Proteases associated with neuronal degeneration

Matrix metalloproteinases are elevated in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and might be associated with early pathogenesis of AD in individuals who have not developed overt cognitive dysfunction.

Linking vascular health and dementia

Stroke and the APOE epsilon4 allele are strongly associated with dementia, and antihypertensive medications may inform the development of more effective interventions and treatments.

Genotype influences Alzheimer’s interactions

Variations in the ApoE genotype may affect the rate of disease progression and response to therapy in Alzheimer’s disease, suggesting it should be included as a covariate for future trials.

Exploring cell division in Alzheimer’s disease

Cell cycle events in Alzheimer’s disease and other late-onset neurodegenerative diseases are not fully understood, but elucidating these complex relationships may pave the way to developing new therapeutic interventions.

Dementia frequency increases in the oldest old

The implications of a study suggesting an exponential rise in dementia in persons 90 years and older are discussed and compared to other studies reporting a slowing incidence.

Inflammatory biomarker use in risk-stratification

Tan and Seshadri consider evidence linking inflammation to Alzheimer’s disease risk, discussing the growing body of evidence that suggests inflammatory biomarkers could be used to risk-stratify people for preventative/therapeutic interventions.

Lessons learned from failed Alzheimer’s trials

Prins and colleagues discuss the negative results of the recent bapineuzumab and tarenflurbil trials, the lessons learnt from them and comment on the potential implications for future novel therapeutics.

Pinpointing Alzheimer’s disease development mechanisms

Williams comments on a recent study implicating inflammation and innate immunity in Alzheimer’s disease development, discussing these results in the context of recent genetic studies on the disease.