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Problems During Aging (Alzheimer’s and Others)

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Neuroscience in the 21st Century

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Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) represents the most prevalent form of senile dementias. The disease is characterized by the occurrence of extracellular plaques, intracellular neurofibrillary tangles, a loss of neurons and synapses, hippocampus atrophy, and memory loss. Extracellular plaques consist mainly of beta-amyloid peptides (Abeta), which are generated through proteolytical cleavage of the larger amyloid precursor protein (APP). Mutations in the APP gene as well as in the presenilin genes (PS1/PS2) are responsible for the majority of familial AD (FAD) cases. All these mutations lead to an enhanced Abeta deposition in which mostly the generation of the longer Abeta variant containing 42 amino acids (Abeta42) is favored. In this chapter, the clinical features of AD, mild cognitive impairment being a transitional stage between the cognitive changes during normal aging and AD, as well as background in AD genetics, pathology, transgenic animal models, current and future therapy options, and risk factors such as diabetes and hypertension will be discussed.

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Abbreviations

Abeta:

Amyloid beta

AD:

Alzheimer’s disease

ADAM:

A disintegrin and metalloprotease

APH-1:

Anterior pharynx defective 1

ApoE:

Apolipoprotein E

APP:

Amyloid precursor protein

ATP:

Adenosine triphosphate

BACE 1:

Beta-site APP cleaving enzyme 1

BDNF:

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor

CA1:

Cornu ammonis 1

CAA:

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy

CBF:

Cerebral blood flow

CNS:

Central nervous system

COX:

Cyclooxygenase

CSF:

Cerebrospinal fluid

CT:

Computed tomography

Cu:

Copper

DMII:

Type 2 diabetes mellitus

DS:

Down syndrome

FAD:

Familial Alzheimer’s disease

IDE:

Insulin-degrading enzyme

IGF-1:

Insulin-like growth factor-1

MAP:

Microtubule-associated protein

MCI:

Mild cognitive impairment

MMSE:

Mini Mental State Examination

MRI:

Magnetic resonance imaging

NFT:

Neurofibrillary tangles

NMDA:

N-methyl-D-aspartate

NO:

Nitric oxide

NSAID:

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug

PEN-2:

Presenilin enhancer 2

PET:

Positron emission tomography

PHD:

Paired helical filaments

PS1:

Presenilin 1

PS2:

Presenilin 2

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

VEGF:

Vascular endothelial growth factor

Further Reading

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Molecular Psychiatry, Department for Psychiatry, University Medicine Goettingen, Von-Siebold-Street 5, Göttingen, Germany

    Prof. Thomas A. Bayer, Sadim Jawhar, Jessica L. Wittnam & Dr. Oliver Wirths

Authors
  1. Prof. Thomas A. Bayer
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  2. Sadim Jawhar
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  3. Jessica L. Wittnam
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  4. Dr. Oliver Wirths
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thomas A. Bayer .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Neurobiology and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA

    Donald W. Pfaff

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Bayer, T.A., Jawhar, S., Wittnam, J.L., Wirths, O. (2013). Problems During Aging (Alzheimer’s and Others). In: Pfaff, D.W. (eds) Neuroscience in the 21st Century. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1997-6_114

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