
Brain inflammation sows the seeds of Alzheimer’s - fraqed
https://cosmosmagazine.com/biology/brain-inflammation-sows-the-seeds-of-alzheimer-s
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jklinger410
Inflammation seems to be at fault for a whole host of huge medical problems.

The problem is that this is not illuminating. It's like saying that the reason
your car blew a rod is because it had no oil in it.

Okay, cool, but why didn't it have oil?

Inflammation is the body's first step in "repairing" a problem. Often times,
like with cancer, the body fucks up the repair. So inflammation "causes" so
many disorders, but what causes the inflammation?

Saying inflammation causes anything is seemingly clickbait at this point.

~~~
loader
Inflammation is like a bad mechanic. It's meant to fix things but sometimes
messes it up.

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bigtex
Here is a great talk from a doctor who has had success in reversing
Alzheimer's:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D5aA_-3Ip8&list=WL&index=20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D5aA_-3Ip8&list=WL&index=20)

~~~
dsego
The Bredesen protocol probably slows the decline, but I doubt that it reverses
the disease.

~~~
randomerr
The reversal seems more along the lines of the effects of the disease + side
effects of the previous drug(s). Although if the new treatment stops the
damage to the brain then over the course of years, not weeks or months, I
could see a recovery of functionality.

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zebrafish
How does the brain become inflamed in the first place? Couldn't find that in
their write-up.

~~~
dsego
One alternative theory is borreliosis (Lyme disease).

~~~
freyir
Any evidence of this?

In the United States, Lyme disease is mostly confined to the north east.

[https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/images/maps/2015-dot-map-
title.jpg](https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/images/maps/2015-dot-map-title.jpg)

But Alzheimer's is not confined to the north east. It's not even more
prevalent there.

[http://www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/articles/arts/culture...](http://www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/articles/arts/culturebox/2014/05/deathmaps/Blatt_Death_10.png.CROP.original-
original.png)

~~~
dsego
There are claims by an american pathologist, Dr. Alan MacDonald. You can find
his research and videos online.

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reasonattlm
Paper:
[https://doi.org/10.1038/nature25158](https://doi.org/10.1038/nature25158)

The research noted here improves the understanding of how inflammation acts to
drive the progression of Alzheimer's disease, despite being secondary to the
well-known deposition of amyloid-β observed in the condition. Alzheimer's
disease is considered to be in part an inflammatory condition. Rising levels
of chronic inflammation occur with aging, in the brain and elsewhere in the
body, and there is plenty of evidence for inflammation to contribute to a good
many age-related conditions. The ordering of cause and effect in Alzheimer's
is still somewhat up for debate, but there is evidence for the cascade to
begin with amyloid-β, that then produces inflammation as the immune cells of
the brain react to it, which in turn leads to tau aggregation. The paper here
adds nuance to that possible ordering, suggesting that amyloid-β and
inflammation form their own feedback loop, spurring one another forward.

The immune system of the central nervous system is its own creature, quite
different in its details from the immune system of the rest of the body, and
arguably much more integrated and necessary for the correct function of the
brain than is the case in other organs. Nonetheless, similar classes of age-
related dysfunction arise, and inflammation is one of the results regardless
of protein aggregation such as the formation of amyloid deposits. Immune cells
become overly active, but at the same time less effective at carrying out
their assigned tasks. Inflammation is a necessary part of the immune response
to many of the issues it might have to deal with, typically those that involve
destruction, as as removal of senescent or potentially cancerous cells, and
mounting attacks upon the pathogens that constantly try to invade the body and
brain. If permanently switched on, however, inflammation begins to disrupt all
of the other necessary tasks of the immune system, such as those relating to
regeneration or shepherding the correct function of brain cells.

For a number of years now, some researchers have departed a little way from
the mainstream focus on removal of amyloid-β to consider an anti-inflammatory
approach to building therapies for Alzheimer's, but this line of research
hasn't made a sizable impact yet. Reducing inflammation in a usefully targeted
way is still quite challenging, as the immune system is very complex, though
promising noises are emerging from research groups investigating NLRP3 as a
target. That also happens to show up in the research here as a part of the
connection between immune cells, amyloid, and inflammation.

~~~
aaavl2821
Do you know much about nlrp3? I read an interesting paper by some
investigators who later formed a company called inflazome, but am not sure how
the biology or chemistry has evolved since then

~~~
reasonattlm
It is getting more attention these days, and the older discoveries have had
enough following attention to be fairly widely known in the field. It isn't a
line of research I've followed specifically, but if you look at PubMed you can
follow the trail over the past decade.

