Hacker News Reader

Comment by PaulKeeble | Hacker News Reader

So far all the prior Amyloid clearing drugs did not cause recovery in people despite doing so in mice. Its meant a lot of researchers now aren't convinced that the Beta Amyloid is the problem in Alzheimer's. I hope this one ends up differently, its definitely a lot faster and more effective than the others at clearing.

View on HN

See https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/in-defense-of-the-amyloid-h... for an IMO compelling argument that amyloid really is the underlying cause. The theory is that amyloid buildup causes misfolded tau proteins which cause the cognitive damage. So reducing amyloid in people already suffering from Alzheimer's doesn't do much because they already have excessive tau; at best it might slow down the progression.

I've read this article before, and it makes me think OP article, even if working on humans, would still not alleviate Alzheimer.

If successfull it could slow progression, and with better detection eventually greatly reduce the impact. Of course the whole thing could not happen, but i don't think we can say it will not happen right now.

Well that's depressing. My biggest fear, and this isn't a bad setup for a joke, is early-onset Alzheimers. I don't think I'm especially high-risk for it, but I did have a single great-grandfather who got it so technically it does run in my family. It seems so horrible, having your brain sort of deteriorate and losing all your memories, and being a burden to everyone.

Ideally I never get it, but if I do get I hope it's in like my late 90's, or even better by the time I get it they already have a cure, though the fact this might not work for humans makes me a little sad.

And what?

(Or was that the joke?)

Nope, that wasn't intended to be a joke, I just forgot to finish the sentence. Edited.

there’s some interesting treatment in china that seems promising. something about unclogging drains in the neck. friend told me it looked ‘possible’.

the whole western field is 15-20 years behind because some researcher lied about plaque data and everyone spent all their time chasing the lead. I think you’ll see useful therapies in 15-20 years from the west, maybe sooner if all the some ai hype pans out.

or the Chinese thing turns out to work! can’t tell myself. there’s probably an American who will try it at some point and publish a case study. Very tough to judge Chinese papers..

here’s an overview: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12121576/

“Despite this rapid adoption and ‘miraculous effects’ from non-academic sources, no other country has reported clinical applications or clinical trials of LVA for AD treatment so far, raising questions about its mechanism, efficacy and implications.”

China has an actual medical establishment. The fact that the treat this as homeopathy should give one pause.

fine fine. Let me speak to you like you're a colleague and not a hn commenter that you can be upfront with:

As a practicing clinician, I must express significant reservations regarding therapeutic agents emerging from China, particularly those rooted in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In the absence of rigorous, peer-reviewed validation through randomized controlled trials (RCTs) conducted under Western regulatory standards, such interventions are frequently met with skepticism within the medical community. The prevailing perception among Western practitioners is that TCM-based therapies often lack robust empirical evidence, bearing a conceptual resemblance to homeopathic modalities, which are similarly contentious due to limited mechanistic clarity and inconsistent clinical outcomes. When considering novel pharmacotherapies developed in China, especially those in early-phase clinical trials or lacking approval from regulatory bodies such as the FDA or EMA, the Western medical establishment tends to approach them with caution. For instance, a colleague proposing a TCM-derived treatment would likely feel compelled to provide substantial reassurances to counter the inherent skepticism surrounding its efficacy and safety profile. This is not to dismiss the potential of such innovations outright, but rather to underscore the critical need for transparent, reproducible data to substantiate claims of therapeutic breakthroughs, particularly when these agents remain confined to regional use without broader dissemination in Western markets.

I used to wonder why drs never comment on this site and I'm starting to understand why

Even if it is later proved that Amyloids are NOT at fault, doesn’t the ability to remove them effectively improve our ability to make that very determination? My impression of this is at the very worst it isolates that variable and pushes the overall understanding forward significantly.

Per sibling comments, if this ceases or slows the progression of damage, that holds value. It's hard to measure quality of memory in mice so we don't even know what this found "recovery" means. But it still has immense value as a preventative.

My guess is that removing Beta Amyloid plaques is not a cure. However, it may be a preventative, the trick being to remove plaque before damage turns into Alzheimer's.

I was wondering and found the drug Leqembi, started trials in 2007 and basically didn't finish trials until 2022, approved in 2023.

man that's a lifetime for this drug's trials.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com