Soluble amyloid-β oligomers as synaptotoxins leading to cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease.

ABSTRACT: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia in the elderly, and affects millions of people worldwide. As the number of AD cases continues to increase in both developed and developing countries, finding therapies that effectively halt or reverse disease progression constitutes a major research and public health challenge. Since the identification of the amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) as the major component of the amyloid plaques that are characteristically found in AD brains, a major effort has aimed to determine whether and how Aβ leads to memory loss and cognitive impairment. A large body of evidence accumulated in the past 15 years supports a pivotal role of soluble Aβ oligomers (AβOs) in synapse failure and neuronal dysfunction in AD. Nonetheless, a number of basic questions, i

SUBMITTER: Ferreira ST 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4443025 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature