Research on Alzheimer's and Cancer is Rocked by Scandals

Trials of Alzheimer's drugs are notoriously ineffective. Our understanding of why could now be a little clearer. Several critical discoveries that have shaped Alzheimer's research for nearly two decades may have been fabricated, according to a neuroscientist at Vanderbilt University. Sylvain Lesné, the creator of the 2006 examination and a researcher at the College of Minnesota, was examined for a number of instances of image manipulation.

In the event that this claim holds true, it implies that the development of many Alzheimer's drugs over the past two decades has been based on a false premise, resulting in millions of dollars in funding - not to mention years of research and thinking - being directed in the wrong direction. There was considerable interest in early intervention in Alzheimer's disease after the publication of the paper, which has been cited in more than 2,200 academic papers.

Aβ*56 is a beta-amyloid. It has been noted that beta amyloids clump within the mind, a phenomenon that's widely associated with Alzheimer's disease. There are several types of these proteins that may be targeted by medicine to treat Alzheimer's disease.

On January 2022, Vanderbilt neuroscientist Matthew Schrag alerted the NIH about his concerns regarding the photographs. Lesné's revealed work was evaluated by two picture evaluation consultants. Shrag's concerns were echoed by them.

A total of 20 "suspect papers" were identified, 10 of which were authored by Lesné. The report did not accuse Lesné of misconduct or fraud, rather saying that the original images would need to be investigated for manipulation before they could be confirmed.

According to the Alzheimer's-focused Alzforum, several unnamed researchers tried to replicate the results but were unable to. Academic journals rarely publish results that invalidate previous work because it is difficult to publish them. Journal Nature is investigating allegations regarding the 2006 paper it published.

In addition to citations of the Nature paper, related NIH funding for Alzheimer's and oligomer research increased to $287 million. A number of awards, grants, and accolades were won by Lesné and his lab. "You can cheat to get a paper. You can cheat to get a degree. You can cheat to get a grant. You can't cheat to cure a disease. Biology doesn't care," said Schrag

Alzheimer's Research UK and the Alzheimer's Society, in statements, said the allegations about Lesné's work are concerning, but they do not compromise the field of amyloid protein research and Alzheimer's disease.