Is Alzheimer’s Disease an Autoimmune Disorder?

Could Alzheimer’s disease (AD) be an autoimmune disorder? Some scientists suggest that it may very well be an autoimmune issue.

Approximately 6 million Americans suffer from AD currently, and projections suggest that 14 million Americans will suffer from Alzheimer’s by 2060. Thus, the search for a cure is heating up, and several controversies about the cause of AD have arisen.

Back in July of this year, Science magazine published a report regarding a 2006 research paper published in Nature. This report pinpointed a subtype of brain protein called beta-amyloid as the cause of Alzheimer’s disease. The Science magazine report suggests that the 2006 research paper used fabricated data.

That’s a serious accusation, especially since the U.S. FDA approved aducanumab an antibody-targeting beta-amyloid, as a treatment for Alzheimer’s. The FDA did this even though the supporting data were contradictory and incomplete. Some doctors argue that aducanumab should not have been approved.

Why are scientists having such difficulty with finding a cure? Finding the cause is a major obstacle to this quest.