Did Fraud Lead Us to an Alzheimer’s Breakthrough?

In 2022, news broke that a critical, groundbreaking Alzheimer’s research paper had allegedly been a fraud, and the media began to speculate how many billions of dollars and thousands of hours of scientists’ time had been wasted.

But then the news articles stopped and research continued and now, there are two potentially helpful Alzheimer’s disease drugs on the market. Since then, the evidence for fraud in that paper has piled up, but so has evidence for protein buildup in the brain causing Alzheimers. So did fabricated scientific results accidentally set us on the right path towards a breakthrough?

#alzheimersresearch
#scientificfraud
#amyloidbeta

Credits:
Executive Producer:
Matthew Radcliff

Producers:
Andrew Sobey
Elaine Seward
Darren Weaver

Writers:
Alex Dainis, Ph.D.

Hosts:
Alex Dainis, Ph.D.

Scientific Consultants:
Michelle Boucher, Ph.D.
Leila Duman, Ph.D.
Claire Butler, Ph.D.

Executive in Charge for PBS: Maribel Lopez
Director of Programming for PBS: Gabrielle Ewing
Assistant Director of Programming for PBS: John Campbell

Reactions is a production of the American Chemical Society.
© 2024 American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.

Sources:
https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/25/24/5789
https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/gene/apoe/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181715/#:~:text=On%20November%203%2C%201906%2C%20a,her%20admission%20for%20paranoia%2C%20progressive
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9254908/
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/alzheimers-causes-and-risk-factors/what-happens-brain-alzheimers-disease#:~:text=In%20Alzheimer’s%20disease%2C%20however%2C%20abnormal,the%20synaptic%20communication%20between%20neurons.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9254908/
https://medicine.wustl.edu/news/alzheimers-blood-test-performs-as-well-as-fda-approved-spinal-fluid-tests/
https://molecularneurodegeneration.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13024-023-00605-8
https://www.rockefeller.edu/news/34522-unlocking-how-the-new-alzheimers-drug-lecanemab-works/
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2212948
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK459119/
https://www.science.org/content/article/potential-fabrication-research-images-threatens-key-theory-alzheimers-disease
https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/faked-beta-amyloid-data-what-does-it-mean
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7237743_A_specific_amyloid-_protein_assembly_in_the_brain_impairs_memory ←- retracted paper

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