Alzheimer's Disease and Tau Self-Assembly: In the Search of the Missing Link.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a multifactorial neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive cognitive impairment, apathy, and neuropsychiatric disorders. Two main pathological hallmarks have been described: neurofibrillary tangles, consisting of tau oligomers (hyperphosphorylated tau) and Aβ plaques. The influence of protein kinases and phosphatases on the hyperphosphorylation of tau is already known.

Glucose metabolism and AD: evidence for a potential diabetes type 3.

Background: Alzheimer's disease is the most prevalent cause of dementia in the elderly. Neuronal death and synaptic dysfunctions are considered the main hallmarks of this disease. The latter could be directly associated to an impaired metabolism.