A newly released book by investigative journalist Charles Piller has sparked concern across the Alzheimer’s research community — and not because of its critique of scientific misconduct. Rather, it’s the sweeping, unfounded suggestion that such misconduct permeates the field and undermines decades of rigorous progress in understanding and treating Alzheimer’s disease.
At the Penn Memory Center and beyond, researchers and clinicians are pushing back.
In a recent article for MedPage Today, Jason Karlawish, MD, co-director of the Penn Memory Center, cautions that Piller’s message in Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer’s, is sensational.
“The problem is that the facts don’t support Piller’s message,” Dr. Karlawish wrote. “It’s sensational, and in my experience, it’s causing harm.” He details how patients and research participants are becoming increasingly hesitant to engage in promising clinical trials or consider approved anti-amyloid therapies such as lecanemab (Leqembi) and donanemab (Kisunla).
The risks of such hesitation are real. “All of this undermines the successes we’ve made and the research we still have to do,” Dr. Karlawish wrote. While he acknowledged legitimate critiques of early decisions, such as the controversial approval of Aduhelm, he argues that the system, including peer review, government investigations, and public scientific discourse, worked to correct missteps and safeguard trust.
