title: Regional specificity of membrane instability in Alzheimer's disease brain.
abstract: We report an inherent tendency towards the destabilisation of cellular membranes in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain. This tendency is a natural consequence of abnormal membrane lipid composition, which has previously been documented in AD. Membrane destabilisation may contribute to AD pathogenesis in its own right and may also facilitate amyloid beta-protein deposition, which is potentially neurotoxic. The instability was found to co-localise selectively with areas of neurodegeneration in AD brain, thereby possibly accounting for the focal pathology observed in this disorder.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Physical Biology, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ginsberg
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Atack
authors.forename: S I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Rapoport
authors.forename: N L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Gershfeld
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008563:Membrane Lipids / Q000378:metabolism; D009410:Nerve Degeneration; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D008563:Membrane Lipids