New findings have called into question the “amyloid hypothesis” for Alzheimer’s disease, which holds that clumps of amyloid beta protein in the brain are the primary cause of the disease.
Work by neuroscientist Matthew Schrag, published in the US journal Science, suggests that data underpinning the hypothesis are flawed. Several top Alzheimer’s researchers in the US have indicated that brain images published as part of the early research were tampered with to strengthen findings in favour of the hypothesis.
The authors “appear to have composed figures by piecing together parts of photos from different experiments,” Elisabeth Bik, a forensic image consultant, is quoted as saying.