Abstract
Brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease exhibit an abundance of possible clues as to the etiology of the disease and the pathophysiologic processes causing its signs and symptoms. (1)These include characteristic aggregations of abnormal proteins in neurons (neurofibrillary tangles) and extracellular spaces (plaques; amyloid); concentrations of a potentially neurotoxic environmental contaminant, aluminum, within affected neurons; and an abnormal aggregate, amyloid, which may itself constitute an infectious particle (“prions”). Additional clues as to the etiology and pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease may also be provided by the patient’s family history - which sometimes reveals a strong genetic component to the disease - or by data, obtained using scanning devices, which show major reductions in brain blood flow and in oxygen and energy consumption.
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© 1986 Plenum Press, New York
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Wurtman, R.J., Blusztajn, J.K., Maire, JC. (1986). The “Autocannibalism” of Choline-Containing Membrane Phospholipids in the Pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s Disease. In: Fisher, A., Hanin, I., Lachman, C. (eds) Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease. Advances in Behavioral Biology, vol 29. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2179-8_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2179-8_9
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