In a scathing exposé dated October 6, 2025, from The Forgotten Side of Medicine newsletter, author A Midwestern Doctor lays bare what he calls "The Great Alzheimer's Scam." It's a tale of scientific hubris, pharmaceutical greed, and institutional inertia that's funnelled billions into a dead-end theory, the amyloid hypothesis, while sidelining affordable, evidence-backed alternatives. I've dug deep into this controversy, cross-referencing the article with fresh 2025 data from web searches, scientific journals, and X discussions. What emerges isn't just a story of wasted resources; it's a damning indictment of how modern medicine prioritises profit over patients. Let's dissect the scandals, the failed drugs, and the buried treatments that could rewrite the narrative on dementia.
At the heart of the "scam" is the amyloid-beta hypothesis, which posits that Alzheimer's stems from toxic protein plaques gumming up the brain. This idea, born in the early 1900s and turbocharged in the 1990s, has dominated research for decades. But as Midwestern Doctor details, it's riddled with flaws, and outright fraud.
The smoking gun? A 2006 Nature paper by Sylvain Lesné claiming to identify a specific toxic oligomer, Aβ*56, as the culprit. This work propelled billions in funding and drug development. Yet, in 2022, whistleblower Matthew Schrag uncovered doctored Western blot images in Lesné's papers. By 2024, the paper was retracted, but the damage was done: over $1.6 billion in NIH amyloid-focused grants in one year alone, per a 2025 Science investigation. Charles Piller's book Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer's, released in early 2025, exposes this as part of a broader "amyloid mafia," a cabal of researchers who sidelined alternatives like inflammation or immune dysfunction to protect their turf.
2025 updates paint an even grimmer picture. A New York Times op-ed from January called it "the devastating legacy of lies," noting how fraud by "world-famous researchers and obscure scientists" derailed progress for 25 years. An ACS Reactions piece from August 2024 (still reverberating) estimates billions wasted and thousands of research hours lost. On X, users like @Ultrascan419 echo the scepticism: "Is Everything We Think We Know About Alzheimer's Disease Wrong?" linking to articles questioning the entire paradigm.
Critics argue the hypothesis persists because it's patent-friendly: target amyloids, crank out drugs, rake in profits. But as Midwestern Doctor notes, amyloid might actually protect the brain from stressors like inflammation or toxins, a view gaining traction in 2025 reviews. The real scandal? This fraud didn't just mislead; it starved funding for root-cause approaches, leaving millions to suffer.
With the hypothesis exposed as shaky, the drugs it spawned are under fire. Midwestern Doctor slams Aduhelm (aducanumab), Leqembi (lecanemab), and Kisunla (donanemab) as "failed medications" with negligible benefits and severe risks like brain swelling and bleeding.
Aduhelm's Demise: Approved in 2021 amid controversy (FDA ignored its advisory panel's 10-0 rejection), it was priced at $56,000/year and caused brain issues in 41% of trial participants. By 2024, Biogen pulled it after paltry sales (~$5 million total) and a congressional probe into "irregularities" like secret FDA-Biogen dealings. In 2025, it's cited as a cautionary tale in Nature articles on "controversial new Alzheimer's drugs."
Leqembi and Kisunla: These 2023-2024 approvals promised modest slowdowns (26-27% in progression), but at $26,500/year each, with brain bleeds in 21-37% of users. A 2024 BMJ investigation uncovered dubious data, conflicts of interest (9/10 FDA advisors had pharma ties), and overstated efficacy. Medicare's projected $3.5 billion spend in 2025? A "STAT Plus" piece calls it a windfall for the "amyloid mafia." China's 2025 refusal to renew a similar drug, GV-971, highlights global doubts.
A MedicalXpress article from September 2024 sums it up: "Revolution or mirage?" These drugs slow decline by months at best, but risks like fatal bleeds make them a gamble. Midwestern Doctor's point? They're patching a symptom while ignoring causes, and bankrupting systems like Medicare.
While amyloid drugs flop, alternatives thrive in the shadows. Dale Bredesen's protocol, outlined in The End of Alzheimer's, treats dementia as multifaceted, types driven by inflammation, toxins, vascular issues, etc. not just plaques. Midwestern Doctor praises its 84% reversal rate in early stages, backed by 2018-2022 studies.
2025 brings validation: A September Apollo Health release shows the protocol not only boosts cognition but slashes depression, dual benefits in a precision medicine trial. The ongoing Evanthea trial (results due November 2025) tests it for early dementia reversal. A New York Times critique from May calls it "expensive" and "insufficiently rigorous," but X users rave: @JENNIFERKBENED1 shares her dad's vascular dementia turnaround, vacationing 18 months post-diagnosis. @ThePrimal_Pod highlights peer-reviewed success: "ReCODE works when drugs fail."
Bredesen's March Daily Mail feature touts it as a "miracle protocol" for sharpness into your 100s. Critics like Alzheimer Canada warn of "false hope," but 2025 data from Patient Care Online links it to reduced biomarkers. Infections like COVID or Chlamydia pneumoniae? Bredesen's approach tackles them, per a July study.
Midwestern Doctor spotlights DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide) as a game-changer: affordable, low-toxicity, and effective at reviving "shocked" brain cells. Animal studies show it delays Aβ-induced paralysis by 48-98% in models, boosts hippocampal density, and counters memory loss. Human trials from the 1970s-80s (e.g., 18 Alzheimer's patients improving in memory after months) echo this, but FDA suppression buried it.
A 2025 SAGE study rethinks DMSO's role in Aβ prep, suggesting it modulates oligomers. On X, anecdotes abound: readers report dementia reversals in relatives after oral DMSO.
Zeta potential, colloidal stability in fluids, ties in: declining with age, it impairs brain drainage (glymphatics), per Midwestern Doctor. 2025 nanotech reviews link it to AD delivery systems, but direct dementia ties are emerging in synaptic studies. Restoring it could prevent agglomeration, aligning with DMSO's circulation-boosting effects.
This isn't just science; it's systemic failure. Billions funnelled into amyloid while protocols like Bredesen's (or simple fixes like sleep, exercise) get short shrift. X chatter reflects frustration: @flavin_theresa pushes Bredesen for dignity in dementia care. As Midwestern Doctor argues, Alzheimer's is a manifestation of broader chronic ills, poor circulation, toxins, inflammation, exacerbated by pharma's patent chase.
Politically incorrect truth: If we're honest, the "amyloid mafia" has blood on its hands, delaying cures for profit. But hope exists in these buried approaches. Demand transparency, fund alternatives, and challenge the scam. Our brains, and society's, depends on it.
https://www.midwesterndoctor.com/p/the-great-alzheimers-scam-and-the