title: Leptin: a novel therapeutic strategy for Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: Adipocyte-derived leptin appears to regulate a number of features defining Alzheimer's disease (AD) at the molecular and physiological level. Leptin has been shown to reduce the amount of extracellular amyloid beta, both in cell culture and animal models, as well as to reduce tau phosphorylation in neuronal cells. Importantly, chronic administration of leptin resulted in a significant improvement in the cognitive performance of transgenic animal models. In AD, weight loss often precedes the onset of dementia and the level of circulating leptin is inversely proportional to the severity of cognitive decline. It is speculated that a deficiency in leptin levels or function may contribute to systemic and CNS abnormalities leading to disease progression. Furthermore, a leptin deficiency may aggravate insulin-controlled pathways, known to be aberrant in AD. These observations suggest that a leptin replacement therapy may be beneficial for these patients.
authors.affiliation: Neurotez, Inc., Bridgewater, New Jersey 08807, USA. ntezapsidis@neurotez.com
authors.forename: Nikolaos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tezapsidis
authors.forename: Jane M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Johnston
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: J Wesson
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Ashford
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Casadesus
authors.forename: Nikolaos K
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Robakis
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wolozin
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Perry
authors.forename: Xiongwei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Steven J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Greco
authors.forename: Sraboni
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sarkar
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000628:therapy*; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D020738:Leptin / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D020738:Leptin