While most researchers studying Alzheimer's disease still believe in the amyloid hypothesis, the disappointments of proposed treatments and other setbacks in the past few years have rekindled interest in other theories of what causes Alzheimer's.
One such theory, the mitochondrial cascade theory of Alzheimer's disease, argues that a person's genes determine how durable their mitochondria are (mitochondria are the power generators of our body's cells), and the rate of mitochondrial decline determines the age at which dementia begins. Believers in this theory suggest that proposed treatments for Alzheimer's should target declining mitochondrial function.
My feeling is that since there are so many unanswered questions about this disease, a theory like this deserves a lot of attention and support. Hopefully the recently passed National Alzheimer's Project Act will help make it more feasible to pursue this and other credible theories.
