title: [The amyloid and tau hypothesis in degenerative dementia].
abstract: Alzheimer's disease is the major cause of dementia. The neuropathological basis for the diagnosis is the presence of senile plaques and neurofibrillary degeneration in brain tissue. Senile plaques consist of a central core of fibrillar amyloid beta-protein and some other proteins, surrounded by swollen neurites. Three genes causing early-onset autosomal dominant Alzheimer have so far been described. Recently, polymorphisms in three other genes have been shown to influence the risk for late-onset Alzheimer's disease. All these genes seem to influence the metabolization of the beta-protein or the precursor for this protein. These findings support the "amyloid hypothesis" which states that toxic effects of beta-protein cause Alzheimer's disease. Frontotemporal dementias are the second most common types of degenerative dementias, and may account for more than 10% of the dementias. A substantial number of these cases are probably caused by a mutation in the gene for tau protein on chromosome 17.
authors.affiliation: Neurologisk avdeling Sentralsykehuset i Akershus, Nordbyhagen.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fladby
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Maehlen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D003704:Dementia / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics*; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D009410:Nerve Degeneration; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000473:pathology; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D001057:Apolipoproteins E; D016875:tau Proteins