[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=nlrp3](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=nlrp3)

They have a histogram by year, and papers looking it over in the context of
inflammation are getting quite common. I'd expect some sort of trial to emerge
in the next few years, it seems to be getting to that point.

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dsego
Extended results of the Alzheimer's disease anti-inflammatory prevention trial
(2011)

[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21784351](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21784351)

~~~
raphar
So it is useless to consume ibuprofen and the like, to avoid the disease :(

~~~
dsego
From my own research (ie googling), your best bet is to build up the brain, so
if the decline starts, you have a stronger starting point. This means
exercise[1], B12, folate, CDP-choline[2], turmeric[3], coconut oil (medium
chain triglycerides) [4]. Also, I avoid paracetamol, there are some claims
about it being linked to dementia. There are some promising drug trials
(aducanumab for example), but we'll have to wait and see.

[1][https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/regular-exercise-
changes...](https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/regular-exercise-changes-
brain-improve-memory-thinking-skills-201404097110)

[2][https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citicoline](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citicoline)

[3][https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2781139/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2781139/)

[4][https://coconutketones.com](https://coconutketones.com)

~~~
joshuas
paracetamol is acetaminophen(Tylenol) for the Americans in the audience.

------
emersonrsantos
It's interesting medicine would pursue this symptom in determining brain and
nervous system problems - inflammation has been linked to depression, suicidal
thinking and other mental disorders in recent research.

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vfc1
A plant-based diet is naturally anti-inflammatory and thought to be a great
way to prevent and help reduce the symptoms of Alzheimer -
[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5TLzNi5fYd8E6GHQcmIW...](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5TLzNi5fYd8E6GHQcmIWYGE7vDP97529)

I wonder if Alzheimer, just like heart disease and diabetes is mostly a
western diet-related disease.

~~~
cgh
Vegetarian propaganda would say so. But Western societies are far from the
biggest meat-eaters out there. Do the Maasai and the Inuit suffer from
inordinate rates of Alzheimer’s?

The common factor in the diseases you mention is sugar.

~~~
tkyjonathan
There are a number of fallacies in your statement. 1) Western societies are
large populations that eat meat and eat meat more than other large
populations, by far.

2) Inuits live 10 on average less than the local nearby populations and 900
year old Inuit mummies also show signs of advanced osteoporosis.

3) Processed sugar is not a health product and is not the polar opposite of
meat. It is in the same category of meat as 'unhealthy' and 'causes
inflammation'

4) A whole-foods low-GI plant-based diet has been show to open up arteries and
that is important for Alzheimers as people with that disease do show blocked
arteries to the brain post-mortem. So while not a 100% prevention, it
certainly reduces risk and may even reverse issues.

~~~
hycaria
The "pro meat" (or should I say "meat health and environmental damage
negationists") circle jerk on HN is sure strong, looking at your post and
below's slowly fading away. I'm amazed everytime how the majority here, people
who seem in other conditions able of logical reasoning, are just impermeable
to unpleasant facts. You bring up good arguments.

~~~
Danihan
So the tens of thousands of people who have successfully used a keto diet to
induce autophagy and lose weight are all just.. making it up, in your mind?

[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2716748/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2716748/)

Maybe you should admit it's a bit more complicated than you seem to realize.

~~~
hycaria
Does keto diets have anything to do with the arguments presented by above
poster, that could explain the downvotes ? Did I mention keto diets ? What is
your point ?

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pmc1
The keys to anti-aging and anti-brain degradation are daily intermittent
fasting, plant/fruit based diet, low sodium, low fatty foods, and low stress.
Many monks in the far east follow this and live well into their 120s

~~~
tree_of_item
No they don't live well in to their 120s. You just made that up.

~~~
1undo
> "In fact, it is not uncommon for a Tibetan monk to live to 120 years of age"

Just one of many sources its very well documented that monks live very long
lives. Not sure why hes being downvoted.

blog.peterbaksa.com/post/9719815756/tibetan-monks-my-lama-temple-interviews

~~~
tree_of_item
He's being downvoted because it's not true. The oldest person on record was
122. If there were a bunch of Tibetan monks walking around at 120+ we'd know
about it.

~~~
1undo
Many eastern tibetan monks claim to be 120+ years old. Due to the nature of
their lives its very hard to document birth to death. Of course people deny it
because its not "on record." likely due to longevity bias that humans
naturally have.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longevity_myths](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longevity_myths)

~~~
jack9
There's true, false, not proven. It (claim to be 120+ years old) is not
proven. Necessarily, it's not true. If it becomes true in the future, the
studies would be interesting. That's obvious. Basing any sort of continued
argument or worse, research, on wishful thinking is something left up to you.

