Current Alzheimer Research - Volume 9, Issue 7, 2012

Donepezil is a reversible, non-competitive piperidine-type acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (AChEI) that is structurally unique compared with other currently available AChEIs. It was developed as a symptomatic treatment to compensate for the progressive loss of cholinergic signal between neurons, a consequence of neuronal cell loss in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Clinical trials conducted over the 15 Read More

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the macular and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, and the electrical activity of the macula in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Material and methods: 30 patients with AD and 30 age and sex matched healthy controls were studied. The thickness and the electrical activity of the macula were evaluated by means of optical coherence tomography (OCT) and m Read More

In this study, we aimed to classify MR images for recognizing Alzheimer Disease (AD) in a group of patients who were recently diagnosed by clinical history and neuropsychiatric exams by using non-biased machine-learning techniques. T1 weighted MRI scans of 31 patients with probable AD and 31 age- and gender-matched cognitively normal elderly were analyzed with voxel-based morphometry and classified by support vector Read More

Dementia is a known predictor of mortality, but little is known about disease duration. We therefore aimed to investigate the impact of dementia on survival by estimating years lived with the disease, in total and in different severity stages, and by comparing dementia to other major chronic disorders such as cancer and cardiovascular disease (CVD). During a 7.4-year follow-up of the Kungsholmen project, 371 incident deme Read More

Copy number variants (CNVs) are DNA regions that have gains (duplications) or losses (deletions) of genetic material. CNVs may encompass a single gene or multiple genes and can affect their function. They are hypothesized to play an important role in certain diseases. We previously examined the role of CNVs in late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) using participants from the Alzhei Read More

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a growth factor implicated in neuronal survival. Studies have reported altered BDNF serum concentrations in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, these studies have been inconsistent. Few studies have investigated BDNF concentrations across multiple neurodegenerative diseases, and no studies have investigated BDNF concentrations in patients with front Read More

The objective of the present work was to study a purported involvement of stress in amyloid pathology through the modulation of BACE expression. Early-life stressed rats (maternal separation, MS) showed significant increases in corticosterone levels, BACE expression and Aβ levels. The CpG7 site of the BACE promoter was significantly hypomethylated in MS, and corticosterone levels negatively correlated to the methylation st Read More

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that severely jeopardizes the health of aging populations all over the world. According to the amyloid cascade hypothesis, the pathological progression of AD is associated with the formation of amyloid plaques in the brain, resulting from the aggregation of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides. Over the past few years, vast efforts have been dedicated to the development of amyloid pr Read More

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common age-related neurodegenerative disorder among the elderly. Nmethyl- D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) overactivation has been implicated in early synaptic dysfunction that precedes late neurodegeneration in AD. Moreover, oligomers of amyloid-beta peptide (Aβ) 1-42 are considered the most synaptotoxic forms, responsible for early cognitive deficits in AD. In this work we evaluate the Read More

Oscillatory activity in the entorhinal cortex has been associated with several cognitive functions. Accordingly, Alzheimer Disease-associated cognitive decline has been related to amyloid beta-induced disturbances in several of these oscillatory patterns. We have previously shown that acute application of amyloid beta inhibits the generation of slowfrequency oscillations (7-20 Hz). In contrast, alterations in faster oscillati Read More

Evidence from basic molecular biology has noted a critical role of GSK-3 in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis such as beta-amyloid (Aβ) production and accumulation, the formation of neurofibrillary tangle (NFT), and neuronal degeneration. Aβ generation and deposition represents a key feature and is generated from APP by the sequential actions of two proteolytic enzymes: β-secretase and γ-secretase. GSK-3 could p Read More