Towards a cure for dementia: the role of axonal transport in Alzheimer's disease.
Alzheimer's disease is an incurable, fatal illness characterised by years of progressive mental decline. It afflicts half a million people in the UK--more than any other dementia. The primary risk factor is old age so this number is rising as we live longer. Current treatment is palliative while more potent drugs have encountered problems during clinical trials. It is known that the disease results from brain deterioration associated with the formation of microscopic lesions. Genetic mutations cause a small minority of cases but our knowledge of the underlying biological mechanisms is limited. The key to improved understanding may be a process vital to brain cells called axonal transport. Disruption of axonal transport seems to be an early event in the progression of the disease and is linked to lesion formation and brain dysfunction so a full investigation of this process should lead to a cure, if not prevention.
Wilson
Richard J
RJ
richard.j.wilson@warwick.ac.uk
D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000378:metabolism*; D000682:Amyloid / Q000378:metabolism; D001370:Axonal Transport; D006801:Humans; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
D000682:Amyloid; D016875:tau Proteins