Russo Claudio, Venezia Valentina, Salis Serena, Dolcini Virginia, Schettini Gennaro
Section of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, National Institute for Cancer Research, IST, Advanced Biotechnology Center, University of Genoa, Italy.
Funct Neurol. 2002 Apr-Jun;17(2):65-70.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a degenerative disease of the brain, and the most common form of dementia. It is estimated that more than 22 million individuals worldwide will have AD by 2025. The causes of the disease are still unknown and recent hypotheses suggest that an aberrant protein processing initiates the neurodegeneration. Several lines of research are centered on the study of proteins that are genetically associated with this syndrome, such as amyloid precursor protein (APP) and presenilins. This review focuses on recent advances in the processing of APP and on the neuropathological role of its amyloidogenic fragments, which have been shown to be directly involved in neurodegeneration and glial inflammation and which likely influence the development of AD.
阿尔茨海默病（AD）是一种脑部退行性疾病，也是最常见的痴呆形式。据估计，到2025年全球将有超过2200万人患有AD。该疾病的病因仍不清楚，最近的假说表明异常的蛋白质加工引发了神经退行性变。多项研究围绕与该综合征存在基因关联的蛋白质展开，如淀粉样前体蛋白（APP）和早老素。本综述聚焦于APP加工的最新进展及其淀粉样生成片段的神经病理学作用，这些片段已被证明直接参与神经退行性变和神经胶质炎症，并且可能影响AD的发展。
