title: [Alzheimer's disease as neurodegenerative disorder].
abstract: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a very common progressive neurodegenerative disorder. AD patients are affected by cognitive and memory deterioration. Cerebral degeneration, with selective neuronal death induced by extracellular amyloid deposits in the form of senile plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles composed of helical paired tau protein, is the best-studied pathological event related to AD. Presenilins and apolipoprotein E are other neurotoxic agents involved in the pathogenesis of AD. A large body evidence has shown that permanent activation of glial cells in the brains of AD patients promotes the production of excessive quantities of free radicals, nitric oxide, and cytokines which could be detrimental to neuronal cells. Damage to the blood-brain barrier by inflammatory processes result in the influx of peripheral immune system cells and local immune reactions. Inhibition of ROS and NO overproduction as well as endogenic regulation of cytokine induction could be of therapeutic importance and delay neurodegeneration in AD.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorium Immunochemii Ogólnej, Zakład Immunochemii, Instytut Immunologii i Terapii Doświadczalnej im. L. Hirszfelda PAN we Wrocławiu. zablocka@iitd.pan.wroc.pl
authors.forename: Agnieszka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zabłocka
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000628:therapy; D000818:Animals; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000503:physiopathology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis; D005609:Free Radicals / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000096:biosynthesis
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D005609:Free Radicals; D009569:Nitric Oxide