Neurodegenerative diseases

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia and is histologically characterized by the accumulation of extracellular amyloid plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles throughout the brain.

The major constituents of amyloid plaques are the β-amyloid peptides consisting of 40 and 42 amino acids, which are derived from the amyloid precursor protein. Neurofibrillary tangles are made up of paired helical filaments consisting of hyperphosphorylated tau protein (phospho-tau).

Tau protein, present in the brain in 6 different isoforms, is an intracellular protein that is released upon neuronal death. 

  

A selection of insight articles on the topic of Neurodegenerative disease biomarkers: