Latest / Common Sense Health / Alzheimer's New Hope
Transcript
- Stephen Thomas BSc. Hons: Hello? Today I want to tell you about a billion dollar Alzheimer's fraud and how one scientist fooled the scientific world for two decades. I don't know if you know that feeling when you discover something that you believed for maybe 20 years might not actually be true. Well, the scientific community recently had that very experience and at the center of it was a French neuroscientist with a liking for doctoring images. Because of this, we've seen billions of dollars wasted on relevant research funding, countless failed clinical trials, and sadly patients who were given false hope whilst their brains were literally bleeding. So welcome to the biggest scientific fraud in Alzheimer's research history. And it all starts in 1906, when a German psychiatrist named Alois Alzheimer, now obviously the condition was named after him, it wasn't a coincidence, well, Alzheimer examined the brain of a woman who had died after years of progressive... dementia. Under his microscope he found peculiar protein deposits, plaques made of a substance called amyloid beta. Now these plaques became the cornerstone of what we now call the amyloid cascade hypothesis. Basically the idea that Alzheimer's disease is caused by an accumulation of these protein clumps in your brain. Now for over a century, this hypothesis dominated Alzheimer's research. And fair enough, it did seem logical. You find these plaques, you clear the plaques, cure the disease. That's really simple, isn't it? But there was one major problem with it. It never worked. Not once, not in a hundred years. But that didn't stop the pharmaceutical industry from throwing billions at the problem. And it certainly didn't stop one ambitious researcher from fabricating the breakthrough that would define two decades of misdirected research. In 2006, a young neuroscientist named Sylvan Leynar at the University of Minnesota published a groundbreaking paper in Nature, which is arguably the most prestigious scientific journal on the planet. Now, Leynar claimed to have identified a specific form of amyloid beta called amyloid beta star 56. Now, unlike the hard plaques everyone had been studying, amyloid beta star 56 was a soft oligomer, a small cluster of amyloid proteins floating around the brain before they formed the plaques. Now his mouse studies suggested this oligomer was the toxic culprit responsible for memory loss in Alzheimer's disease. And the scientific world where they went absolutely 100 % all in on this. Here it was, the missing link. If we could stop alpha beta star 56 from forming, we could prevent Alzheimer's before it even started. And Lainar's paper was cited over 2,300 times. He received $7 million in grants for his research. The National Institutes of Health in the United States funneled hundreds of millions of dollars into research, trying to replicate his findings and develop drugs to target this oligomer. By the way, oligomer means a small cluster or chain of molecules bonded together. Specifically, it's made up of just a few repeating units. The prefix oligomer. means few in Greek. A monomer is single and a polymer is multiple units. So oligomer sits right in the middle of that. right, let's just sort that out. So anyway, laboratories across the globe, they scrambled to replicate his work. Pharmaceutical companies invested billions in developing therapies based on his research. Patients enrolled in clinical trials and they were hoping for a cure, obviously. Now there was one problem. It was all fake for nearly 16 years. years nobody questioned Lainer's work, then in July 2022 a journalist named Charles Piller published a damning report in Science Magazine. Charles Piller was working with an independent forensic image analysis, an analyst and neuroscience named Matthew Shrag. Piller revealed that the images in Lainer's papers, particularly the Western blots showing alpha beta star 56 had been manipulated or doctored or photoshopped, whatever you want to call it. But the evidence basically was false and fabricated. The Western blot images, which are supposed to show the presence and quantity of specific proteins, had been altered. to show results that simply didn't exist. Independent experts examined the images and found clear signs of tampering, ⁓ duplicated bands and inconsistent backgrounds and other telltale signs of digital manipulation. people can look at these sort of before and afters on Instagram and spot these sort of things. Anyway, over the following months, investigations revealed that the fraud extended to approximately 40 of Leynar's papers. The University of Minnesota launched an investigation and found data integrity concerns across his work. Lainard didn't resign, by the way, until 2024. If your maths is right, yeah, that's two years after being exposed. He was still holding his tenured position. So let's quickly tally up the carnage. Whilst the exact figure is difficult to pin down, estimates suggest that research based on the amyloid cascade hypothesis, heavily influenced by Lainard's fraudulent work, consumed