advice on how to get a doctor to listen to you for more than 3 minutes before rushing you out with a half-baked diagnosis and a prescription for a medication they barely know anything about?
- SomeStupidPoint 10y ago
  I can't remember names of people, but I'll remember their faces for years even if we just meet once or twice, and recognize them walking down the street. I always figured it's just what I regard as important or not.
gpawl 10y ago
The headline was imprecise; perhaps the author has Alzheimer's.
rdiddly 10y ago
The title says being long-winded is a sign of Alzheimer's. Then this quote says being long-winded is actually not the concern. Then later somebody says subjects with cognitive impairment were (I'm paraphrasing) long-winded. Can somebody at the Guardian make up their damn mind, or are they suffering cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer's?

paulpauper 10y ago

“Fred visited Bob after his graduation” such a sentence could be ambiguous because it's not obvious who graduated. Some may argue it's bob

debacle 10y ago
Some may argue that it's neither Fred nor Bob.
- Kluny 10y ago
  Some say they're still arguing.
pbhjpbhj 10y ago
"... of the conical flasks was found to be deficient." ?

rconti 10y ago

"... I was wearing an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time..."

pklausler 10y ago

Well, that's a relief. I'm getting older, but I've actually been speaking less, mostly because it's a waste of time to speak when nobody is actually paying attention.

trendia 10y ago
Well, I read your comment, if that's worth anything.

torrance 10y ago

When I read this, I assumed it was an indirect jab at Trump.

buckbova 10y ago
Of course it is. That's why it's published now and any evidence is cited from 2004[1] and 2016[2]. [1] http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041129/full/news041129-4.html http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041129/full/news041129-4.htm... [2] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/nov/02/a-decade-of-deadlock-over-alzheimers-treatment-may-be-drawing-to-a-close https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/nov/02/a-decade-of-...
james_pm 10y ago
Exactly what I thought. The article written by a journalist with a Twitter feed full of anti-Trump tweets, about a speech at a conference in Boston that also featured an anti-Trump protest. Bringing the Reagan angle into the story sealed it. The biggest tell is that this article, and the many that were also written in other news sites (rewritten, really) don't cite a specific study.

sofaofthedamned 10y ago

This is basically every academic I know, including the missus. I daren't show her this...

hoprocker 10y ago

"Ronald Reagan started to have a decline in the number of unique words with repetitions of statements over time,” said Sherman. “[He] started using more fillers, more empty phrases, like ‘thing’ or ‘something’ or things like ‘basically’ or ‘actually’ or ‘well’." Seems like history might be coming around again on this one.

Nomentatus 10y ago
Had this thought within the hour listening to the business roundtable Trump hosted (on Youtube), before reading this article. Saw a very old interview on Charlie Rose yesterday and he (Trump) seemed sharper then.

Mikeb85 10y ago

Assuming this is talking about Trump and politicians in general (since it's the Guardian and brought up Reagan), repetition is key in politics (or business) to drive home a point. How many times have we seen a product release that repeats ad nauseum, but it's deliberate. Also, being imprecise avoids having to stick to a promise. While I wouldn't say it's a great trait, it's probably still preferable to a politician who makes explicit promises and breaks them. Anyhow, I have no doubt that it could be a precursor to Alzheimer's, but long-windedness can also be a conscious decision; it convinces enough people that you must know what you're talking about, since you're spending so much time talking about it. Concise speech using appropriate vocabulary is overrated - it just flies over most people's heads, and if you don't pad your speeches with fluff, they'll mistake conciseness with having nothing to say. Skirting around issues whilst saying nothing using many words is usually a conscious choice among politicians and businessmen.

burntrelish1273 10y ago

Interesting but probably not Alzheimer's related: ever since my 60's-yo mother had a stroke (ICH) about 2 years ago, she now uses the "well" most often as embolalia when contemplating something because it takes her more mental effort now. Not sure how it relates to the possibility of an elevated Alzheimer's risk. Clarity of thought is speaking less and saying more, which is a constant struggle to maintain health and energy against the inexorable march of entropy, per genes and habits.