Beer Drinking Mentioned

[eytonxav]

In this pubmed abstract of a study, conclusion Beer Drinking = decreased risk of Alzheimers. I am sure many on here will be overjoyed to hear that, might be time to break out a cold one to celebrate.
Beer Drinking Associates with Lower Burden of Amyloid Beta Aggregation in the Brain: Helsinki Sudden Death Series. - PubMed - NCBI

 

[audreyh1]

Do you have to be Finnish to gain this benefit?

 

[Meadbh]

Quote from the abstract:

CONCLUSIONS:
Beer consumption may protect against Aβ aggregation in brain. Further studies are necessary to fully understand the effects of alcohol on Aβ pathology seen in brain tissue.

It's a bit of a leap of faith between Aβ aggregation in brain and symptoms of Alzheimer's. I wouldn't start celebrating yet!

 

[MichaelB]

An opportunity to volunteer and make a contribution?

 

[braumeister]

Beer can have many positive health effects for most people.
Also some negative ones.

You pays your money and you takes your chances.

Me, I'll continue my moderate consumption of beer, as well as butter, bacon, etc.

 

[Amethyst]

Every month, there is something new we can eat or drink to ward off the diseases that frighten us the most.

Last month's nostrum was coconut oil. This month it's beer, which at least tastes good.

Next month = who knows?

 

[MRG]

Every month, there is something new we can eat or drink to ward off the diseases that frighten us the most.

Last month's nostrum was coconut oil. This month it's beer, which at least tastes good.

Next month = who knows?

You're right there's a regular flow of information that suggests we know something about what terrifies us the most. Reality is we don't; probably a good reason to get a beer.

 

[W2R]

Every month, there is something new we can eat or drink to ward off the diseases that frighten us the most.

Last month's nostrum was coconut oil. This month it's beer, which at least tastes good.

Next month = who knows?

(Please let it be large quantities of dark chocolate daily for weight loss. )

Personally I don't see how pickling one's brain in alcohol would fend off Alzheimer's. There, I said it. I'm probably over-reacting after years of living with an alcoholic but that's what I wanted to say and I said it. If you can't say it on the internet, where can you say it?

And I respect the fact that YMMV about drinking and that's OK too, and you have every right to think differently than me, but now you have the raw undisguised truth about what I REALLY think about drinking.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Quote from the abstract:

CONCLUSIONS:
Beer consumption may protect against Aβ aggregation in brain. Further studies are necessary to fully understand the effects of alcohol on Aβ pathology seen in brain tissue.

It's a bit of a leap of faith between Aβ aggregation in brain and symptoms of Alzheimer's. I wouldn't start celebrating yet!

^This. Most of these studies are crap. John Oliver made some salient points on his show on this very subject.

 

[eytonxav]

^This. Most of these studies are crap. John Oliver made some salient points on his show on this very subject.

Maybe, but it was a pubmed.gov article, so wouldn't expect them to publish BS, but I am certainly no expert on pubmed.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Maybe, but it was a pubmed.gov article, so wouldn't expect them to publish BS, but I am certainly no expert on pubmed.

Could be...especially since it's not something that is reported by the "media", nonetheless, watch the link. It *might* adjust your thinking on this a little bit.

 

[eytonxav]

Could be...especially since it's not something that is reported by the "media", nonetheless, watch the link. It *might* adjust your thinking on this a little bit.

I am well aware of all the crap that comes out in the name of science, so no need to adjust my thinking. Anyhow some of these things are amusing when they lend credence to some of our vices or maybe you missed that in my post. Now if we could definitively figure out whether global warming is real or not

 

[molly312]

One thing I do know - is that there have been several recent studies that confirm that alcohol contributes to breast cancer. Breast cancer risk rises even with light alcohol use - Medical News Today
I recommend doing all you can to prevent breast cancer. I can tell you - if you have a taste for beer, Breast Cancer will quench your desire quickly.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I am well aware of all the crap that comes out in the name of science, so no need to adjust my thinking. Anyhow some of these things are amusing when they lend credence to some of our vices or maybe you missed that in my post. Now if we could definitively figure out whether global warming is real or not

OK, OK...I get it...I am sorry. There, is that better? And yes, if you look hard enough (well, you don't even have to look hard) you can find a study that supports just about any position.

 

[Meadbh]

Maybe, but it was a pubmed.gov article, so wouldn't expect them to publish BS, but I am certainly no expert on pubmed.

As a former medical researcher, I do have some knowledge of Pubmed.

Pubmed is simply a library. It indexes articles published in a large number of peer reviewed journals. Once the journal reaches the criteria for inclusion in Pubmed, there is no screening of individual articles by Pubmed.

