Alone

The recent article "Assessing Amyloid β"¹ discusses recent evidence for a physiological role for amyloid-β. Surprisingly, given such a role, the potential danger of removing this physiological protein is scant. However, this is exactly what the next generation "treatment" strategies are targeting. The termination of the initial clinical trial utilizing such a strategy due to side effects of brain inflammation may, however, be a direct consequence of removing physiologically useful amyloid-β.² Therefore, as we forewarned,³ and continue to caution,⁴ removal of amyloid-β might actually exacerbate the neurodegenerative process.

Mark A. Smith and George Perry

Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, Ohio mark.smith@case.edu