Molecular genetic approaches to Alzheimer's disease.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) has emerged in the past decade as a major public health problem. Epidemiological and neuropathological studies have revealed AD to be a very frequent disease associated with aging. Already the fourth leading cause of death in the USA and consuming a major component of health care costs, AD will take on even greater importance with the continuous growth of the elderly population. A concerted effort has been made in recent years to attack AD using an arsenal of powerful molecular biological techniques, concentrating on two areas: the characterization of proteins implicated in the pathogenesis of AD and of the genes that encode them; and the use of genetic linkage to approach the primary defect in a familial form of AD (FAD). This review attempts to summarize and interpret the recent molecular, genetic and biochemical findings concerning the pathogenesis of AD.
Tanzi
R E
RE
St George-Hyslop
P H
PH
Gusella
J F
JF
D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D000682:Amyloid / Q000378:metabolism; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000235:genetics; D008040:Genetic Linkage; D006801:Humans; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000378:metabolism
D000682:Amyloid; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor; D011498:Protein Precursors