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Cholesterol and pathological processes in Alzheimer's disease
Author(s) -
Yanagisawa Katsuhiko
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of neuroscience research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.72
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1097-4547
pISSN - 0360-4012
DOI - 10.1002/jnr.10348
Subject(s) - pathological , pathogenesis , disease , alzheimer's disease , cholesterol , neuroscience , amyloid beta , senile plaques , medicine , biology , bioinformatics
Abstract Fundamental questions on the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are how nontoxic, soluble amyloid β‐protein (Aβ) is converted to its toxic, aggregated form and how functional tau is hyperphosphorylated to form neurofibrillary tangles. Growing evidence from recent biochemical and cell biological studies suggests that altered cholesterol metabolism in neurons may underlie such pathological processes. The possibility that cholesterol is a risk factor in the development of AD has also been supported by recent epidemiological studies. Based on this line of evidence, it is noteworthy to examine the potency of cholesterol‐lowering medicine and/or diet in suppressing the development or the progression of AD. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.