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PSA to those with family affected by dementia/Alzheimer's at a relatively early age (say <70yo): Get them tested for STDs, specifically Syphilis. Left untreate

PSA to those with family affected by dementia/Alzheimer's at a relatively early age (say <70yo): Get them tested for STDs, specifically Syphilis. Left untreated for a very long time (decade+), it spreads to the brain and causes dementia among other things. Older generations with stigmas, taboos, or from lower educational backgrounds seem (to me) less likely to get tested, so it seems plausible. Source: Have recently discovered this myself with a family member from their neurologist.

kakacik 7mo ago
Lenin famously died from it, you could see that obscure blank stare of a crazy person on his later photos
- gametorch 7mo ago
  It's still debated whether Lenin died of syphilis. It's less wrong to say he died of strokes.
- zoeysmithe 7mo ago
  He was shot in 1918 leaving bullets in his body and left him weakened, then in 1922 he suffered at least three debilitating strokes. He lost his ability so speak and had to learn to speak again. He even proposed assisted suicide because he was suffering so much. He then had a final fatal stroke in 1924. I don't think "he looks crazy so he must have had some STD" is medically accurate or remotely appropriate on what's supposed to be an academic forum. He most likely had brain damage towards the end thus his illness of course was reflected on his body looked. Lenin's eyes reflected his post-stroke damage. He was quite sane in his life and his work expanding on Marx is of course extremely important.
bonsai_spool 7mo ago
> Source: Have recently discovered this myself with a family member from their neurologist. The reason this was detected is that such testing is a standard practice with new dementia patients—among many other tests that identify etiologies of dementia. No need for a 'PSA'.
- TheCapeGreek 7mo ago
  Definitely not the case, not in all regions, not even within the same country. We only found out for my family member after the 3rd neurologist's opinion after ~2 years of this. Not everyone does their professional due diligence - cue endless anecdata about the healthcare industry. It's good to just be aware.
  - bonsai_spool 7mo ago
    > Definitely not the case, not in all regions, not even within the same country Perhaps—but it's also possible that whoever was in the room with the patient declined STI testing (which I have seen, and which sometimes reflects lack of knowledge around extramarital affairs). I'm just trying to make it clear that there are dozens of reversible/non-degenerative causes of dementia and there is no way that a fully-trained neurologist doesn't have these memorized. It's like not knowing what a type system is as a programmer with a reputable degree—impossible. edit: in fairness, many doctors have unease around discussing sex/infidelity—but the PSA maybe should be to encourage your doctor to put aside concerns around niceties in your parent's care.
tclancy 7mo ago
Flip side, if you have an older relative who, all of a sudden, seems to have a lot of symptoms that suggest dementia, have them get tested for a UTI.
stared 7mo ago
Also, the Herpes family (hint: most of us have HSV-1), vide "Alzheimer's risk 10 times lower with herpes medication" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17540094 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17540094 and much more, https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=herpes&sort=byPopularity&type=story https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que.... And "The effect of shingles vaccination at different stages of dementia" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46164646 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46164646 (yes, also the Herpes family).
tim333 7mo ago
Yeah lots of infectious things are being found to be able to cause dementia https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/dec/01/the-brain-microbiome-could-understanding-it-help-prevent-dementia https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/dec/01/the-bra... much of the medical profession seems a bit behind the curve on recent findings.

kakacik 7mo ago

Lenin famously died from it, you could see that obscure blank stare of a crazy person on his later photos

gametorch 7mo ago
It's still debated whether Lenin died of syphilis. It's less wrong to say he died of strokes.
zoeysmithe 7mo ago
He was shot in 1918 leaving bullets in his body and left him weakened, then in 1922 he suffered at least three debilitating strokes. He lost his ability so speak and had to learn to speak again. He even proposed assisted suicide because he was suffering so much. He then had a final fatal stroke in 1924. I don't think "he looks crazy so he must have had some STD" is medically accurate or remotely appropriate on what's supposed to be an academic forum. He most likely had brain damage towards the end thus his illness of course was reflected on his body looked. Lenin's eyes reflected his post-stroke damage. He was quite sane in his life and his work expanding on Marx is of course extremely important.

bonsai_spool 7mo ago

> Source: Have recently discovered this myself with a family member from their neurologist. The reason this was detected is that such testing is a standard practice with new dementia patients—among many other tests that identify etiologies of dementia. No need for a 'PSA'.

TheCapeGreek 7mo ago
Definitely not the case, not in all regions, not even within the same country. We only found out for my family member after the 3rd neurologist's opinion after ~2 years of this. Not everyone does their professional due diligence - cue endless anecdata about the healthcare industry. It's good to just be aware.
- bonsai_spool 7mo ago
  > Definitely not the case, not in all regions, not even within the same country Perhaps—but it's also possible that whoever was in the room with the patient declined STI testing (which I have seen, and which sometimes reflects lack of knowledge around extramarital affairs). I'm just trying to make it clear that there are dozens of reversible/non-degenerative causes of dementia and there is no way that a fully-trained neurologist doesn't have these memorized. It's like not knowing what a type system is as a programmer with a reputable degree—impossible. edit: in fairness, many doctors have unease around discussing sex/infidelity—but the PSA maybe should be to encourage your doctor to put aside concerns around niceties in your parent's care.

tclancy 7mo ago

Flip side, if you have an older relative who, all of a sudden, seems to have a lot of symptoms that suggest dementia, have them get tested for a UTI.

stared 7mo ago

Also, the Herpes family (hint: most of us have HSV-1), vide "Alzheimer's risk 10 times lower with herpes medication" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17540094 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17540094 and much more, https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=herpes&sort=byPopularity&type=story https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que.... And "The effect of shingles vaccination at different stages of dementia" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46164646 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46164646 (yes, also the Herpes family).

tim333 7mo ago

Yeah lots of infectious things are being found to be able to cause dementia https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/dec/01/the-brain-microbiome-could-understanding-it-help-prevent-dementia https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/dec/01/the-bra... much of the medical profession seems a bit behind the curve on recent findings.