Current Alzheimer Research - Volume 9, Issue 1, 2012

Alzheimer's disease (AD) represents one of the most important future therapeutic targets, both with regards to basic and translational research, due to the progressive aging of most westernized countries. Estimates in 2006 indicated that the worldwide prevalence of AD was nearing 27 million cases [1] and with greater and greater proportions of the world population living beyond 60 years of age, nearly 1 in 85 people w Read More

Alzheimer's disease and other related neurodegenerative diseases are highly debilitating disorders that affect millions of people worldwide. Efforts towards developing effective treatments for these disorders have shown limited efficacy at best, with no true cure to this day being present. Recent work, both clinical and experimental, indicates that many neurodegenerative disorders often display a coexisting metabolic dysfunction Read More

In both men and women, age-related loss of sex steroid hormones has been linked to an increased risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). The primary female hormone estrogen, and the primary male hormone testosterone have numerous protective effects in the brain relevant to the prevention of AD such as the promotion of neuron viability, reduction of β- amyloid accumulation and alleviation of tau hyperphosphorylation. Therefo Read More

Alzheimer's disease [AD] is the most common cause of dementia in North America. Despite 30+ years of intense investigation, the field lacks consensus regarding the etiology and pathogenesis of sporadic AD, and therefore we still do not know the best strategies for treating and preventing this debilitating and costly disease. However, growing evidence supports the concept that AD is fundamentally a metabolic di Read More

Ethnobotany encompasses the cultural uses of plants by humans, including their uses as medicines (ethnopharmacology). The reputed medicinal properties of plants have been documented for centuries in different cultures, and there are many plant species that have been traditionally used for memory disorders, which are now being explored to determine any scientific basis for their reputed uses. Plants have been a valuabl Read More

Physical activity has been correlated with a reduced incidence of cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease in human populations. Although data from intervention-based randomized trials is scarce, there is some indication that exercise may confer protection against age-related deficits in cognitive function. Data from animal models suggests that exercise, in the form of voluntary wheel running, is associated with reduced Read More

Dynamic circadian rhythms contribute to memory formation, and the hormonal and neurochemical changes that follow circadian patterns are frequently dysregulated with aging. The effect of aging on circadian rhythms is a doubleedged sword; on one hand, poor sleep quality compromises neuronal structure and function in regions that support cognition, and on the other hand, perturbation of central and peripheral oscillato Read More

Excess tumor necrosis factor (TNF) plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease(AD). Clinical improvement following perispinal administration of etanercept in patients with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia and brain dysfunction is characteristically evident within minutes. The rapidity and constellation of the clinical effects across multiple domains (cognition, mood, memory, motor function, Read More

The extensive prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) places a tremendous burden physiologically, socially and economically upon those directly suffering and those caring for sufferers themselves. Considering the steady increases in numbers of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's, the number of effective pharmacotherapeutic strategies to tackle the disease is still relatively few. As with many other neurodegenerative Read More

Cholinergic hypofunction is a trait of Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia and countering it is one of the main therapeutic strategies available for these disorders. Cholinergic transporters control cellular mechanisms of acetylcholine (ACh) synthesis and release at presynaptic terminals. This study has assessed the influence of 4 week treatment with two different cholinergic enhancing drugs, the cholinergic pre Read More

Diagnosis and therapeutic strategies in Alzheimer's disease (AD) might greatly benefit of the present multidisciplinary approach for studying the molecular pathogenesis of the disorder. Gene expression profile at peripheral level could be a promising tool for pathogenic studies as well as for early diagnosis of AD. A dysregulated inflammatory response, as well as other systemic disorders, have been described in AD. Therefore Read More

In Alzheimer's disease, histochemically visualized cholinesterases with altered pH optimum for activity and inhibitable by indoleamines and the protease inhibitor bacitracin emerge in association with plaques and tangles. It has been suggested that these cholinesterases may participate in the pathologic process. However, it is not known whether the properties of cholinesterases observed in Alzheimer's disease are due to r Read More