Years of Alzheimer’s research likely fabricated

[Laurell]

Looking at this... the oxycontin scandal that preceded the heroin epidemic... and I'm sure countless other similar experiences... it makes you wonder what in modern medicine you CAN trust.

Geropsychiatry is not my speciality, but it's where I have ended up spending some of my weekends moonlighting, so I asked many questions of the seasoned psychiatrists with whom I work. I was surprised to learn that all of the medications we prescribe to "slow down the process" aren't believed in by the prescribers themselves. The attitude seems to essentially be "if the family wants them, you can start them, but there's a host of side effects and it doesn't seem to slow things down much at all."

It really spoke to me about the efficacy of medication in real practice vs FDA trials.

[Judas Maccabeus]

Looking at this... the oxycontin scandal that preceded the heroin epidemic... and I'm sure countless other similar experiences... it makes you wonder what in modern medicine you CAN trust.

Geropsychiatry is not my speciality, but it's where I have ended up spending some of my weekends moonlighting, so I asked many questions of the seasoned psychiatrists with whom I work. I was surprised to learn that all of the medications we prescribe to "slow down the process" aren't believed in by the prescribers themselves. The attitude seems to essentially be "if the family wants them, you can start them, but there's a host of side effects and it doesn't seem to slow things down much at all."

It really spoke to me about the efficacy of medication in real practice vs FDA trials.

I suspect much of that discrepancy between Phase III trials has to do with the selection criteria to get into the studies. I remember one (An infection seeking agent) that I was involved in where the inclusion criteria was limited to 20 somethings with suspected appendicitis. No complications or problems in that group. It was approved.

In actual clinical use the patients that it was used in were FUO patients, some of which were in ICUs. Suddenly the reactions and complications began to pour in. Manufacturer suspended marketing and production. Never found out what happened. We were using it to evaluate for osteomyelitis on ambulatory patients, we never had a problem. I have some theories....

Blessings,

J.M.

[temporal1]

“New Molecule Destroys Alzheimer’s-Causing Amyloid Tangles”
https://scitechdaily.com/new-molecule-d ... d-tangles/

A molecule found in green tea helped UCLA biochemists in the discovery of multiple molecules capable of destroying tau fibers.

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) researchers used a molecule present in green tea to uncover more molecules that may break up protein tangles in the brain, which are known to cause Alzheimer’s disease and other disorders.

Tau fibers, which are lengthy, multilayered filaments that create tangles and attack neurons, are known to be broken up
by the green tea molecule EGCG.

UCLA biochemists detail how EGCG breaks tau fibers layer by layer in a paper that was recently published in the journal Nature Communications. They also describe how they found other compounds that are likely to function in the same manner and might be better potential candidates for drugs than EGCG, which has difficulty penetrating the brain.

The discovery offers up new possibilities for treating Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other neurodegenerative diseases by developing drugs that target the structure of tau fibers and other amyloid fibrils.

Thousands of J-shaped layers of tau molecules joined together form the type of amyloid fibrils known as tangles, which were originally identified in the post-mortem brain of a dementia patient by Alois Alzheimer a century ago. As these fibers grow and spread throughout the brain, they kill neurons and cause brain atrophy. Many researchers believe that the removal or destruction of tau fibers can slow the progression of dementia. ..

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