#59 - Built on Plaques: The Shocking Mystery, Scandal, and Misdirection of Alzheimer’s Research

09/08/2025 1h 2min Episodio 59

Listen "#59 - Built on Plaques: The Shocking Mystery, Scandal, and Misdirection of Alzheimer’s Research"

Episode Synopsis

Melanie Avalon and Scott Emmens take you deep into one of the most shocking, convoluted, and politically charged stories in modern science: the quest to cure Alzheimer’s. With over 6 million Americans affected, why - after decades of research and billions in funding - do we still have no cure? This episode unpacks how one woman’s brain in 1906 became the foundation of an entire medical paradigm, how government institutions steered research toward a single hypothesis, and how redefining the disease in 2010 may have quietly tripled its prevalence overnight. From failed billion-dollar drugs to falsified images in top-tier journals, the story of Alzheimer’s is one of scientific ambition, distorted incentives, and critical missteps. (Have we been targeting the wrong enemy all along? And what can you actually do to prevent and reverse cognitive decline? 🤯)

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