Scientists Claim Everything We Know About Alzheimer's Disease is Based on False Data

Alzheimer's disease is one of the many health conditions that plagues older people. Known as a chronic progressive ailment, it is known for causing gradual memory loss and the deterioration of other cognitive functions of the brain, including logical reasoning, decision-making, and even living on a daily basis.

The illness is notorious for deteriorating the quality of life and it can also lead to death of its affected person.

For decades, scientists and medical experts have considered Alzheimer's as a brain disease, which naturally occurs as an individual progresses toward old age.

Lifestyle and unhealthy habits have also been attributed to the development of the mental disease later in life. Various research has also pointed out it can be caused by a pathogenic infection, including the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Now a new study claims that everything we know about Alzheimer's disease is based on false data or fabricated data. Its research team assert that it is more of an autoimmune disease rather than a brain disease.

Among many perspectives, the team theorizes that the protein beta-amyloid is not abnormally produced, but rather is a response to either a foreign invader or injury sustained by the brain.

Health authorities say that the disease has affected millions of people in the United States and other countries worldwide, irrespective of the geographical environment and demographic background.

In this context, evidence show that Alzheimer's is an all-encompassing and global medical phenomenon rather than a localized one. Until today, the apparent brain immune system disease is reportedly overlooked.

Alzheimer's Disease Treatment

In June 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) approved the dissemination and use of aducanumab, a novel treatment for Alzheimer's disease which serves as an anti-body to target beta-amyloid. The approval reportedly came even if some physicians do not support it due to lacking or contradictory data.

In July 2022, the Science magazine reported that the findings of a research paper published in the journal Nature in 2006, which identified the so-called subtype brain protein beta-amyloid, could have been based on inaccurate data, according to a cited article by Science Alert.

Autoimmune Disease

On Monday, September 19, an article from The Conversation claimed that a laboratory at the Krembil Brain Institute in Toronto proposed a new theory for Alzheimer's, postulating that it is mainly a disorder of the immune system inside the brain.

The theory explains that the beta-amyloid is only responding to external threats. However, the similarities between the fat molecules that consist of both membranes of brain cells and bacteria are confused. As a result, the accused protein targets the brain cells and the brain itself which it was supposed to protect.

Alzheimer's Disease Cases

In spite of the increasing knowledge on Alzheimer's disease, it has continued to affect many people worldwide.

According to the Alzheimer's Association, over 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's. This figure is expected to increase by the year 2050.