3 ms·

This would make sense. HerpesVirus has been shown to cause atherosclerosis as well, in humans. The connection? Herpes binds to the APOE gene sitting on choleste

This would make sense. HerpesVirus has been shown to cause atherosclerosis as well, in humans. The connection? Herpes binds to the APOE gene sitting on cholesterol-carrying LDL particles .... https://medium.com/@InfinoMe/cholesterol-have-we-shot-the-messenger-a3f5dfeba09 https://medium.com/@InfinoMe/cholesterol-have-we-shot-the-me... I spent 3 years in one of the nations top alzheimers centers. It is still shocking to me how some of the seasoned veteran professors in the field are both unfamiliar with the 20 years of viral literature behind Alzheimers, but that they also completely write it off as being unlikely. Curing alzheimers starts with curing the old dogma pervasive in the field. Incidentally, the time is now for young hackers to get into biomedicine. We need you.

msie 8y ago
So maddening to hear that! The funding should be diverse enough not to go to all the veterans.
pvaldes 8y ago
Sadly, the requisites to enter in biomedicine research are overhelming.
- subcosmos 8y ago
  Nada - most hospitals really need computational help. If you come in and have machine learning chops, you can do can even do better financially than most bench biologists. Starting your way in IT and working into a data science role is definitely possible, regardless of credentials. It's all a matter of finding the right lab and project.
xabuq 8y ago
So what's up with tangentially related associations like Parkinsons, Lewy Body dementia (see: Robin Williams) and also Chicken Pox and Shingles. Aren't these all a relatable set of problems, then?
- subcosmos 8y ago
  I personally think so, yes. Evidence in the literature is more scant, but there are documented cases. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1600-0404.1987.tb03591.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1600-0404.... The more I think about the anatomy of cranial nerves, the more I wonder if different dementia subtypes are caused by different viral strains that have gotten really great at infecting specific nerves. Take for example the trigeminal nerve. There is literature out there showing that a large fraction of people (>70%) have HSV-1 present there at time of death : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3546524/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3546524/ How would the virus get in? Im wondering if its via the nerves in your teeth! http://teachmeanatomy.info/head/cranial-nerves/trigeminal-nerve/ http://teachmeanatomy.info/head/cranial-nerves/trigeminal-ne... For dementia .... still working on that.... Im convinced though now that frontotemporal dementia might have something to do with the facial nerve getting infected somehow. It would make sense, given the facial paralysis present in bvFTD patients. Can't find it now, but theres a paper out there connecting coxsackievirus to FTD EDIT: BTW, for shingles, connection is much stronger with Alzheimers https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5699837/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5699837/

msie 8y ago

So maddening to hear that! The funding should be diverse enough not to go to all the veterans.

pvaldes 8y ago

Sadly, the requisites to enter in biomedicine research are overhelming.

subcosmos 8y ago
Nada - most hospitals really need computational help. If you come in and have machine learning chops, you can do can even do better financially than most bench biologists. Starting your way in IT and working into a data science role is definitely possible, regardless of credentials. It's all a matter of finding the right lab and project.

xabuq 8y ago

So what's up with tangentially related associations like Parkinsons, Lewy Body dementia (see: Robin Williams) and also Chicken Pox and Shingles. Aren't these all a relatable set of problems, then?

subcosmos 8y ago
I personally think so, yes. Evidence in the literature is more scant, but there are documented cases. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1600-0404.1987.tb03591.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1600-0404.... The more I think about the anatomy of cranial nerves, the more I wonder if different dementia subtypes are caused by different viral strains that have gotten really great at infecting specific nerves. Take for example the trigeminal nerve. There is literature out there showing that a large fraction of people (>70%) have HSV-1 present there at time of death : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3546524/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3546524/ How would the virus get in? Im wondering if its via the nerves in your teeth! http://teachmeanatomy.info/head/cranial-nerves/trigeminal-nerve/ http://teachmeanatomy.info/head/cranial-nerves/trigeminal-ne... For dementia .... still working on that.... Im convinced though now that frontotemporal dementia might have something to do with the facial nerve getting infected somehow. It would make sense, given the facial paralysis present in bvFTD patients. Can't find it now, but theres a paper out there connecting coxsackievirus to FTD EDIT: BTW, for shingles, connection is much stronger with Alzheimers https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5699837/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5699837/