Arginine deiminases: therapeutic tools in the etiology and pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease.

There is, at present, no definitive pre-mortem diagnostic tool for Alzheimer's disease, (AD) which relates to a poor understanding of its etiology. Brains of AD patients contain large amounts of the toxic plaque-forming beta-amyloid1-42 fragment in addition to elevated concentrations of the amino acid L-arginine. This work proposes that lowering levels of arginine in the astrocytes surrounding amyloid plaques may serve as a therapeutic tool in this neurodegenerative disorder.