tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9633767.post8144074170302551597..comments2024-03-25T09:11:17.877-07:00Comments on The Curious Wavefunction: The beta-amyloid hyp(e)othesis; the saga continuesWavefunctionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14993805391653267639noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9633767.post-18442561991840572232010-04-09T19:44:25.860-07:002010-04-09T19:44:25.860-07:00Thanks very much for the enlightening comments. I ...Thanks very much for the enlightening comments. I was not aware there was a rift in the AD community partly driven by the acceptance or lack thereof of the amyloid hypothesis. I hope the situation does not turn into one like that in string theory, where anyone questioning the status quo apparently has a hard time finding positions or funding. If you have been involved in studying AD pathogenesis for a long time, maybe you can highlight what you think are the most promising non-amyloid approaches currently being discussed.Wavefunctionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14993805391653267639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9633767.post-88986790314976986522010-04-09T15:38:10.570-07:002010-04-09T15:38:10.570-07:00As a researcher who has worked full-time on Alzhei...As a researcher who has worked full-time on Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis for many years, I believe this essay is well written and accurately summarizes the aspects of the current situation that it addresses. However, there are pertinent omissions related to funding that warrant mention in this context. <br /><br />One, funding for AD research in real dollars has declined significantly over the past few years, putting many labs into damage-control mode rather than a mode in which pioneering research efforts can be undertaken. <br /><br />Two, the AD research community is rather intensely politicized, most likely because of the funding limitations. If you question the amyloid hypothesis, or see a reason to venture away from it to answer a question, you will encounter a lot of skepticism from power centers of AD research politics at Harvard, WashU, Penn, UCSF, Buck, and Irvine ... which in turn populate foundations that support research such as the Alz Assn, Am Health Assist Fdn, and the Am Fed Aging Res.<br /><br />Three, there is an enormous fraction of the funding that is available being directed towards clinical studies and human trials. This would certainly be appropriate at a stage when aspects of pathogenesis are well understood to develop therapies with some rationale behind them. However, that is not the case. Clinical studies are being launched with little or no true insight into pathogenesis, and those running them are simply hoping to get lucky. The cost of one clinical study could support the research efforts of 10 laboraties for 5 years. A better use of funds at this point would be to aim at a detailed understanding of pathogenesis. That understanding may or may not ultimately incorporate the amyloid hypothesis, so we need to distribute the available funds among a broader array of labs and keep an open mind about its strengths and weaknesses.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com