Current Alzheimer Research - Volume 5, Issue 1, 2008

Current Alzheimer Research has successfully completed four years of publication-reporting novel findings and reviewing major accomplishments in the field of Alzheimer's disease (AD). With this confidence, Current Alzheimer Research is presenting its fifth volume to pursue, without interruption, the journal's core mission of disseminating new knowledge about AD. During the last year, the journal has published five issues in its four Read More

Advances in Alzheimer Disease (AD) research suggest that central nervous system (CNS) lipids play a key role in the pathogenesis. This role is attributed to the rich lipid content of CNS structures and the presence of blood brain barrier which disables the exchange of lipids between CNS and plasma. Among these lipids, cholesterol is a unique molecule provided mainly by its de novo synthesis in the CNS. Special apolipoprotein Read More

The LDL receptor gene family constitutes a class of structurally closely related cell surface receptors fulfilling diverse functions in different organs, tissues, and cell types. The LDL receptor is the prototype of this family, which also includes the VLDLR, ApoER2/LRP8, LRP1 and LRP1B, as well as Megalin/GP330, SorLA/LR11, LRP5, LRP6 and MEGF7. Recently several lines of evidence have positioned the LDL receptor gene family as Read More

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is caused by the deposition of insoluble and toxic amyloid peptides (Aβ) in the brain leading to memory loss and other associated neurodegenerative symptoms. To date there is limited treatment options and strategies for treating AD. Studies have shown that clearance of the amyloid plaques from the brain and thus from the blood could be effective in stopping and or delaying the progression Read More

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurological disorder characterized by plaques and an elevated immune response. Specifically, increased expression of interleukin (IL)-1 and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, has been observed in AD cerebrospinal fluid and temporal brain tissue. Both of these immunomodulators were shown to carry genetic variants that increase the risk of developing AD. Studies have also established the apoli Read More

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common diagnosis among dementia. As increasing longevity results in larger numbers of AD patients and thus rising economic costs, there has been intense research about the pathophysiology and treatment strategies during the last years. Since neurotrophic factors are not only responsible for neuronal development but also critical for the maintenance of neurons, they represent Read More

Estrogen exerts beneficial effects on the brain throughout life. Studies demonstrate that estrogen is neuroprotective and that reduced brain estrogen activity may influence the clinical course of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Changes in levels of estrogen receptors have been detected in postmortem brain tissue of AD patients. Very little is known about the relationship between clinical stage and levels of estrogen receptor Read More

Dementia is a common, chronic and progressive illness. Many different types of dementia exist. It is important to have knowledge of the various dementia presentations so that the clinician can differentiate one type from another. Past and current approaches of classifying dementias are reviewed in this paper. The past cortical/subcortical scheme is reviewed as well as the current synucleinopathy/tauopathy scheme. This Read More

Objetive: The study aimed to describe the prevalence and severity of neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD). Patients and methods: We prospectively studied 65 patients with dementia, 37 met the criteria of NINCDS-ADRDA for probable AD and 28 the clinical and radiological criteria of NINDS-AIREN for VaD. Among VaD patients, 22 met the radiological criteria fo Read More

Background: Several demographic, environmental and clinical risk factors have been determined as possible risk/protective factors of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The purpose of this study was to find out which one of these known factors is related to developing of AD in Iranian population. Materials and Methods: In a case-control study, 115 elderly patients (mean age of 70±8.18 years) with DSM-IV based final diagnosis co Read More

A recent clinical trial in patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) found an increased rate of possible or probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnoses in patients assigned to rofecoxib compared to placebo. This unexpected finding was difficult to interpret due to methodological issues and a lack of confirmation on secondary endpoints, as well as a lack of confirmation in trials in related populations. We performed additi Read More

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of memantine in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD) receiving cholinesterase inhibitor (ChEI) treatment. Methods: Participants (N= 433) with probable AD, Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) scores between 10-22 (inclusive), and concurrent stable use of ChEIs (donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine) were randomized to placebo or memantine (20 mg once daily) for Read More