There are so many misconceptions about the brain and Alzheimer’s that I made my comment as public-facing as possible to address the incorrect but common belief that someone can go from having moderate to severe Alzheimer’s to going back to how they were before. I agree that this would be a breakthrough, but it should not be considered in place of actively taking preventative measures and taking warning signs seriously before there is a serious problem. I have found that Alzheimer’s is a subject so uncomfortable that in effect the average person would only want to think about it after it becomes a problem. The idea that it can be fully reversed may cause some people to be less likely to consider it before it becomes a problem.

As for the details of the brain, it’s still very mysterious and mainly we’ve learned how far beyond our comprehension really understanding the details of how it works can be. Having cared for hundreds of individuals suffering from dementia, mostly being cases of Alzheimer’s, it is very true that hippocampus damage is not the same as losing memories. In many cases I have observed that an old memory may not exactly be lost, but the access to the memory becomes lost until some other pathway is activated which causes that memory to become accessible. Restoring this kind of brain functionality could, as you say, re-create the connections to these memories and other info.

The most common damage of Alzheimer’s on average is Hippocampus damage. The Hippocampus is the part of the brain responsible for recording and storing memories. This means that depending on the extent of the damage to the Hippocampus the individual may be unlikely to form almost any new memories at all (typical of my guests, unfortunately). While the memories formed by a healthy hippocampus may still be accessible, the memories a damaged hippocampus didn’t record will never become accessible because they were never recorded. I agree I would still want to come back 80%, but it would be extremely jarring to have new concrete memories when my last ones were from decades ago.

This is aside from the total unpredictability as to how a newly recovered cortex may be different in myriad ways from the cortex which was destroyed. This is an area we don’t have human evidence on to my knowledge. Much better in my opinion to catch it as early as possible and prevent it than to suffer the consequences of the comfort of avoiding the topic since the assumption is it can be totally recovered from. Once again, this research is encouraging and I hope it eventually puts me out of a job. I only say this to encourage the better path for people with only a causal knowledge of these subjects.

On a human level, the only cure for Alzheimers is prevention. It can’t possibly be reversed. I say this because if you are reading this, you may have a loved one with Alzheimer’s and unfortunately the world is rife with hopeful myths and predatory personalities.

Imagine your brain is a computer. What this treatment apparently did was repair a severely damaged computer back to working order. Some parts of the computer either work or don’t work, so these newly repaired pieces can be considered totally repaired, or the damage “reversed.” However, some parts are impossible to recover. The severely damaged hard drive may be repaired to such a state that it is usable again, but the data which was contained on it before it was destroyed can’t be restored without time travel.

The higher brain functions we take for granted as humans, such as recounting and integrating our experiences, are beyond a brain being able to function or not. It matters a great deal to us and our identites what was stored in them.

If this treatment works perfectly, which I hope it will, it could restore function but can’t restore everything that person was before their severe brain damage. That’s the fantasy people generally want for their loved ones but it can’t be.

Please care for your loved ones as they are.

Addicts. They were/are in a vulnerable place and a religion took advantage of them nurturing their vulnerability and dependency to profit from them. It was this or heroin basically. It would be nice to live in a world which doesn’t traumatize people and then profit on their trauma-driven trigger responses.

It is racist. I hope one day you will undersand why it is instead of becoming defensive about it. Just know that regardless of your intentions or understanding, when you say this word other people will correctly interpret that you are being racist.

There are some cogent points in there, but the author fails to realize that the problem with capitalism is the capitalists themselves. The issues they complain about are the inevitable consequence of allowing capitalists to own the means of production rather than the people. Capitalists care less about being patriotic and doing good deeds than they do about their capital holdings, and an investment in corruption and cronyism is one of the safest bets capitalists with sufficient power can make.

Even though the view you expressed is a joke, there are people whose real life politics are a joke.

Living paycheck to paycheck in the US often means working over full time hours across a few part time jobs and still not always being able to pay all the bills every month. No one should be ok being a wage slave no matter where they live in the world.

The US public made the mistake of thinking they could keep the beast of capitalism tamed. China claims that even though there are capitalists, there is no capitalist class. This doesn’t look good for China’s socialist goals.

The nerve of CNBC to use the word “hoarding” and and not mention the actual cause of the problem being the declining wealth of the median household relative to wealth hoarders.

Cynics are dupes who are easily utilized by the forces which deliberately made them cynical. The foundation of conservative politics.

Going to the gym is way easier than the infinite treadmill of trying to fix relationship which was never going to work. Having a stronger body helps to deal with the physical symptoms of trauma too. It can build confidence because working hard in the gym yields rewards but working too hard backfires. You have to listen to your own body and your own feelings rather than have them dictated to you by a toxic partner, or it won’t work.

That is quite a headline. I just got on but that’s already enough internet for today.

The Republicans need pedophile votes, so they legally protect pedophilic behavior.

The classic method of murdering random innocent people and claiming they deserved to die for whatever reason after they’re dead. Conservatives fall for it every single time.

International politics are pretty complicated.

If this is her motivation it’s extremely encouraging. So many elected Democrats have demonstrated their cowardice consistently for many years. If the cowardly move is now to yield to voter pressure rather than to donor pressure it can only be a good thing.

Too often this option is presented by people who are deliberately manipulating you and causing you to think that you only have the two choices which each benefit them and neither you. Always consider who is offering this choice and why. The true lesser evil here is whatever you have to do to get out of the situation where this choice is being presented to you.

Kirk had a pretty animated speaking style, which is what I meant by moving. He could have leaned forward, backward, or turned which may not have affected him being hit at all but would definitely affect whether his vitals were hit. It looks like the shooter waited until it seemed he would not move this way. You’re right though. The more I learn about it the more it seems like the shot placement wasn’t exactly intentional and the deadliness of the shot wasn’t assured. I have heard that it was windy that day, but not more than an experienced Utah deer hunter would be able to account for. My argument was only intended to support that the shooter was skilled whether their skill was from hunting or otherwise.

The shooter’s setup and escape seem to me to be more professional, but this sense of mine is more from contrasting other assassinations and attempts I’m aware of. This one is appears far more informed and effective than average. The escape into a field itself wasn’t special, but planning and knowing a good spot to shoot from and be likely to escape from is what I’m looking at. They could have gotten lucky of course.

The two captured suspects are also suspicious. The first one arrested was shouting that he was the shooter and to arrest him, while the other suspect was walking around with a pellet gun. These could also be coincidences but they definitely helped distract the searchers.

Good point. I edited it for clarity.

A 200 yard shot on a moving target, accounting for windage and bullet drop for a single-shot kill and immediate successful egress? I have to emphasize this.