Pathogenesis of Alzheimer′s disease

Russell H Swerdlow

Department of Neurology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, USA

Abstract: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is incredibly common. Increasing longevity ensures its prevalence will rise even further. Ongoing efforts to understand AD pathogenesis reveal numerous tantalizing leads. Formulating a comprehensive AD pathogenesis theory capable of incorporating these disparate leads, though, has proven difficult. This review discusses current attempts to formulate a comprehensive AD pathogenesis theory. In doing so, it focuses on clinical and molecular relationships between AD and aging. A better understanding of these relationships could inform and impact future development of AD-directed treatment strategies.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, aging, amyloid, cascade, mitochondria