The Inspirational Journey of Dr. Francisco Lopera in Alzheimer’s Research

The Remarkable Journey of Dr. Francisco Lopera

In 1978, Dr. Francisco Lopera embarked on a journey that many recent medical school graduates in Colombia and across Latin America would recognize: the mandatory year of service in a remote area of the country. Here, a novice médico rural often stands as the sole physician for countless miles. Dr. Lopera, hailing from the picturesque Andean region of Antioquia, had primarily known the life of mountains and farms prior to his medical training. His service took him to the Darién Gap, situated on the Caribbean coast near Panama.

During his time there, Dr. Lopera—a pioneering Colombian researcher in Alzheimer’s disease—faced the harsh realities of rural medicine, treating a myriad of cases including stabbings, snakebites, complicated childbirths, burns, and fevers in a hospital where electricity was available for only half the day. His experiences were not without danger; on one occasion, he was kidnapped by Marxist guerrillas, and on another, he found himself fleeing from gunfire.

When I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Lopera in 2017 to initiate research for a book about families affected by Alzheimer’s—an undertaking that would ultimately define his life’s work—he recounted a harrowing story about two young brothers who had succumbed to mysterious illnesses in his hospital. Driven by a desire to uncover the truth, Dr. Lopera ventured to the family’s home, a secluded clearing in the jungle. There, he discovered that the surviving siblings bore bite marks on their fingers, inflicted by vampire bats. Prompted by this discovery, he arranged for the deceased brothers’ bodies to be transported to a pathology lab several hours away by boat. The results confirmed his suspicions: rabies was the culprit. Subsequently, when the government sent in a rabies expert to investigate, Dr. Lopera eagerly joined the effort.

This experience—a series of long nights spent in the rainforest, searching for hidden bat roosts while immersing himself in the natural history of rabies—ignited a passion within him to become a rabies epidemiologist. However, life had other plans. His interests shifted rapidly, and a few years later, he found himself in residency for neurology in Medellín.

In 1984, Dr. Lopera encountered a farmer in his 40s exhibiting signs of dementia. Demonstrating his characteristic dedication, he made the unusual decision to visit the farmer’s home, nestled in a mountain hamlet reminiscent of his own upbringing. It became evident that not just the farmer, but also his brother, exhibited symptoms of cognitive decline. This pivotal discovery led Dr. Lopera to unearth what would become known as the largest family in the world affected by early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

This family, living in the region, shared a unique genetic mutation later dubbed the paisa mutation. Over the next four decades, Dr. Lopera devoted himself to studying this family, which comprised around 6,000 members, unraveling the complexities of a disease that affects millions worldwide.

Dr. Francisco Lopera, captured in a poignant moment in Yarumal, Colombia, in 2010, stands second from the right, alongside Oderis Villegas, who was exhibiting signs of Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 50. To his left is María Elsy, a sister who had progressed into a more advanced stage of the disease.