Animal models of Alzheimer's disease and evaluation of anti-dementia drugs.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of progressive decline of cognitive function in aged humans, and is characterized by the presence of numerous senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles accompanied by neuronal loss. Some, but not all, of the neuropathological alterations and cognitive impairment in AD can be reproduced genetically and pharmacologically in animals. It should be possible to discover novel drugs that slow the progress or alleviate the clinical symptoms of AD by using these animal models. We review the recent progress in the development of animal models of AD and discuss how to use these model animals to evaluate novel anti-dementia drugs.