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Translating cell biology into therapeutic advances in Alzheimer's disease

Nature volume 399, pages A23–A31 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

Studies of the molecular basis of Alzheimer's disease exemplify the increasingly blurred distinction between basic and applied biomedical research.The four genes so far implicated in familial Alzheimer's disease have each been shown to elevate brain levels of the self-aggregating amyloid-β protein, leading gradually to profound neuronal and glial alteration, synaptic loss and dementia. Progress in understanding this cascade has helped to identify specific therapeutic targets and provides a model for elucidating other neurodegenerative disorders.

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Figure 1: High-power photomicrograph of a section of the amygdala from an Alzheimer's patient showing the classical neuropathological lesions of the disorder.
Figure 2: Diagrams of APP and its principal metabolic derivatives.
Figure 3: APP mutations causing AD or hereditary cerebral haemorrhage.
Figure 4

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Selkoe, D. Translating cell biology into therapeutic advances in Alzheimer's disease. Nature 399, A23–A31 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/399a023

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