title: A brief overview of amyloids and Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: Amyloid fibrils are self-assembled fibrous protein aggregates that are associated with a number of presently incurable diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Millions of people worldwide suffer from amyloid diseases. This review summarizes the unique cross-β structure of amyloid fibrils, morphological variations, the kinetics of amyloid fibril formation, and the cytotoxic effects of these fibrils and oligomers. Alzheimer's disease is also explored as an example of an amyloid disease to show the various approaches to treat these amyloid diseases. Finally, this review investigates the nanotechnological and biological applications of amyloid fibrils; as well as a summary of the typical biological pathways involved in the disposal of amyloid fibrils and their precursors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Sian-Yang
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Ow
authors.forename: Dave E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Dunstan
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D000682:Amyloid / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D000686:Amyloidosis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D008958:Models, Molecular; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary
chemical_list: D000682:Amyloid
keywords: Alzheimer's disease; amyloid fibrils; fibril structure; review