New Type of Dementia Identified | Hacker News Reader

New Type of Dementia Identified

nhs.uk

TDP-43 abnormal bodies are present in cytoplasm in almost all CNS diseases. Other proteins bodies are present as well. Some publications tell TDP-43 bodies are not the cause of the diseases, but some consequence, in a similar way to amyloid bodies.

One thought I read recently told that the aging people (from who I belong) have multiple conditions and it is difficult to heal one condition independently of the others.

Medicine is hard. Diseases have typically been defined based on symptoms, plus available diagnostic tests. But with no reliable tests, you're left with basically "collections of symptoms". So this is progress.

> Researchers say it may explain why some recent trials of treatments for Alzheimer's disease have been unsuccessful.

> They say treatments may have effectively treated the proteins that cause damage in Alzheimer's disease, but LATE may have continued, masking any improvements to Alzheimer's symptoms.

Of all of the possible ailments, I hope that this class of issues is resolved by the time I'm older.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I've been saying that for over 30 years. Hopefully, that small group of people with that small amount of money solves these problems.

My grandmother died from AD around 30 years ago. My dad has AD now and there's really not been much progress since his mother died. I'm very much hoping that there are some breakthroughs in the next 30 years. I'd rather die from anything else than AD.

If there's not a breakthrough, I at least hope that countries start to legalise assisted suicide so those like myself that don't want my life to end that way can at least go out in a civilised manner.

Surely heart disease and cancer are higher priority[0].

0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_causes_of_death_by_rat...

I think there's a difference between dying and the terror of losing your memories and identity years or even decades before your death.

Not to mention the burden on your loved ones. Let me die still being able to tell my wife I love her.

You're doing that thing where you think we can't put sufficient resources behind cancer, Alzheimer's, and heart disease to make good progress.

We have 325 million Americans and a $20 trillion economy. When robots, etc come for our jobs, perhaps we'll figure out a way to get more people into R&D? Would an extra 100,000 people working on each problem help?

For some, I imagine death is preferable to dementia.

To be frank dementia is death but fuzzier and more drawn out. I know fron experience with Alzheimer'd in family - it is a loss of self such that by the end they were effectively dead for years - just confused remnants of personality and inability to interact meaningfully - it is horrifying. At least when someone in your family gets hit by a truck you know when you lost them.

Yeah. I don't think people who haven't experienced it know how bad it is. My grandmother had dementia and by the end she didn't know who my mother (her daughter) was.

I just can't think of a worse fate not just for the suffer, but for those that love them. It is a constant painful and sad reminder for loved ones to interact with them.

I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

You can't imagine how much joy it gives you when your father suddenly screams out your name when you visit him after years of not calling your name. He had Alzheimer's too

I've seen dementia run its course a few times now, and I'll take any other kind of death.

It certainly would be for me, depending on the extent, but you can check out once you get a diagnosis. But you might not even get to that diagnosis if cancer or heart disease kills you before that (as the statistics overwhelmingly suggest it will), so you'll always have a net loss of "non-dementia years of life" without fixing those.

Unless you're thinking: you're willing to accept that whether or not you'll ever get dementia in the first place because cowardice or social pressure would prevent you from checking out once you do get the diagnosis. But that's sad and pretty unfair to yourself and others.

So when do you check out? Dementia can insidiously can take years to develop, and by the time you're far enough along to need it to end you're already potentially too far along to know it. Losing your mental faculties is losing the ability to make objective decisions like that.

That part makes me less scared of dementia. The fact that I'll not even realize I have it, and will just feel confused about who people are and where I am... Kind of like when I was a little child.

Vouching for this comment. Not sure why this comment was killed, but it's just as valid opinion as being scared of getting dementia. At the end of the day, people don't return from dementia (yet) so we don't really know if it's a bad way to go or a good way to go purely from the perspective of the afflicted. It's certainly painful for the loved ones of those afflicted with it, but for the person experiencing it, it could be similar to how a small child experiences the world or a drug induced stupor that many people voluntarily subject themselves to recreationally.

It's not me that I worry about - it's the people I love.

Just because things cause death and are widespread doesn't mean we shouldn't research other things. Folks research different things due to specialties, and some things are more easily cured than others.

Besides, sometimes a breakthrough with one disease means a breakthrough with a slew of other things and sometimes a "failed" treatment is simply misplaced and the drug/treatment is a great thing for something else entirely.

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