title: Alzheimer's disease and the amyloid β-protein.
abstract: Alzheimer's disease is a devastating disorder that is estimated to affect more than 25 million people worldwide and for which there are no preventive, disease-modifying, or curative therapies. Substantial evidence indicates that the amyloid β-protein (Aβ) is a seminal factor in disease causation and may be a tractable therapeutic target. The ability of Aβ to self-associate to form oligomeric assemblies appears to underlie the early toxic events that lead to memory impairment and subsequent neurodegeneration. We review here research on Aβ folding, self-assembly, and toxicity, highlighting areas critical for the development of efficacious Aβ-directed therapeutics.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Neurodegenerative Research, Center for Neurologic Diseases, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard Institutes of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Dominic M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Walsh
authors.forename: David B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Teplow
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001665:Binding Sites; D006801:Humans; D008959:Models, Neurological; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D057170:Translational Research, Biomedical
chemical_list: C545487:APP protein, human; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor