Amyloid cascade hypothesis, of Alzheimer’s disease

Amyloid cascade hypothesis of Alzheimer s disease. A leading contemporary theory for the biological basis of Alzheimer s disease centers around the formation of beta amyloid. Certainly much of this amyloid destroys cholinergic neurons in the nucleus basalis of Meynert (Fig. 12—11), although the damage becomes more widespread as the disease progresses (Fig. 12-13). Hypothetically, Alzheimer s disease is a disorder in which beta amyloid deposition destroys neurons, in a manner somewhat analogous to that in which the abnormal deposition of cholesterol causes atherosclerosis. Thus,... 

FIGURE 12—17. The amyloid cascade hypothesis of Alzheimer s disease (part 2). Once altered amyloid precursor protein (APP) is formed (Fig. 12-16), it leads to the formation of beta amyloid deposits. 

The amyloid cascade hypothesis of Alzheimer s disease states that ... 

To review the neuropathology of Alzheimer s disease, and its relationship to the amyloid cascade hypothesis and the glutamate excitotoxic hypothesis of Alzheimer s disease. 

FIGURE 12—21. Another version of the amyloid cascade hypothesis is the possibility that something is wrong with a protein that binds to amyloid and removes it. This protein is called APO-E. In the case of "good" APO-E, it binds to beta amyloid and removes it, preventing the development of Alzheimer s disease and dementia. 

Hardy JA, Higgins GA. Alzheimer s disease the amyloid cascade hypothesis. Science. 1992 256(5054) 184-185. Zheng WH, Bastianetto S, Mennicken F, Ma W, Kar S. Amyloid beta peptide induces tau phosphorylation and loss of cholinergic neurons in rat primary septal cultures. Neuroscience. 2002 115(1) 201-211. van Echten-Deckert G, Walter J. Sphingolipids critical players in Alzheimer s disease. Prog Lipid Res. 2012 51(4) 378-393. 

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