Current Alzheimer Research - Volume 12, Issue 9, 2015

A potential strategy to alleviate the aggregation of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) is to maintain the native functional state of the protein by small molecule binding. However, the targeting of the native state of IDPs by small molecules has been challenging due to their heterogeneous conformational ensembles. To tackle this challenge, we applied a high-throughput chemical microarray surface plasmon resonance ima Read More

Differential diagnosis of AD is still a challenge due to overlapping features with other types of dementia. Biomarkers for the differential diagnosis of AD can improve the diagnostic value of the disease and ensure an appropriate treatment of patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of two neo-epitope fragments of Tau as serum biomarkers for differential diagnosis of AD. The neo-epitope fragments of Tau w Read More

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder and the fourth leading cause of death in the United States and most common cause of adult-onset dementia. The major hallmarks of AD are the formation of senile amyloid plaques made of beta amyloid and neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) which are primarily composed of phosphorylated tau protein. Although numerous agents have been considered as providi Read More

The ATP-binding cassette transporter-2 (ABCA2) is a member of a family of multipass transmembrane proteins that use the energy of ATP hydrolysis to transport substrates across membrane bilayers. ABCA2 has also been genetically linked with Alzheimer’s disease but the molecular mechanisms are unknown. In this report, we hypothesized that ABCA2 modulation of sphingolipid metabolism activates a signaling path Read More

We previously reported that activity of the large conductance calcium-activated potassium (big-K, BK) channel is suppressed by intracellular Aβ in cortical pyramidal cells, and that this suppression was reversed by expression of the scaffold protein Homer1a in 3xTg Alzheimer’s disease model mice. Homer1a is known to be expressed by physiological photic stimulation (PS) as well. The possibility thus arises that PS also reverses Read More

There are currently no approved effective therapies for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). AD is a classic, multifactorial, complex syndrome. Thus, a polypharmacological or multitargeted approach to AD might provide better therapeutic benefits than monotherapies. However, it remains elusive which biological processes and biomolecules involved in the pathophysiologic processes of AD would constitute good targets for multitar Read More

Early diagnosis of Alzheimer`s disease (AD) is currently difficult and involves a complex approach including clinical assessment, neuroimaging, and measurement of amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). A better mechanistic understanding is needed to develop more accurate and even presymptomatic diagnostic tools. It has been shown that Aβ derived from amyloid-containing brain tissue has prion-like proper Read More

Oxidative stress and neuroinflammation are highly relevant to the pathological processes of various neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). (+)-2-(1-hydroxyl-4-oxocyclohexyl) ethyl caffeate (HOEC), a novel 5-lipoxygenase inhibitor, was isolated from the whole plant of Incarvillea mairei var granditlora (Wehrhahn) Grierson. In this study, we investigated the protective effect of HOEC on hydrogen Read More

Social development, better living conditions and medical advances lead to the fact that more people have the opportunity to live longer than in the past. The aging population is a characteristic feature of demographic trends in developed countries. This trend is closely linked with the issue of increasing number of diseases in old age and increasing government expenditure on health and social care. The most frequently mentio Read More