Department of Pathology, Microbiology, Immunology, and Forensic Medicine, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, 4170 City Avenue, Philadelphia, PA, 1913, USA.
Curr Allergy Asthma Rep. 2014 Mar;14(3):417. doi: 10.1007/s11882-013-0417-1.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative condition that occurs in two forms, an early-onset form that is genetically determined and a far more common late-onset form that is not. In both cases, the disease results in severe cognitive dysfunction, among other problems, and the late-onset form of the disease is now considered to be the most common cause of dementia among the elderly. While a good deal of research has been focused on elucidating the etiology of the late-onset form for more than two decades, results to date have been modest and have not yet engendered useful therapeutic strategies for cure of the disease. In this review, we discuss the prevalent ideas that have governed this research for several years, and we challenge these ideas with alternative findings suggesting a multifactorial etiology. We review promising newer ideas that may prove effective as therapeutic interventions for late-onset AD, as well as providing reliable means of earlier and more specific diagnosis of the disease process. In the discussions included here, we reference relevant clinical and basic science literature underlying research into disease etiology and pathogenesis, and we highlight current reviews on the various topics addressed.
阿尔茨海默病（AD）是一种神经退行性疾病，有两种形式，一种是早发型的，由遗传决定，另一种是更为常见的晚发型的，不是遗传决定的。在这两种情况下，这种疾病都会导致严重的认知功能障碍等问题，而晚发型的疾病现在被认为是老年人中最常见的痴呆症病因。尽管在过去的二十多年里，人们已经对晚发型疾病的病因进行了大量的研究，但到目前为止，这些研究的结果是有限的，还没有产生针对这种疾病的治疗策略。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了多年来主导这一研究的流行观点，并提出了替代性的发现来挑战这些观点，这些发现表明病因是多因素的。我们还回顾了一些有前途的新观点，这些观点可能对治疗晚发性 AD 有效，并为疾病过程的早期和更具体的诊断提供可靠的方法。在包括的讨论中，我们参考了疾病病因和发病机制研究的相关临床和基础科学文献，并强调了目前对各种主题的综述。
