title: A new story about an old guy: is Alzheimer's disease infectious?
abstract: Protein aggregation and amyloid fibril deposits in the central nervous system are characteristic features of more than 2 dozens of pathologic conditions. The various peptides thought to underlie these disorders have striking structural and functional similarities. The main difference between them at the molecular level is whether they are endogenously produced particles, exogenously transmitted infectious agents, or both. These similarities and novel approaches to their transmissibility are discussed in this review-based hypothesis.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Neurofarmacologia, Departamento de Farmacológia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (ICB-UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
authors.forename: Helton J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Reis
authors.forename: Marat A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Mukhamedyarov
authors.forename: Albert A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Rizvanov
authors.forename: András
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Palotás
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000209:etiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D000818:Animals; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans