Amyloid: The New Magic Bullet for Specialists and Drug Companies

We are hearing more and more about amyloid, a protein that can be deposited in the organs of humans and cause great harm.  Or is that too simplistic?  We now have very expensive and poorly tested drugs that will reduce amyloid load in the heart and brain.  Because the drugs are available, now amyloid has become testable and has reached a level of great importance.  But just how accurate is it that we need to look for amyloid in these organs and if we find it we must treat it with drugs barely old enough to have any validity?  Is amyloid really the cause of disease, or is it an innocent side product of that cause, or is it even a way for the body to protect itself?  We just don't know.  We do know that the one study showing its impact in heart disease was financed and designed by the drug company that makes the amyloid-busting medicine, and the study is so flawed that even we can tear it apart.  And we know that the drug that treats amyloid in the brain has never been shown to improve cognition but does cause a huge number of brain bleeds.  How do we assess new technology and new ideas in a scientific manner when specialist doctors and drug companies leap on them as being the next coming of God?  We'll discuss the facts we have and the uncertainly that exists, and show how amyloid is much like other miracles in modern medicine: the next great discovery until it's not.  The end of this podcast was struck with technical issues, so please pardon the abrupt ending!