7 ms·
I wonder what the lifespan of a old brain by itself is. I'd rather die of natural causes than degrade into alzheimers no matter how much money I had
by thatguy0900 4y ago
I wonder what the lifespan of a old brain by itself is. I'd rather die of natural causes than degrade into alzheimers no matter how much money I had
- gwern 4y agoNot much more than the lifespan of the brain+body. This is because of aging: risk of death follows the Gompertz distribution, which is worse than exponential. Or, another more intuitive way to put it: brain diseases are already a leading cause of death among the elderly. (Stroke, Alzheimer's, senility, some cancers, arguably accidents/falling, etc.) So even if you evade heart disease completely, it doesn't buy you all that many years before another thing gets you.
- T-A 4y agoBut how many of those brain diseases would occur if the brain's support system - the rest of the body - was not deteriorating?