This article has been published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, which is the official publication of the Research Society on Alcoholism and the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism. While I never had occasion to use this journal during my career, my expectation is that the peer review would be rigorous.

Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research - Author Guidelines - Wiley Online Library

The current impact factor of this journal is 3.21, which is good.

https://www.researchgate.net/journal/1530-0277_Alcoholism_Clinical_and_Experimental_Research

I am not going to purchase the full article and critique it for you, but let's assume that the study was well executed. From the abstract, we can see that the study examined several chemical variables at the time of autopsy, and correlated them with history provided by relatives. Now, it's a good thing that the study involves humans rather than experimental animals, but, as we all know, history can be subject to bias and inaccuracy. Also, there could be many other variables which influence the results. Correlation is not the same as causation.

The study investigated the association between consumption of different alcoholic beverages and β-amyloid (Aβ) aggregation in the brain, 1 of the neuropathological lesions of Alzheimer's disease. The results suggest that there was, indeed, an association between these variables. BUT this tells us nothing about any association, causal or otherwise, between beer drinking and Alzheimer's. That is a question that this study was simply not designed to answer. Rather, the results of this study have generated some interesting questions, which can only be answered by further research.

As a scientist, my response is that the findings are interesting, but the level of evidence in this study does not allow us to conclude that drinking beer is protective against Alzheimer's.

John Oliver's monologue, by the way, is spot on!

 

[HFWR]

The interweb/media is awash with magic foods, or "TEN FOODS TO NEVER EAT!"...

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

As a former medical researcher, I do have some knowledge of Pubmed...John Oliver's monologue, by the way, is spot on!

Thank you! It's well worth the 20 minutes if you want a basic understanding of how some of these studies actually work...and your experience lend credence to what Oliver has to say. Me? I am an old crusty flyer dude that no one wants to listen to.

The interweb/media is awash with magic foods, or "TEN FOODS TO NEVER EAT!"...

Oh yes, the number count. The best way to have a reader click through an inordinate amount of useless material. You might like this...it's the clickbait generator.

Clickbait Headline Generator

 

[Meadbh]

Thank you! It's well worth the 20 minutes if you want a basic understanding of how some of these studies actually work...and your experience lend credence to what Oliver has to say. Me? I am an old crusty flyer dude that no one wants to listen to.

You're welcome!

I would love to be able to fly a plane too, but I never will. I do enjoy watching aviation videos, and there are always comments about what the pilots are doing wrong, most of them by people who have never been inside a cockpit. So I bow to your expertise on the subject of flight.

 

[Hermit]

Here's another one for ya: Marijuana compound removes toxic Alzheimer's protein from the brain - ScienceAlert

An active compound in marijuana called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has been found to promote the removal of toxic clumps of amyloid beta protein in the brain, which are thought to kickstart the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

A very close friend has early onset Alzheimers at 68. Its really sad. He and I have knocked down more than our share of beer. Maybe the problem is his beer of choice is Bud Light? Anyway, I guess he should stay drunk and stoned all the time. Won't matter, he won't remember any of it anyway.

 

[Meadbh]

Here's another one for ya: Marijuana compound removes toxic Alzheimer's protein from the brain - ScienceAlert

That's a good article, and SciShow is an excellent YouTube channel (I subscribe).

To quote the article...

It's exciting stuff, but it's so far only been demonstrated in neurons in the lab, so the next step will be for Schubert and his team to observe the link between THC and reduced inflammation and plaque build-up in a clinical trial.

 

[RobbieB]

Beer is good in the summer when it's hot outside.
Coconut oil is good to pop popcorn with.
Marijauna is good for insomnia.

No study needed, verified personally -

 

[Dawg52]

I'm in.

 

[eytonxav]

OK, OK...I get it...I am sorry. There, is that better? And yes, if you look hard enough (well, you don't even have to look hard) you can find a study that supports just about any position.

No need to apologize. Its just that some folks take some posts quite literally when it was meant to be tongue in cheek.

 

[eytonxav]

As a former medical researcher, I do have some knowledge of Pubmed.

Pubmed is simply a library. It indexes articles published in a large number of peer reviewed journals. Once the journal reaches the criteria for inclusion in Pubmed, there is no screening of individual articles by Pubmed.

Thanks for that detailed explanation. Does this mean Pubmed has lax standards for what gets published (eg publishing BS) in their library? I had been under the impression that their publications had some legitimate basis.

 

[Meadbh]

Thanks for that detailed explanation. Does this mean Pubmed has lax standards for what gets published (eg publishing BS) in their library? I had been under the impression that their publications had some legitimate basis.

Here are the criteria for inclusion in PubMed. They are quite exacting. Only 12-15% of journals which apply and are reviewed are recommended for inclusion in PubMed.

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/j_sel_faq.html