Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

MuForceShoelace t1_jc1wqnu wrote

We discovered a kind of plaque that builds up during alzheimer's so for a while there was a very plausible "so if we clear that out, we cured the disease, right?" that made it seem like the cure was in sight. But then we found drugs that cleared it and it didn't really improve anything. The drug still came out, there was a bunch of fraud where it tried to claim smaller and smaller effects, then just came out as being a totally do nothing drug. So now the research is back to "we have no idea how to treat this"

13

ixfd64 OP t1_jc2eteq wrote

It's quite frustrating that all that time and money have gone to waste. :-(

2

rafa-droppa t1_jc2l2bd wrote

eh you never know, understanding how the plaque works and how to get rid of it may yield something beneficial in the future.

4

cstobler t1_jc2o3i7 wrote

Exactly. In addition, the effort is never wasted. If we wouldn’t have looked into that direction, we never would have determined whether it was a viable solution or not. It’s all part of the process of research.

6

apeters89 t1_jc3m682 wrote

Reminds of the Edison legend where he "found 1000 ways to not make a light bulb."

2

norby2 t1_jc7bugo wrote

That’s actually a good place. Blank slate, know what doesn’t work.

1