The Impact of Alzheimer's Disease: Memory and Identity Erosion

Nearly seven million Americans, about one in nine people over the age of 65, live with Alzheimer’s. It’s a heartbreaking disease for those afflicted and the 11 million loved ones who are taking care of them. But despite decades of research and countless promises of a breakthrough, there are no significant treatments to stop the cognitive decline. While mortality rates for other leading causes of death like cancer and heart disease have gone down, Alzheimer’s death rates continue to rise. In his new book “Doctored”

investigative reporter Charles Piller makes the case that a wide web of fraud, greed and negligence – from individual scientists to the FDA – has derailed the search for a cure or treatment. And, he says the scientific establishment’s belief in one hypothesis of the disease, despite the lack of progress, has shut out other promising avenues. We’ll talk with Piller about his new book and what it reveals about Alzheimer’s research and the broader science landscape.

Guests:

Charles Piller, investigative journalist, Science magazine; author, "Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer's"

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