Is Alzheimer’s disease actually a survival mechanism?

Previously, we have seen that the accumulation of the protein amyloid (specifically Aβ42) leads to the formation of amyloid plaques in the brain, which is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (1). Interestingly, the APP protein, which is the precursor of the protein amyloid Aβ42, is found virtually in all animals on earth, suggesting that it may perform an important biological function (2). In fact, this APP protein prevents neuron death as we age (3). Consistent with this, the brain cells surrounding the amyloid plaques are hyperactive. In other words, these cells work hard in order to compensate for the death …read more