A fellow from a family prone to Alzheimer’s is thought to have not been subjected to it because of his job:<\/p>\n
Ship engine rooms can reach temperatures of 50\u00b0C (122\u00b0F) and Whitney [the person who mysteriously has not had Alzheimer’s] was sometimes in them for hours at a time [during his working years], occasionally having to be hosed down to avoid overheating.<\/p>\n
Possibly as a result of this heat exposure, Whitney has\u00a0unusually high levels of heat shock proteins<\/a>\u00a0in his cerebrospinal fluid. Our bodies produce these in response to heat to repair and refold certain other\u00a0types of proteins that might be damaged by the increased\u00a0temperature<\/a>.<\/p>\n
These high levels of heat shock proteins may have prevented Whitney from developing Alzheimer\u2019s disease by regulating an important brain protein called tau … [“Man destined for Alzheimer’s may have been saved by accidental therapy<\/a>,” Alice Klein, <\/em>NewScientist<\/strong> (9 May 2026, paywall)]
\n<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\nIt makes me think that we know we’re essentially chemical\/mechanical creatures because of phenomenon like this.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A fellow from a family prone to Alzheimer’s is thought to have not been subjected to it because of his job: Ship engine rooms can reach temperatures of 50\u00b0C (122\u00b0F) and Whitney [the person who mysteriously has not had Alzheimer’s] was sometimes in them for hours at a time [during \u2026 Continue reading