Alzheimer's Dilemma

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In society, people are frequently faced with moral dilemmas. The choices that a majority of the population makes when faced with these dilemmas defines the primary belief system of a population. Ultimately, the reasoning behind the choices made within a moral dilemma increases in importance based on the amount of people that are affected by the resulting outcome. Additionally, the status of the person making the decision alters the significance of the decision- making process.

Scientists play a huge role in the well-being of society. Therefore, the ethical interpretations of scientists serves as a critical role in scientific research. Moral standards have been established within scientific research to prevent scientific misconduct, such as plagiarism, fabrication, and fraud (Source).These standards are meant to ensure the protection of the participants involved in scientific studies. For example, the process
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In the late stages of Alzheimer’s disease, those affected lose their ability to respond to their environment and understand conversations (source). Previous studies have been conducted to analyze the ethics involved in Alzheimer’s disease research (source). Within a research study that involved pharmaceutical trials, only 24% of participants with Alzheimer’s disease were able to give informed consent. Therefore, the responsibility to give consent usually lies with the family members of the research participant with Alzheimer’s disease. Though, in most cases the choice of the person who gives consent in place of the person with Alzheimer’s is usually not in line with the participant with Alzheimer’s disease (Source). Therefore, the validity of consent within pharmaceutical trials involving participants with Alzheimer’s disease is indiscrete. Also, the emotional ability of the family members giving consent within clinical trials is