what they said (Hover the mouse cursor over underlined words for more info)

BETA-amyloid protein isn't really much to look at. A tangle of amino acids, for much of our lives it exists harmlessly in our brains.

The original article can be found at: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24368210-23289,00.html

how did it rate? (more information)

what we said (Hover the mouse cursor over underlined words for more info)

This is more of a feature article than news. It covers in some detail the development and early human testing of a drug that is designed to deplete amyloid-â peptide Aâ42, thought by some to be a cause of Alzheimer's disease. Strong features of the article are that it goes well beyond the media release that accompanied publication of the clinical trial report in July 2008 and the cautionary note that these are very early clinical data. The article could have pointed out that this was a randomised placebo controlled trial of two doses of the experimental drug. It could also have mentioned that rates of diarrhoea and nausea were slightly higher with the experimental drug than with placebo. But overall this is good reporting containing much of what we'd like to see in health reports

public forum

voice your opinion in the forum

• All comments and feedback submitted to Media Doctor are subject to editorial approval before being made viewable by the public. It may take up to a week for your comments to be approved. Additionally, no response will be given to questions posed in public comments. Media Doctor does not provide medical advice, or answers to medical questions posed by the public.
• If you provide your email address it will not be displayed to the general public.
• Comments may be edited by Media Doctor to remove defamatory or sensitive statements, and brand names.
• Required fields are marked with an asterisk (*).