title: Alzheimer's disease is a synaptic failure.
abstract: In its earliest clinical phase, Alzheimer's disease characteristically produces a remarkably pure impairment of memory. Mounting evidence suggests that this syndrome begins with subtle alterations of hippocampal synaptic efficacy prior to frank neuronal degeneration, and that the synaptic dysfunction is caused by diffusible oligomeric assemblies of the amyloid beta protein.
authors.affiliation: Center for Neurologic Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and the Harvard Center for Neurodegeneration and Repair, Boston, MA 02115, USA. selkoe@cnd.bwh.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Dennis J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Selkoe
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003071:Cognition; D006801:Humans; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D008568:Memory; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D053764:Presenilin-1; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009435:Synaptic Transmission
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C508853:PSEN1 protein, human; D053764:Presenilin-1