Alzheimer’s researchers let some new ideas in

There’s been far more failure than success when it comes to drug development for Alzheimer’s. So at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Los Angeles last week — the field’s largest of the year — there was a distinct sense that researchers were still figuring out where to turn next.

And with a string of failures based on the beta-amyloid theory, a number of research ideas that didn’t previously get much credence are now seeing the light of day.

“We’ve brought together pharma, biotech, philanthropies, and multiple academic departments to work together to identify new targets for intervention,” Dr. Richard Hodes, director of the NIH’s National Institute on Aging, told STAT. “We’ve learned from the unfortunate failures in this space … the culture shift is really remarkable.”