Pathogenic mechanisms in Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder associated with aging and characterized by neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques that deposit in the brain, triggering the neurodegenerative phenomena and leading to neuronal death. Amyloid plaques are primarily composed of β-amyloid peptides, which derive from the Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP) upon the consequential action of β- and γ-secretase. This review discusses recent literature on β- and γ-secretase, and on those cellular factors, like cholesterol and phosphorylation of APP, that are involved in aging and may affect the function of both β- and γ-secretase.