Research on Alzheimer's disease is one of the hottest topics in the biological sciences today. In 1992, for instance, two Alzheimer's papers made it into the list of the top 25 cited papers of the year, as compiled by the Institute for Scientific Information of Philadelphia. And in 1991, one paper occupied the second-most-cited slot for that year.
But despite the excitement among researchers, there remains a number of unanswered questions about the underlying mechanisms of the disease. While the most popular theory--that the key to the disease is beta-amyloid, the peptide fragment that accumulates in patients' brains--continues to gain ground, some worry that devoting all research to the beta-amyloid theory may be dangerous.
"If it doesn't pan out, you take about 100 steps backward," says one knowledgeable research scientist at an East Coast biotech company heavily involved in developing drugs that target beta- amyloid production, speaking on condition of ...
