Potential treatment opportunities for Alzheimer's disease through inhibition of secretases and A beta immunization

Research over the past ten years on Alzheimer's disease has pursued many op portunities. Notable amongst the various approaches are efforts related to the "amyloid hypothesis." This hypothesis posits that the beta amyloid pept icle causes the extensive neuropathology and clinical decline associated wi th the disease. Extensive research in this area has shown that the beta amy loid peptide is produced by proteases termed "secretases" and it has been s hown that blockade of secretase functions reduce the amount of beta amyloid peptide produced. An additional approach to reduce beta amyloid, through a n increase in clearance mechanisms, is to immunize with the peptide itself and induce an antibody response. The specifically elicited antibodies then bind to and stimulate clearance of the pepticle from the brain. These findi ngs have stimulated several approaches to develop novel therapeutic strateg ies to treat Alzheimer's disease that either are about or have entered the clinic.