6 ms·

You should take these findings with a big grain of salt. Remember we don't yet even have a causal model of Alzheimer's and dementia. Amyloid plaques are strongl

You should take these findings with a big grain of salt. Remember we don't yet even have a causal model of Alzheimer's and dementia. Amyloid plaques are strongly associated with Alzheimer's but it's not clear if they're the actual cause or if they're just a residual indicator that something else has already gone wrong in the brain. As a counterpoint to the amyloid hypothesis, we also see amyloid build ups in patients suffering from sleep apnea, and yet they don't show the hallmark signs of dementia or Alzheimers [1]. [1] https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200928103416.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200928103416.h...

deleted 6y ago
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suifbwish 6y ago
This can be said for a ton of other bio indicators . Similar: does alcohol consumption increase risk of cancer by X percentage or do X percent of alcoholics engage in some cancer causing activity/practice.
- andy_ppp 6y ago
  Are the sleep cycles of Alcoholics causing them to have weakened immune surveillance for cancerous cells or is it the direct effect of alcohol on the cells that causes them to divide incorrectly?
kick_in_the_dro 6y ago
Sorry didn't read the paper linked. Does it say apnea patients don't have higher levels of dementia/Alzheimer's? Perhaps it's because apnea occurs at all ages while these diseases tend to happen later in life?
voisin 6y ago
>big grain of salt Isn’t the point of the “grain of Salt” to indicate that it is trivial? If so, then by saying “big grain of salt” aren’t you undermining the point of the original statement? I see this regularly and wonder if I am missing something.
- dragonwriter 6y ago
  > Isn’t the point of the “grain of Salt” to indicate that it is trivial? No, it's from an ancient adage about food being mmore easily swallowed when accompanied by salt. The “grain of salt” you take with a dubious statement with is to make it easier to swallow. A “big grain of salt” is a suggestion that it needs more assistance to be swallowable than a typical target of the saying.
  - pkghost 6y ago
    And then there are those statements that require a salt lick.
  - voisin 6y ago
    Thank you!
- chordalkeyboard 6y ago
  I interpret it as emphasizing the colloquialism. Also it seems to wave towards the perceived significance of the statement. "I heard Marvel is releasing three movies in 2021" "You should take that with a grain of salt" "I heard Marvel and DC are doing a Justice League / X-Men crossover in 2021" "You should take that with a big grain of salt"
- brianmcc 6y ago
  The phrase means the same as "be sceptical". Vaccine contains microchips? Yeah you're going to want to take that with a major grain (pinch in the UK!) of salt / be highly sceptical about it. https://thesaurus.plus/related/pinch_of_salt/scepticism https://thesaurus.plus/related/pinch_of_salt/scepticism
Aeolun 6y ago
> As a counterpoint to the amyloid hypothesis, we also see amyloid build ups in patients suffering from sleep apnea, and yet they don't show the hallmark signs of dementia or Alzheimers [1]. I feel like the article doesn’t imply that the amyloid buildup causes the dementia/altzheimers. Just that it makes the effects worse.

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suifbwish 6y ago

This can be said for a ton of other bio indicators . Similar: does alcohol consumption increase risk of cancer by X percentage or do X percent of alcoholics engage in some cancer causing activity/practice.

andy_ppp 6y ago
Are the sleep cycles of Alcoholics causing them to have weakened immune surveillance for cancerous cells or is it the direct effect of alcohol on the cells that causes them to divide incorrectly?

kick_in_the_dro 6y ago

Sorry didn't read the paper linked. Does it say apnea patients don't have higher levels of dementia/Alzheimer's? Perhaps it's because apnea occurs at all ages while these diseases tend to happen later in life?

voisin 6y ago

>big grain of salt Isn’t the point of the “grain of Salt” to indicate that it is trivial? If so, then by saying “big grain of salt” aren’t you undermining the point of the original statement? I see this regularly and wonder if I am missing something.

dragonwriter 6y ago
> Isn’t the point of the “grain of Salt” to indicate that it is trivial? No, it's from an ancient adage about food being mmore easily swallowed when accompanied by salt. The “grain of salt” you take with a dubious statement with is to make it easier to swallow. A “big grain of salt” is a suggestion that it needs more assistance to be swallowable than a typical target of the saying.
- pkghost 6y ago
  And then there are those statements that require a salt lick.
- voisin 6y ago
  Thank you!
chordalkeyboard 6y ago
I interpret it as emphasizing the colloquialism. Also it seems to wave towards the perceived significance of the statement. "I heard Marvel is releasing three movies in 2021" "You should take that with a grain of salt" "I heard Marvel and DC are doing a Justice League / X-Men crossover in 2021" "You should take that with a big grain of salt"
brianmcc 6y ago
The phrase means the same as "be sceptical". Vaccine contains microchips? Yeah you're going to want to take that with a major grain (pinch in the UK!) of salt / be highly sceptical about it. https://thesaurus.plus/related/pinch_of_salt/scepticism https://thesaurus.plus/related/pinch_of_salt/scepticism

Aeolun 6y ago

> As a counterpoint to the amyloid hypothesis, we also see amyloid build ups in patients suffering from sleep apnea, and yet they don't show the hallmark signs of dementia or Alzheimers [1]. I feel like the article doesn’t imply that the amyloid buildup causes the dementia/altzheimers. Just that it makes the effects worse.