Posted27 July 2022, 11:25
Alzheimer’s diseaseMake-up photos shake up 15 years of research
An influential 2006 article on Alzheimer’s disease is allegedly tainted with fraud.
The disease affects 50 million people worldwide. Illustrative image.
Pixabay
Has Alzheimer’s research been deliberately misguided for fifteen years? This was advanced by the journal “Science” on Thursday. The theory of the accumulation of amyloid plaques on neurons, a supposed cause of the disease, has taken off since the discovery of oddities in the publication of researchers from the University of Minnesota (USA) in 2006.
This highly influential work highlighted the role of a particular protein subtype in memory loss in rats. It has given rise to much research, without success so far, despite billions of dollars invested. And for good reason. According to “Science”, 70 of the images produced at the time by the French neuroscientist Sylvain Lesné had been made up with a banal copy-and-paste graphic.
There is no shame in being wrong. This is how science advances. It’s the fraud that’s completely toxic to her
50 million people affected
The news has appalled the scientific community, mobilized to fight once morest an evil that affects 50 million people around the world. “We have the impression that we wasted resources, comments Professor Charles Dupras, bioethicist quoted by the “Journal de Montréal”.
This possible scandal once more raises the question of the verification of scientific research. In this case, reports “Le Monde”, the counter-investigation was launched by the shareholders of a pharmaceutical laboratory preparing to release a molecule resulting from this research. To date, Professor Lesné and his colleagues deny any manipulation.
(ARG)
