Application of long-term cultured neurons in aging and neurological research: aluminum neurotoxicity, synaptic degeneration and Alzheimer's disease.

Dissociated hippocampal and cerebral cortical neurons from rat embryonic brain form many synapses in culture. The neuronal networks in culture fire spontaneously in synchronous oscillation and can be maintained for long periods of up to 6 months. To establish the relevance of this long-term culture to aging and neurodegenerative diseases, effects of long-term exposure to aluminum, a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, on the cultured cortical neurons were investigated. It appeared that aluminium promoted the aggregation of amyloid beta-protein and enhanced its neurotoxicity.