billions of dollars. funding. The NIH alone has spent over 1.6 billion on amyloid-related research in recent years, with significant portions influenced by this alpha, beta, star 56 hypothesis. For 16 years, patients enrolled in clinical trials testing drugs designed to target alpha, beta, star 56 or similar oligomers, they endured invasive procedures, potential side effects, and false hope, all based on fabricated data. If I sound cross, I am sorry. Heartless research hours were wasted trying to replicate results that never existed in the first place. Young scientists built their careers on a foundation of lies. Alternative hypotheses were sidelined because funding flowed towards the promising amyloid oligomer research. So this is a scandal that has shattered confidence in peer review academic integrity of pharmaceutical research. When the most prestigious journal in the world publishes fraudulent research that goes undetected for 16 years, you've got to think to yourself, well if they miss that, what else could be missed? And here's where it gets even more infuriating. Despite the fraud being exposed, the pharmaceutical industry continues to push anti-amyloid drugs as if nothing has happened. Lecanomab, a great name, is an intravenous antibody treatment and it costs approximately $26,500 per year. And it's designed to clear amyloid plaques from the brain. Does that sound good? Well, not really. And there's some big problems. I mean, it causes brain bleeds. The drug triggers something called aria, amyloid related imaging abnormalities, essentially brain swelling and macro hemorrhages. During clinical trials, patients have died from brain bleeds related to the treatment. And it doesn't preserve cognitive function. Even when the drug does clear amyloid from the brain, patients continue to decline cognitively. and plaques, they still come back. Aminoid isn't some foreign invader. It's produced by your own neurons. You clear it out and it returns. You're treating a symptom, not a cause. And then we come onto aducanumab. I mean, I don't know who names these medications, by the way. This was the first anti-amyloid antibody approved by the FDA. And despite significant controversy, it's approved approval, the way, was so contentious that three FDA advisory committee members resigned in protest. The clinical trial showed such marginal benefit that even the FDA's own scientists recommended against approval. very profitable. That's the problem. It's since been largely withdrawn from the market, by the way, but not before generating enormous profits and equally enormous disappointment. The poor patients. That's why that's what makes me so cross. So here's what makes this entire saga even more absurd. We've known for decades that amyloid plaques don't correlate with cognitive decline. Multiple autopsy studies have shown that you can have a brain absolutely riddled with amyloid plaques and still maintain perfect cognitive function. A 2012 study published in JAMA Neurology found that frequent amyloid deposition was not associated with worse cognitive function. So the translation for the layperson is loads of people died with brains full of amyloid, yet they were sharp as tacks right up until the end. And researchers consistently shown that amyloid positive elderly individuals can remain cognitively normal. Now, if amyloid caused Alzheimer's, that would be impossible. So why did we spend a century obsessing over it? mean recent research has revealed something fascinating. Aminoid beta is an antimicrobial peptide. That's right, a protein that's been demonized for over a century is actually part of your brain's innate immune defense system. What? What a surprise! When pathogens, bacteria, fungi invade your brain, neurons release amyloid beta. The protein acts like a microscopic flypaper. It traps the invaders and kills them, much like white blood cells engulf and destroy bacteria. Now studies in both mice and worm models, yes, I know mice and worm, have shown that amyloid beta protects against microbial infections. And animals engineered to produce human amyloid beta show increased resistance to brain infections. Obviously for ethical reasons can't use humans. Now this completely reframes the question. Instead of asking how do we get rid of amyloid, we should be asking why is the brain mounting an antimicrobial defense in the first place? What infections or inflammation or metabolic dysfunction is triggering this protective response? And why isn't the brain able to clear the amyloid once the threat is neutralized? And this is where it gets particularly interesting for those of us that are watching who are also following a ketogenic or low-carb or carnivore diet. Emerging research suggests that Alzheimer's is fundamentally a metabolic disease, so much so that some researchers do call it type 3 diabetes. The brain becomes unable to properly utilize glucose for energy, neurons starve, dysfunction follows, and cognitive decline ensues. Not really a surprise, is it, in that environment? Well, here's the kicker. Ketones bypass this broken glucose metabolism. When your brain runs on ketones from a