The Pathobiology of Alzheimer's Disease

The discovery of β protein, the major component of the amyloid fibrils of the plaques and cerebral vessels and of the paired helical filaments of the neurofibrillary tangles, has provided a means to decipher the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. The same lesions in aged Down's syndrome...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annual review of medicine 1989-01, Vol.40 (1), p.45-51
Main Author: Glenner, George G
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alzheimer Disease - etiology
Alzheimer Disease - genetics
Amyloid - genetics
Amyloid beta-Peptides
Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor
Biological and medical sciences
Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases
Humans
Medical sciences
Neurology
Protein Precursors - genetics
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Summary:The discovery of β protein, the major component of the amyloid fibrils of the plaques and cerebral vessels and of the paired helical filaments of the neurofibrillary tangles, has provided a means to decipher the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. The same lesions in aged Down's syndrome individuals have also been shown to be composed of β protein. Gene probes localize the gene for β protein, as well as that for familial Alzheimer's disease, to chromosome 21, but these genes are not linked. A study of posttranslational modifications of the 695-amino-acid β-protein gene precursor, with specific reference to abnormal proteolysis, may provide insights into the cause of the amyloidotic lesions of Alzheimer's disease and the means of arresting them.
ISSN:0066-4219
1545-326X
DOI:10.1146/annurev.me.40.020189.000401