For decades the amyloid theory has sucked up billions of research money, and scientists who didn’t worship at the church of the Holy Amyloid Theory were ridiculed and couldn’t get research money.

But are amyloid plaques the cause of dementia, or the effect?
If you pull a scab off the wound, is the wound then healed?
Some scientists think that the amyloid plaques are the brain’s attempt to stop some other process, and that removing them will do nothing. The incredibly expensive anti-amyloid drugs that were approved cause brain bleeds, and show little if any positive effect.

A few companies are pursuing novel drugs that do not target amyloid. One of them has shown enough efficacy that the patients who completed the initial 1-year clinical trial begged to keep taking it. Let’s hope that the amyloid theory stops being the Great White Whale and something that actually works is approved soon.