low-carb, high-fat diet, it can fuel neurons even when insulin signaling is impaired. Now, there's growing evidence that chronic infections, the herpes virus, periodontal bacteria, up pathogens for instance, they may trigger the amyloid response. Inflammation from these infections combined with metabolic dysfunction creates the perfect storm for neurodegeneration. Now we can learn from this scandal and what it me is we always follow the money. When billions of dollars are at stake, subjective scientific objectivity goes out of the window. Pharmaceutical companies have a vested interest in maintaining the amyloid hypothesis because They've got the drugs to sell but you always always need to question authority if nature can publish fraudulent research that goes undetected for 16 years I mean, what else are we accepting as gospel? Can we come on to joined up thinking and it does matter the pieces were always there Aminoid doesn't correlate the symptoms the drugs don't work The plaques can be present in healthy brains, but the tunnel vision and institutional momentum just kept everyone marching in that wrong direction Prevention definitely beats intervention. So instead of waiting for dementia and trying to then clear the plaques with drugs that cause the bleeding of the brain, perhaps we should focus on metabolic health, reducing chronic inflammation, managing infections, and maintaining insulin sensitivity throughout our life. that would be the best way to go. Because common sense isn't so common in this space. If removing something from the brain causes haemorrhages and doesn't improve cognition, well maybe, just maybe, we're removing the wrong thing. But people didn't seem to stop. The Alzheimer's research community is at a crossroads now. The amyloid hypothesis hasn't just failed. It's also been exposed as a two-decade detour. And it's been based partly on this fraudulent data. We need to shift focus towards a different way of looking at it. Metabolic interventions like the ketogenic diet, time restricted eating for instance, therapeutic fasting, exercise. We need to look at infection management, treating chronic viral bacterial infections and consider our vascular health, addressing the vasovasorum and microvascular dysfunction. Hello, thrombotic theory by the way. ⁓ Inflammatory pathways, reducing chronic systemic inflammation. you improving our insulin sensitivity, preventing and reversing brain insulin resistance, for want of a better word. Well, the good news is you don't have to wait for the pharmaceutical industry to catch up. The tools for brain health are already available. Proper nutrition, metabolic optimisation, sleep, movement, and addressing root causes rather than symptoms. The LAYNAR scandal isn't just about one dishonest scientist. It's about a failure throughout the system. that doesn't work, journals that prioritize impact over integrity, funding bodies that create perverse incentives, and an industry that profits from keeping people sick rather than making them well. I that's the nub of it. Now, as someone who's worked with over a thousand people, and I've seen them reverse type 2 diabetes through dietary interventions, I can tell you this. The solutions are often simpler than the pharmaceutical industry wants you to believe. They're just not as profitable. So you think your brain didn't evolve to require expensive IV infusions that can cause bleeding of the brain. It evolved to run on the fuel you give it. Maybe, just maybe we should start there. And always remember when you're reviewing blood work or considering any health intervention context matters. What works for someone eating a standard Western diet doesn't apply to those of us following metabolic health principles. Always interpret results through the lens of your physiologist. not population averages. And if a scientist tells you that they found the one true cause of complex disease, ask to see the images. Where are the receipts? And then get a second opinion, preferably from someone who doesn't have a pending or a monetary incentive. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go and have a lie down. Writing about scientific fraud always makes me fancy a steak. And if you want to learn more about interpreting blood testing, in the context of low carb or keto or a carnivore diet, check out the links in the description. You could even become an internationally accredited blood analyst by contacting Coach Peter, booking a free call and he will tell you all about the course that Coach Peter and myself built together. And the claims, by the way, in this article are supported by peer reviewed research and investigative journalism. And there's quite a key bunch of resources down in the description if you want to check them out anyway. Thank you so much for getting to the end. hope you enjoyed it. If you did enjoy it, please consider liking, sharing and subscribing. And if you got to the end and you didn't enjoy it, thank you for at least listening and hearing me out. I hope you might enjoy the next video. Do come back and check me out. I promise you I'll find something that you do enjoy.