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Eliezer Masliah

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Eliezer Masliah in 2016

Eliezer Masliah (born 1958 or 1959[1]) is a neuropathologist who was the director of the division of neuroscience at the National Institute on Aging from 2016 to 2024.[2] In September 2024, an investigation exposed image manipulation across 132 of Masliah's research papers, raising concerns about data integrity in studies influencing Alzheimer's and Parkinson's treatments, pharmaceutical patents, and clinical trials.

Background

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He received his medical degree in 1982 from the National Autonomous University of Mexico.[3][4] After postdoctoral training at University of California, San Diego (UCSD) he became a tenure-track Professor at UCSD's Department of Neuroscience, with a joint appointment in Pathology.[3][5] He also directed the neuropathology core of the Shirley-Marcos Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at UCSD.[3] He was appointed head of the U.S. National Institute on Aging's Division of Neuroscience in 2016.[6]

He has a prolific body of work — over 800 research papers, much of which is now under scrutiny for containing manipulated images to support different conclusions than the real data.[1][7] In September 2024, the NIH released a statement that stated he was no longer serving in the role of Director of the Division of Neuroscience.[8]

Research misconduct

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In September 2024, Masliah's work came under intense scrutiny when an investigation led by the journal Science exposed extensive image manipulation across 132 of his published research papers.[1] [7][9] A 286 page dossier compiled by forensic analysts and neuroscientists pointed to repeated instances of Western blot manipulation, image reuse, and other forms of digital editing across decades of his research. These allegations involved crucial studies related to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, particularly surrounding the alpha-synuclein protein.[1]

The dossier was sent to the HHS Office of Research Integrity, which requested that the National Institute on Aging (NIA) start a research misconduct investigation in May 2023.[10] The NIA started their investigation in December 2023.[10] In September 2024, the NIH confirmed that Masliah was no longer leading the Division of Neuroscience at the NIA, following the conclusion of their investigation.[11]

The controversy includes papers that have influenced clinical trials and investment decisions in the pharmaceutical industry. 238 active patents cite papers by Masliah that contain anomalous images and data.[1] A notable impact on the pharmaceutical industry concerns the experimental Parkinson's drug prasinezumab, developed by Prothena Biosciences in collaboration with Roche.[12] A Phase II study reported in August 2022 found no statistically significant effect from the drug vs placebo on measures of Parkinson's disease progression.[12] Several papers foundational to the development of prasinezumab were flagged for image manipulation. According to Google patent search, Masliah's name appears on 28 patents, including several patents filed by Prothena Biosciences, as well as earlier patents filed in conjunction with UCSD for drugs that target synucleopathies.

Research trials on the drugs Cerebrolysin and Minzasolmin were also found to be based on questionable data from Masliah's lab.[13] Masliah co-authored 21 papers on the pig brain extract Cerebrolysin, eight of which have been discovered to have issues.[14] Cerebrolysin is marketed as containing "neurotrophic peptides" but researchers using high performance liquid chromatography found that it does not contain peptides, and is largely composed of amino acids and salt, with some trace protein fragments.[15] Some of the fraudulent papers on Cerebrolysin co-authored by Masliah appear to have been quite influential in boosting interest in Cerebrolysin, which is used today in countries like Russia to treat stroke, dementia, and other conditions.[14] Masliah received funding for many of his Cerebrolysin studies from the maker of Cerebrolysin, EVER Pharma, and collaborated with Herbert Moessler, former general manager at EVER Pharma, who incidentally has 19 of his own papers flagged for anomalies.[14] Moessler and Masliah started a company, Neuropore, to investigate the drug Minzasolmin in 2008.[1] A phase II clinical trial on Minzasolmin involving 496 people is currently ongoing and is scheduled to finish in late 2024.[1]

Masliah has not publicly commented on these findings. As of November 2024 he is not listed as part of the National Institute on Aging's staff on their website,[16] although as of November 2024 his name still appeared in NIH's Network Enterprise Directory, suggesting he is still an NIH employee.[17]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Piller, Charles (26 September 2024). "Picture imperfect". Science. Washington: American Association for the Advancement of Science. doi:10.1126/science.z2o7c3k. Archived from the original on 2024-09-26. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  2. ^ "Eliezer MASLIAH". National Institute on Aging. Archived from the original on 2024-03-03. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  3. ^ a b c "Advisory Board". Alzheimer's Disease Data Initiative. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  4. ^ "Eliezer Masliah, MD | Parkinson's Disease". www.michaeljfox.org. Retrieved 2024-09-27.
  5. ^ "UCSD Profiles: Eliezer Masliah". profiles.ucsd.edu. Archived from the original on 2024-09-27. Retrieved 2024-09-27.
  6. ^ "Meet the director of the Division of Neuroscience". National Institute on Aging. 2016-09-14. Retrieved 2024-09-27.
  7. ^ a b https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/fraud-so-much-fraud
  8. ^ "Statement by NIH on Research Misconduct Findings". National Institutes of Health (NIH). 2024-09-25. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  9. ^ "A top government scientist engaged in research misconduct, NIH finds". AP News. 26 September 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Data Fabrication Ousted NIA Neuroscience Director Eliezer Masliah". Alzforum. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  11. ^ "NIH Statement on Research Misconduct". National Institutes of Health. 2024-09-25. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  12. ^ a b Incorvaia, Darren. "NIH neuroscience leader committed research misconduct, agency investigation finds". Fierce Biotech. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  13. ^ Piller, Charles (27 September 2024). "Fraud, So Much Fraud". Science. American Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  14. ^ a b c Yang, Mu. "Cerebrolysin: Sharmas, Masliah, and EVER Pharma"
  15. ^ Gevaert, Bert; D'Hondt, Matthias; Bracke, Nathalie; Yao, Han; Wynendaele, Evelien; Vissers, Johannes Petrus Cornelis; De Cecco, Martin; Claereboudt, Jan; De Spiegeleer, Bart (September 2015). "Peptide profiling of Internet‐obtained Cerebrolysin using high performance liquid chromatography – electrospray ionization ion trap and ultra high performance liquid chromatography – ion mobility – quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry". Drug Testing and Analysis. 7 (9): 835–842. doi:10.1002/dta.1817.
  16. ^ "Staff Listing". National Institute on Aging. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  17. ^ "NIH Enterprise Directory (NED) - National Institutes of Health (NIH)". ned.nih.gov. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
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