Carl Cotman on Does Alzheimer's disease start early in life?

COMMENT Interesting 0 cwcotman

Hiroshi Mori on An immunochemical study on tau glycation in paired helical filaments.

COMMENT Glycation which is another post-translational modification beside hyperphosphorylation is described in soluble PHF-tau as well as insoluble PHF from AD brains. The question remains which isoforms suffer such modification? 0 mori

Hiroshi Mori on Ascorbate-stimulated lipid peroxidation in human brain is dependent on iron but not on hydroxyl radical.

COMMENT The paper indicates the difference of radical action on neurotoxicity between SOD enzyme and ascorbate chemical. This suggests the mode of action of radical species, if any, is not unique. 0 mori

Hiroshi Mori on Mechanism and prevention of neurotoxicity caused by beta-amyloid peptides: relation to Alzheimer's disease.

COMMENT `Decoy peptides' are interesting because of their activity as a potent agent to prevent amyloid accumulation or toxicity. 0 mori

Paul Coleman on Combined nicotinic and muscarinic blockade in elderly normal volunteers: cognitive, behavioral, and physiologic responses.

COMMENT The abstract suggests that the combined blockade produced may be a pharmacologic model of the memory deficits of AD. Whether this models a major mechanism of memory defect in AD depends on the relation of transmitter status to synaptic loss, hippocampal d

Hiroshi Mori on Levels of trkA and BDNF mRNA, but not NGF mRNA, fluctuate across the estrous cycle and increase in response to acute hormone replacement.

COMMENT Estrogen could be a potent drug to treat dementia. It is important to know its mode of action in brain. This paper examined the changes of expression of trkA, BDNF, NGF genes. The authors study these interesting molecules as the second regulator to respon

Hiroshi Mori on Presenile Alzheimer dementia characterized by amyloid angiopathy and large amyloid core type senile plaques in the APP 692Ala-->Gly mutation.

COMMENT There are at least three mutation sites in the APP sequence. They influence processing of APP to produce beta-amyloid protein in a different fashion. This is undoubtedly one of the papers that will contribute to our understanding of the biological effects

Paul Coleman on Clinicopathologic correlations of soluble amyloid beta-protein precursor in cerebrospinal fluid in patients with Alzheimer disease and controls.

COMMENT The substantial overlap pointed out by the authors limits the diagnostic potential of this measure as conducted in this study. 0 Paul_Coleman

Benjamin Wolozin on Susceptibility locus for Alzheimer's disease on chromosome 10.

COMMENT Important new gene for AD risk. 0 bwolozin

Hiroshi Mori on Subcellular distribution and turnover of presenilins in transfected cells.

COMMENT Intracellular distribution of presenilins must be examined by several approaches to understand the physiological functions. This presents clear evidence for Golgi compartmentation segregated with fragmentation of presenilins. 0 mori

Elliott Mufson on Possible mechanisms for atrophy of the human hippocampus.

COMMENT Interesting. 0 emufson

Hiroshi Mori on Phosphatidylinositol and inositol involvement in Alzheimer amyloid-beta fibril growth and arrest.

COMMENT At neutral pH, PI influences amyloidosis of in vitro Ab1-42 but not Ab1-40. This may be relevant with the presence of diffuse plaque formation. 0 mori

Paul Coleman on A beta peptide deposition in the brains of transgenic mice: evidence for a key event in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis.

COMMENT The abstract states 'these transgenic mice surprisingly reproduce many aspects of the pathological alterations observed in Alzheimer's disease patients.' There is no inofrmation in the abstract as to which aspects are reproduced. 0 Paul_Col

John Olney on The role of nitric oxide in neurodegeneration. Potential for pharmacological intervention.

COMMENT Molina et al review the role of nitric oxide in neurodegeneration and correctly conclude that at present the clinical effects of nitric oxide enzyme inhibitors is unknown. 0 OlneyJ

Benjamin Wolozin on Distinct Ca2+ thresholds determine cytochrome c release or permeability transition pore opening in brain mitochondria.

COMMENT Cytochrome C is a key mediator of apoptosis. Understanding the factors that cause its release is therefore very important. The observation that the mechanism of release differs between neurons and peripheral cells is quite provocative and could explain th