Hacker News Reader

Comment by jjtheblunt | Hacker News Reader

how do they know it's genetic and not environmental?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apolipoprotein_E#Alzheimer's_d...

Alz is not entirely dictated by genetics, but certain genetic alleles can influence your likelihood of developing the disease.

I am watching my 81 year old mother go through this. She and I are both genetically predisposed. It's terrifying.

Look up the alzheimer’s is caused by pathogens hypothesis. If my parents start to develop alzheimer’s I will push for antivirals and antibiotics. Nothing to lose at that point.

Edit: > The infectious hypothesis proposes that a pathogen (virus, bacteria, prion, etc.) is the root cause of AD [2]. The hypothesis is supported by evidence that some pathogens, such as herpesviruses and certain bacterial species, are found more commonly in AD patients. There is some variation within the infectious hypothesis field as to how an infectious pathogen explains the pathological hallmarks of AD. Direct infection and eventual death of central nervous system (CNS) cells by pathogens could explain the cognitive deficits and heightened inflammation found in AD [3]. https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/j...

The gene coding for APOE exists in three frequent variants in humans: APOE2, present in 8% of the population, APOE3, the most common, and APOE4, which is found in nearly 15% of people and increases the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease by a factor of ten.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-03-role-lipids-alzheimer...

This doesn't disprove the pathogen hypothesis. For example, having that gene could mean someone is less able to deal with infections.

Didn't suggest that it did but the most recent data suggests (in plain language) that brain cells forget how to be brain cells. They don't die; they begin excreting inflammatory substances and clog up the works.

Researchers have tested in the lab on how to reset these cells or keep them from forgetting their identity in the first place. There's more data that suggests many diseases (including Alzheimer’s) are really the result of these cells losing their way.

David Sinclair is the most eloquent that I've heard about this: https://youtu.be/n9IxomBusuw

My mother participated in a clinical trial starting about 3 years ago.

The rationale behind the investigational drug was that it might target inflammation associated with infection (I won't go into details). Honestly, I would have preferred a different trial, but this was the most reasonable one that was within driving distance of where she lives.

The study was halted for futility. We also got a letter recently indicating that she was on placebo.

Alz drug development is a graveyard so far.

Interestingly APOE4 is more common in African populations, although they have lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. My understanding is that there is a very large environmental role, and is possibly related to the poor diets and poor metabolic health of populations in Western countries. For example, diabetes has been associated with Alzheimer's disease.

Both are diseases of degeneration. Degeneration accumulates from repeated stress. I wonder how many diseases are largely preventable if we were all more active and kept sugar consumption under control.

Have you read about albumin replacement therapy for Alzheimers? It's done well so far in human trials.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25023458/

Things can be both. You have a genetic weakness to specific environmental insults that increase the probability you get alzheimer's for example.

Another descriptor for alzheimer's is type 3 diabetes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_3_diabetes

Reply on news.ycombinator.com