4 ms·

This article seems to have come out in a vacuum while there has been notable research published in the last months. All of these articles have been published on

This article seems to have come out in a vacuum while there has been notable research published in the last months. All of these articles have been published on HN. * On Prions and Alzheimer's being transmissible https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19127520 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19127520 * On insulin resistance linked to the disease https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/diagnosis-diet/201609/avoiding-alzheimer-s-disease-could-be-easier-you-think https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/diagnosis-diet/20160... * On gum disease's links * On HIV and Herpes medication links to reducing https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17540094 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17540094 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19099157 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19099157

hannob 8y ago
> This article seems to have come out in a vacuum while there has been notable research published in the last months. No. The article skipped early research based on weak studies that most likely won't hold up once it's looked at closer. That's a good thing. It means the journalist understands something about science.
nabla9 8y ago
All the links you mention may have something in common. There seems to be bacteria in the gut and diabetes link or inflammation and diabetes link. Gum disease is known to have effects trough letting bacteria and byproducts into the blood. Antiviral medication (HIV and herpes medication) may fight Alzheimer for the same reasons (they kill viruses and reduce inflammation indirectly). Infections (bacterial, viral or prion) and/or inflammation they cause may be the common link. It could be that anything that increases inflammation has link to Alzheimer's. Exercise, sleep, stress reduction and good nutrition may be linked to infections or inflammation as well. Link may be trough improving immune system to fight infections and/or reducing inflammation.
- DoreenMichele 8y ago
  Inflammation and infection tend to go hand in hand. My best understanding is that each can promote the other and treating either successfully can reduce the other. Chemical conditions that promote inflammation tend to promote infection. Infection tends to cause inflammation. You likely cannot neatly separate these two health issues.
  - nabla9 8y ago
    inflammation is biological response to infection (as well as other irritants).
    - DoreenMichele 8y ago
      I'm aware of that. But inflammation also can be caused by, for example, excess acidity. Reversing excess acidity has been shown to effectively break up biofilm, thereby reversing antibiotic resistance. Seems pretty clear to me that the connection thus runs both ways. It isn't a one way street.
      - krageon 8y ago
        Can you explain what you mean with "excess acidity"? Excess acidity where? In the mouth? What is it in excess of?
        deleted 8y ago
        [deleted]
        DoreenMichele 8y ago
        Throughout the body, though most medical sources seem to talk about blood pH. My understanding: Life was not able to leave the oceans until there were bony fish not simply because of the need for a frame on land, but also because of the need to regulate the blood chemistry. In the ocean, animals don't need this. The minerals in the water regulate their blood chemistry. Out of the water, bones serve as a store of calcium to draw upon to neutralize excess acidity. If you are seriously and chronically acid, the body will strip the bones of calcium to keep you alive as long as possible, leading to osteoporosis. Blood needs to remain in a very narrow pH range or you quickly die. Diabetics diagnosed with acidosis are hospitalized. It is a medical emergency that can kill you in two or three days. Most Westerners dismiss the idea of an alkaline diet as nonsense. It gets lumped in with "nutcase" anti-vaxxers for how "scientific" it is deemed to be. But the first defense against acidosis is diet. You need to not be eating too much of the wrong thing. Correcting it is tricky because if the stomach gets too alkaline, you become incapable of digesting food and you begin throwing up. So brute force methods of consuming strongly alkaline stuff can go bad places. You really need to straighten out your diet as a first line of defense. Trying to "hack" this doesn't work well. You can google it, though you will probably get a lot of hits that the HN crowd would outright mock. Here are a couple of "respectable" links to get you started: https://www.livestrong.com/article/381592-normal-body-ph-range/ https://www.livestrong.com/article/381592-normal-body-ph-ran... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC137247/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC137247/
Yuval_Halevi 8y ago
Maybe a sign for a strong PR campaign?

hannob 8y ago

> This article seems to have come out in a vacuum while there has been notable research published in the last months. No. The article skipped early research based on weak studies that most likely won't hold up once it's looked at closer. That's a good thing. It means the journalist understands something about science.

nabla9 8y ago

All the links you mention may have something in common. There seems to be bacteria in the gut and diabetes link or inflammation and diabetes link. Gum disease is known to have effects trough letting bacteria and byproducts into the blood. Antiviral medication (HIV and herpes medication) may fight Alzheimer for the same reasons (they kill viruses and reduce inflammation indirectly). Infections (bacterial, viral or prion) and/or inflammation they cause may be the common link. It could be that anything that increases inflammation has link to Alzheimer's. Exercise, sleep, stress reduction and good nutrition may be linked to infections or inflammation as well. Link may be trough improving immune system to fight infections and/or reducing inflammation.

DoreenMichele 8y ago
Inflammation and infection tend to go hand in hand. My best understanding is that each can promote the other and treating either successfully can reduce the other. Chemical conditions that promote inflammation tend to promote infection. Infection tends to cause inflammation. You likely cannot neatly separate these two health issues.
- nabla9 8y ago
  inflammation is biological response to infection (as well as other irritants).
  - DoreenMichele 8y ago
    I'm aware of that. But inflammation also can be caused by, for example, excess acidity. Reversing excess acidity has been shown to effectively break up biofilm, thereby reversing antibiotic resistance. Seems pretty clear to me that the connection thus runs both ways. It isn't a one way street.
    - krageon 8y ago
      Can you explain what you mean with "excess acidity"? Excess acidity where? In the mouth? What is it in excess of?
      - deleted 8y ago
        [deleted]
      - DoreenMichele 8y ago
        Throughout the body, though most medical sources seem to talk about blood pH. My understanding: Life was not able to leave the oceans until there were bony fish not simply because of the need for a frame on land, but also because of the need to regulate the blood chemistry. In the ocean, animals don't need this. The minerals in the water regulate their blood chemistry. Out of the water, bones serve as a store of calcium to draw upon to neutralize excess acidity. If you are seriously and chronically acid, the body will strip the bones of calcium to keep you alive as long as possible, leading to osteoporosis. Blood needs to remain in a very narrow pH range or you quickly die. Diabetics diagnosed with acidosis are hospitalized. It is a medical emergency that can kill you in two or three days. Most Westerners dismiss the idea of an alkaline diet as nonsense. It gets lumped in with "nutcase" anti-vaxxers for how "scientific" it is deemed to be. But the first defense against acidosis is diet. You need to not be eating too much of the wrong thing. Correcting it is tricky because if the stomach gets too alkaline, you become incapable of digesting food and you begin throwing up. So brute force methods of consuming strongly alkaline stuff can go bad places. You really need to straighten out your diet as a first line of defense. Trying to "hack" this doesn't work well. You can google it, though you will probably get a lot of hits that the HN crowd would outright mock. Here are a couple of "respectable" links to get you started: https://www.livestrong.com/article/381592-normal-body-ph-range/ https://www.livestrong.com/article/381592-normal-body-ph-ran... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC137247/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC137247/

Yuval_Halevi 8y ago

Maybe a sign for a strong PR campaign?