Yes, we could require the study to be preregistered. OR to have significant-enough results - say, effect sizes greater than RCTs of the current standard treatment? (Unless the current treatments really suck, I haven’t looked into it)
They really suck. The old paradigm of Alzheimer’s research is very weak and, as I understand it, no drug has an effect size sufficient to offset even a minimal side effect profile, to the point where I think only one real drug has been approved by the FDA in the old paradigm, and that approval was super controversial. That’s my understanding, anyway. I welcome correction from anyone who knows better.
So maybe we should define the effect size in terms of cogntiive QALY’s? Say, an effective treatment should at least halve the rate of decline of the experimental arm relative to the control arm, with a stretch goal of bringing the decline to within the nuisance levels of normal, non-Alzheimer’s aging, and an even stretchier stretch goal of reversing the condition to the point where the former Alzheimer’s patient starts learning new skills and acquiring new hobbies.
How will we handle the desk drawer effect, where insignificant results are quietly shelved? I guess if the trial is preregistered this won’t happen...
Yes, we could require the study to be preregistered. OR to have significant-enough results - say, effect sizes greater than RCTs of the current standard treatment? (Unless the current treatments really suck, I haven’t looked into it)
They really suck. The old paradigm of Alzheimer’s research is very weak and, as I understand it, no drug has an effect size sufficient to offset even a minimal side effect profile, to the point where I think only one real drug has been approved by the FDA in the old paradigm, and that approval was super controversial. That’s my understanding, anyway. I welcome correction from anyone who knows better.
So maybe we should define the effect size in terms of cogntiive QALY’s? Say, an effective treatment should at least halve the rate of decline of the experimental arm relative to the control arm, with a stretch goal of bringing the decline to within the nuisance levels of normal, non-Alzheimer’s aging, and an even stretchier stretch goal of reversing the condition to the point where the former Alzheimer’s patient starts learning new skills and acquiring new hobbies.
Yeah, that sounds good.