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If these are correlated, then not every treatment for them would necessarily be as effective against dementia. However, if the cause of the protein imbalances i

If these are correlated, then not every treatment for them would necessarily be as effective against dementia. However, if the cause of the protein imbalances is something people can take steps to prevent, then doing so would logically have a greater than zero chance of mitigating dementia risk.

Aurornis 3y ago
> However, if the cause of the protein imbalances is something people can take steps to prevent, then doing so would logically have a greater than zero chance of mitigating dementia risk. Or correcting the protein imbalance could interfere with an important feedback loop that we don't yet understand, which could possibly make the situation worse. Or maybe the protein imbalances are involved in counteracting the issue that causes dementia, and that's why they're elevated. This is a common theme in biological systems. A good example would be cortisol, which has become known as the "stress hormone". Many people assume that lowering cortisol must therefore be a good thing, but if you were to indiscriminately lower cortisol during periods of stress you'd end up in a far worse condition than you were before. Cortisol is part of your body's reaction to stress and part of the system that responds to it, so artificially lowering it can interfere with your stress response process.
- mcdonje 3y ago
  Good points. Thank you.
- nonethewiser 3y ago
  It makes me think of running a fever. Its easy to think of fevers as bad but I imagine it would be a lot worse to simply stop the fever (if that were even possible).
  - smolder 3y ago
    > (if that were even possible) Indeed it is. Tylenol, for instance, is marketed as a fever reducer.
    - nonethewiser 3y ago
      Well perhaps this proves my intuition wrong. Is it OK to reduce a fever then? But how so if its purpose is to kill off something worse?
      - smolder 3y ago
        IANAD, so someone please correct me, but I think there's some truth that treating a mild fever will just interfere with what the immune system is doing, to its detriment. On the other hand, very high fevers in themselves are quite dangerous and so being able to lower someone's temperature is a benefit.

Aurornis 3y ago

> However, if the cause of the protein imbalances is something people can take steps to prevent, then doing so would logically have a greater than zero chance of mitigating dementia risk. Or correcting the protein imbalance could interfere with an important feedback loop that we don't yet understand, which could possibly make the situation worse. Or maybe the protein imbalances are involved in counteracting the issue that causes dementia, and that's why they're elevated. This is a common theme in biological systems. A good example would be cortisol, which has become known as the "stress hormone". Many people assume that lowering cortisol must therefore be a good thing, but if you were to indiscriminately lower cortisol during periods of stress you'd end up in a far worse condition than you were before. Cortisol is part of your body's reaction to stress and part of the system that responds to it, so artificially lowering it can interfere with your stress response process.

mcdonje 3y ago
Good points. Thank you.
nonethewiser 3y ago
It makes me think of running a fever. Its easy to think of fevers as bad but I imagine it would be a lot worse to simply stop the fever (if that were even possible).
- smolder 3y ago
  > (if that were even possible) Indeed it is. Tylenol, for instance, is marketed as a fever reducer.
  - nonethewiser 3y ago
    Well perhaps this proves my intuition wrong. Is it OK to reduce a fever then? But how so if its purpose is to kill off something worse?
    - smolder 3y ago
      IANAD, so someone please correct me, but I think there's some truth that treating a mild fever will just interfere with what the immune system is doing, to its detriment. On the other hand, very high fevers in themselves are quite dangerous and so being able to lower someone's temperature is a benefit.