How Not to Study a Disease
by Karl Herrup · first published 2021
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2recommended by
3HN commenters
2023–2026first – last mentioned
67% recommend33% neutral
"For decades, some of our best and brightest medical scientists have dedicated themselves to finding a cure for Alzheimer's disease. What happened? Where is the cure? The biggest breakthroughs occurred twenty-five years ago, with little progress since. In How Not to Study a Disease, neurobiologist Karl Herrup explains why the Alzheimer's discoveries of the 1990s didn't bear fruit and maps a direction for future research. Herrup describes the research, explains what's taking so long, and offers an approach for research in the future"--Book jacket flap. "A trade book on Alzheimer's disease - it
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The major problem has been lock-in of the Abeta 42 peptide fragment as the cause. This monomaniacal focus was rewarded by grant awards to team players. Karl Herrup has a terrific book on the topic How Not to Study a Disease — The Story of Alzheimer’s from MIT Press (2021, ISBN 9780262045902). He did not win many friends but I think he is right. The consensus now is that many factors contribute to the heterogeneous diseases…
on “Why Has There Been So Little Progress on Alzheimer's Disease?” ↗In this case perverse incentives. Check out 'How not to study a disease: the story of Alzheimer’s' (by Karl Herrup) for a perspective on why this is not at all surprising. That being said, I think it would be unfair to tarnish all of science with this brush though. There…
on “Star neuroscientist may have manipulated data to support a major stroke trial” ↗…preferably open access to all files and data. Obviously paying for your own audit sets up the incentives the wrong way. Alzheimer’s research has been a mess for 30 years as Karl Herrup argues persuasively in How Not to Study a Disease: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262546010/how-not-to-study-a-di...
on “Fraud, so much fraud” ↗You might enjoy “How Not To Study A Disease: The Story of Alzheimer’s” by Karl Herrup (2023, MIT Press). Great sad overview of the hegemony of the Abeta hypothesis that now has a Tau hypothesis buddy. https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262546010/how-not-to-study-a-di...
on “Alzheimer's biomarkers now visible up to a decade ahead of symptoms” ↗Great and highly critical book on this general topic: “How Not to Study a Disease” by Karl Herrup from MIT Press: https://direct.mit.edu/books/book/5216/How-Not-to-Study-a-Di... The core problem is much older than stated in this focused review.
on “How the Alzheimer's Research Scandal Set Back Treatment 16 Years (2022)” ↗Yes, I share some of your concerns about groupthink and research cliques. The best and balanced critique is Karl Herrup’s book at MIT Press: “How Not To Study a Disease”. Your comment is over the top with respect to NIH-funded researchers doing Alzheimer’s research. The emotion would be entirely appropriate if directed at RJ Reynolds Inc. and other cigarette companies…
on “New nanotherapy clears amyloid-β, reversing symptoms of Alzheimer's in mice” ↗Many in the research community realised the model was wrong a long time ago. This is a great read about the reasons why: 'How not to study a disease: the story of Alzheimer’s.' by Karl Herrup.
on “Why Has There Been So Little Progress on Alzheimer's Disease?” ↗"Book Review: How Not to Study a Disease. A comprehensive, yet accessible examination of Alzheimer’s disease" (I should know better than to take the clickbait, but lapses do occur.)
on “How Not to Study a Disease (2023)” ↗