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The pursuit of a cure for Alzheimer's disease is becoming an increasingly competitive and contentious quest with recent years witnessing several important controversies.
In July 2022, Science magazine reported that a key 2006 research paper, published in the prestigious journal Nature, which identified a subtype of brain protein called beta-amyloid as the cause of Alzheimer's, may have been based on fabricated data.
One year earlier, in June 2021, the US Food and Drug Administration had approved aducanumab, an antibody-targeting beta-amyloid, as a treatment for Alzheimer's, even though the data supporting its use were incomplete and contradictory.
Some physicians believe aducanumab never should have been approved, while others maintain it should be given a chance.
With millions of people needing an effective treatment, why are researchers still fumbling in this quest for a cure for what is arguably one of the most important diseases confronting humankind?
For years, scientists have been focused on trying to come up with new treatments for Alzheimer's by preventing the formation of brain-damaging clumps of this mysterious protein called beta-amyloid.
In fact, we scientists have arguably got ourselves into a bit of an intellectual rut concentrating almost exclusively on this approach, often neglecting or even ignoring other possible explanations.
Regrettably, this dedication to studying the abnormal protein clumps has not translated into a useful drug or therapy. The need for a new "out-of-the-clump" way of thinking about Alzheimer's is emerging as a top priority in brain science.
My laboratory at the Krembil Brain Institute, part of the University Health Network in Toronto, is devising a new theory of Alzheimer's disease.
Based on our past 30 years of research, we no longer think of Alzheimer's as primarily a disease of the brain. Rather, we believe that Alzheimer's is principally a disorder of the immune system within the brain.
www.sciencealert.com
In July 2022, Science magazine reported that a key 2006 research paper, published in the prestigious journal Nature, which identified a subtype of brain protein called beta-amyloid as the cause of Alzheimer's, may have been based on fabricated data.
One year earlier, in June 2021, the US Food and Drug Administration had approved aducanumab, an antibody-targeting beta-amyloid, as a treatment for Alzheimer's, even though the data supporting its use were incomplete and contradictory.
Some physicians believe aducanumab never should have been approved, while others maintain it should be given a chance.
With millions of people needing an effective treatment, why are researchers still fumbling in this quest for a cure for what is arguably one of the most important diseases confronting humankind?
For years, scientists have been focused on trying to come up with new treatments for Alzheimer's by preventing the formation of brain-damaging clumps of this mysterious protein called beta-amyloid.
In fact, we scientists have arguably got ourselves into a bit of an intellectual rut concentrating almost exclusively on this approach, often neglecting or even ignoring other possible explanations.
Regrettably, this dedication to studying the abnormal protein clumps has not translated into a useful drug or therapy. The need for a new "out-of-the-clump" way of thinking about Alzheimer's is emerging as a top priority in brain science.
My laboratory at the Krembil Brain Institute, part of the University Health Network in Toronto, is devising a new theory of Alzheimer's disease.
Based on our past 30 years of research, we no longer think of Alzheimer's as primarily a disease of the brain. Rather, we believe that Alzheimer's is principally a disorder of the immune system within the brain.
Alzheimer's Might Not Actually Be a Brain Disease, Expert Reveals
The pursuit of a cure for Alzheimer's disease is becoming an increasingly competitive and contentious quest with recent years witnessing several important controversies.
www.sciencealert.com
