The Alzheimer's Lie: How Manipulated Data Misled Millions

Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health

Briana Mercola

Health & Fitness, Health, Alternative Health

4.6 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 6 March 2025

⏱️ 12 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Story at-a-glance

A 2006 landmark Alzheimer’s study published in the journal Nature has been retracted after investigators uncovered manipulated images, calling into question nearly two decades of research and treatment strategies
The study introduced Aβ*56, a specific form of amyloid beta, as a cause of memory loss. However, independent forensic analysis revealed that key data were fabricated, raising doubts about whether this protein even exists
As a result of this data manipulation, billions of dollars in research funding and drug development have been wasted on treatments targeting amyloid plaques, while other potential causes of Alzheimer’s, such as metabolic dysfunction and inflammation, were largely ignored
The University of Minnesota, where the fraudulent research was conducted, failed to find misconduct in an internal review, highlighting serious concerns about institutional bias and the need for independent oversight in scientific investigations
Patients and families must take an active role in questioning studies, funding sources and treatment claims to identify reliable research

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, and welcome to another episode of Dr. Mercola's cellular wisdom, where we explore the hidden
0:04.6	corners of health research and figure out just how much scientists can complicate a perfectly good
0:09.0	brain cell. I'm Ethan Foster, your friendly neighborhood observer of all things baffling in modern
0:13.9	life. And I'm Alara Sky, resident comedic contrarian, here to ask the questions you never knew
0:18.7	you had and hand out witty commentary in spades.
0:21.6	We're thrilled you're tuning in to learn and possibly unlearn what you thought you knew about Alzheimer's research.
0:27.1	Today we're discussing something that rattled the scientific community, a 2006 landmark Alzheimer's study that was recently retracted, as in, yanked off the shelves, the academic equivalent of, we're sorry we messed up.
0:39.0	Actually, we're not sure how this got published in the first place.
0:42.3	Right. And when a journal, as renowned as nature, says, you know what, we might have goofed.
0:46.8	You know it's serious. This study introduced a specific form of amyloid beta protein called
0:51.1	A.B. Star 56. But don't worry, I won't be making you memorize that.
0:55.2	It was supposed to be the smoking gun in Alzheimer's. Then someone noticed the smoke was more like
0:59.1	Photoshop. Exactly. After nearly two decades of building entire research empires on that supposed
1:05.0	protein, a forensic analysis found that key images were manipulated, which is science speak for
1:10.0	somebody spliced,
1:11.6	and maybe got a little too creative in the lab.
1:13.8	The best part is, scientists were all chasing this A-Beta-Star 56 protein, like it was the
1:19.2	holy grail of Alzheimer's cures.
1:21.6	Money poured in.
1:22.7	Grants were won.
1:24.0	Other potential causes, like metabolic dysfunction and inflammation, got an apathetic wave.
1:28.6	And now we're finding out this star protein might not even exist.
	...

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