How the Alzheimer's Research Scandal Set Back Treatment 16 Years

Summary

In 2006, a landmark study in Nature identified a possible cause of Alzheimer’s disease. For almost 16 years, this study influenced how scientists approached Alzheimer’s and how major research grants were given.But in the summer of 2022, the editors of Nature issued a chilling disclaimer. There was concern regarding the images that accompanied the article. An investigation was underway, and readers were urged to “use caution” when relying on the results.A whistleblower had come forward and said the images appeared to have been manipulated, meaning the results that guided scientists were possibly wrong.In the U.S., Alzheimer’s now afflicts more than six million people aged 65 and older. If the accusations are true, it’s possible that inaccurate research was influencing significant research time and money to help these patients.2006 Alzheimer's StudyThe study at the center of the controversy was published in 2006 in Nature and co-authored by eight researchers from the University of Minnesota, John Hopkins University and the University of California-Irvine.The study examined cognitive decline in mice, and the authors identified an amyloid-β precursor protein as the possible cause of cognitive decline. The amyloid hypothesis suggested that the damage could be limited if the protein could be managed.The amyloid hypothesis came at a time of frustration for Alzheimer’s researchers. Since the German physician Alois Alzheimer first began publishing on the disease in the early 1900s, scientists have wanted to know what caused this profound cognitive decline. Alzheimer first suggested that the “senile plagues” he identified during autopsies were important. The idea held until the late 1990s and early 2000s when one failed clinical trial after the next prompted researchers to reform their hypotheses. The 2006 study in Nature gave many scientists the greenlight they wanted to pursue the amyloid hypothesis as the possible cause.Read More: How Did Alzheimer's Disease Get Its Name?S...