[TheCapeGreek]

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.

[tclancy]

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.

[bonsai_spool]

> 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]

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]

> 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.

[stared]

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 and much more, 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 (yes, also the Herpes family).

[tim333]

Yeah lots of infectious things are being found to be able to cause 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]

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

[zoeysmithe]

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.

[gametorch]

It's still debated whether Lenin died of syphilis. It's less wrong to say he died of strokes.