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The Cause of Neuronal Degeneration in Alzheimer's disease

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-16, 12:35 authored by James VickersJames Vickers, Tracey DicksonTracey Dickson, Adlard, PA, Saunders, HL, Carolyn KingCarolyn King, Graeme McCormackGraeme McCormack
Alzheimer's disease is associated with a specific pattern of pathological changes in the brain that result in neurodegeneration and the progressive development of dementia. Pathological hallmarks common to the disease include β-amyloid plaques, dystrophic neurites associated with plaques and neurofibrillary tangles within nerve cell bodies. The exact relationship between these pathological features has been elusive, although it is clear that β-amyloid plaques precede neurofibrillary tangles in neocortical areas. Examination of the brains of individuals in the preclinical stage of the disease have shown that the earliest form of neuronal pathology associated with β-amyloid plaques resembles the cellular changes that follow structural injury to axons. Thus, the development of β-amyloid plaques in the brain may cause physical damage to axons, and the abnormally prolonged stimulation of the neuronal response to this kind of injury ultimately results in the profound cytoskeletal alterations that underlie neurofibrillary pathology and neurodegeneration. Therapeutically, inhibition of the neuronal reaction to physical trauma may be a useful neuroprotective strategy in the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease. Copyright (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd.

History

Publication title

Progress in Neurobiology

Volume

60

Pagination

139-165

ISSN

0301-0082

Department/School

Tasmanian School of Medicine

Publisher

Pergamon Press

Place of publication

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Clinical health not elsewhere classified

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