Alzheimer?s Disease: Etiological Mechanisms And Therapeutic Possibilities (ernst Schering Foundation Symposium Proceedings)

Alzheimer's Disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder of late life with devastating consequences for the afflicted and their carers and poses one of the major challenges to medical research. Until recently, little hope of effective therapies capable of slowing the disease process or preventing its occurrence was apparent. With recent advances in the genetics and molecular biology of the disease processes and the demonstration of the involvement of multiple aetiological factors, however, real chances are now appearing for the identification of preventive drugs. In this discussion, experts from disciplines ranging from molecular genetics to the clinic provide review and novel data concerning the aetiology of AD and the establishment of drugfinding screening methods. Front Matter....Pages I-XIII Alzheimer’s Disease With and Without Familial Aggregation: A Case for Phenotypical Similarity....Pages 1-15 The Vascular Dementias and Cerebrovascular Involvement in Alzheimer’s Disease....Pages 17-48 The Genes Involved in Alzheimer’s Disease....Pages 49-59 In Vivo Biology of Amyloid Precursor Protein/Amyloid Precursor-like Proteins and Transgenic Animal Models of Alzheimer’s Disease....Pages 61-76 Molecular Processing Pathways of β-Amyloid Precursor Protein: Therapeutic Implications....Pages 77-92 Regulation of Amyloid β-Protein Precursor Processing by Cell Surface Receptor Ligands and Second Messengers....Pages 93-107 Tau Phosphorylation and Dephosphorylation in the Pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s Disease....Pages 109-126 Cytokines in Alzheimer’s and Other Neurodegenerative Diseases....Pages 127-146 Inflammation in the CNS and in Alzheimer’s Disease....Pages 147-168 Protein Modifications and Interactions in Alzheimer’s Disease....Pages 169-182 Protein Aging and Its Relevance to the Etiology of Alzheimer’s Disease....Pages 183-208 Back Matter....Pages 209-213