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Alzheimer's research: The search for causes and medication has not been very successful so far
Photo: Getty Images/Science Photo Library RF
These are serious allegations that could put an abrupt end to the career of neuroscientist Sylvain Lesné: According to the journal Science, the French scientist is said to have falsified graphics and images in his studies, including in a groundbreaking study on Alzheimer's research from 2006.
At the time, Lesné, as lead author of the "Nature" study, identified a molecule that was one of the "prime suspects" for the causes of Alzheimer's, as stated in an accompanying article.
It is said to be at the beginning of a deadly chain reaction in the brain.
With his "discovery" he supports the so-called amyloid hypothesis, according to which certain pieces of protein, so-called beta-amyloid, are the trigger for the disease.
They are also found in small amounts in the brains of healthy people.
But with age, the fabric can clump and form plaques.
These lead to a mass death of nerve cells and shrink the brain.
The study was cited thousands of times in the years that followed and popularized the amyloid hypothesis - until a US neuroscientist from Vanderbilt University became suspicious.
The specialist magazine »Science« then hired several Alzheimer's researchers to examine Lesné's graphics and studies.
Their unanimous finding: Hundreds of images have been manipulated in more than 70 Lensé publications.
Some look like "shockingly obvious" examples of image manipulation, the magazine quoted Donna Wilcock, an Alzheimer's expert at the University of Kentucky.
The success story has now become a science scandal.
Lesné's studies also contributed to millions being invested in drugs that are ineffective, the Science authors suspect.
One of them is the approval of the Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm in the summer of 2021. It was already considered a scandal before it was discovered.
The launch was also a flop.
Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration FDA approved Aduhelm in June 2021, the new compound's clinical efficacy has never been confirmed.
Various errors in the approval process were also criticized.
With the decision, the FDA had defied the veto of its own scientific advisory board.
In research and drug development, the amyloid hypothesis dominates, says Science.
About half of all Alzheimer's funding goes into such projects.
Scientists pushing other possible causes of Alzheimer's, such as immune disorders or inflammation, would lament being sidelined by the "amyloid mafia."
Lesné's alleged manipulations could therefore plunge an entire branch of research into a crisis.
According to some researchers, however, Lesné and his alleged image manipulations cannot be held responsible for all bad investments.
"I had never heard the name Lesné before the scandal," commented Alzheimer's researcher Giovanni Frisoni from the Neurocenter at the University of Geneva to the "Neue Züricher Zeitung".
»Lesné's works are by no means the decisive ones«, explains Robert Perneczky from the University of Munich in the »NZZ«.
Lesné himself has not yet commented on the allegations.
His employer, the University of Minnesota, is now investigating the allegations.
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