beta-Amyloid protein-induced Alzheimer's disease animal model.

To investigate the toxicity of beta-amyloid protein which consisted of senile plaques of Alzheimer's disease (AD), this was infused into cerebral ventricle for 14 days by using mini-osmotic pump. The performance of the water maze task in beta-amyloid protein-treated rats was impaired. Choline acetyltransferase activity significantly decreased in the frontal cortex and hippocampus. These results suggest that the deposition of beta-amyloid protein in the brain is related to the impairment of learning and cholinergic neuronal degeneration, and that beta-amyloid protein-treated rats could be used as an animal model for AD.