Recent developments in Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease is the most frequent form of dementia and it is estimat ed that its prevalence will quadruple by the year 2050. In the past decade, a number of important new developments have provided insight in the pathog enesis, improved diagnosis and allowed therapy of dementia. Several new mut ations in the amyloid protein precursor gene, presenilin-1 and -2 genes and the influence of the apolipoprotein E gene isotypes on the disease phenoty pe have been described. The role of secretases in the generation of amyloid in senile plaques has been determined and this may provide important new t herapeutic approaches in the future. The role of vascular lesions in the de velopment of dementia and relationship with the Lewy body variant of Alzhei mer's disease have been refined. Acetylcholine is deficient in Alzheimer's disease and can be supplemented in part by treatment with acetylcholinester ase inhibitors. Recently, surprising results of vaccination with amyloid in a transgenic mouse model have opened a completely new perspective in the p revention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease.