Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: Clinicopathological studies of Alzheimer's disease (AD) have demonstrated that synaptic or neuronal loss and clinical cognitive decline do not reliably correlate with fibrillar amyloid burden. We created a transgenic mouse model overexpressing Dutch (E693Q) mutant human amyloid precursor protein (APP) driven by the pan-neuronal Thy1 promoter. Accumulation of APP carboxyl-terminal fragments was observed in the brains of these mice, which develop an impaired learning phenotype directly proportional to brain oAβ levels.

Plasma amyloid beta 40/42, phosphorylated tau 181, and neurofilament light are associated with cognitive impairment and neuropathological changes among World Trade Center responders: A prospective cohort study of exposures and cognitive aging at midlife.

Introduction: World Trade Center (WTC) responders are experiencing a high risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia, though the etiology remains inadequately characterized. This study investigated whether WTC exposures and chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were correlated with plasma biomarkers characteristic of Alzheimer's disease (AD) neuropathology.

Methods: Eligible participants included WTC-exposed individuals with a baseline cognitive assessment and available plasma sample.

Thiamine deficiency induces oxidative stress and exacerbates the plaque pathology in Alzheimer's mouse model.

Mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress and reductions in thiamine-dependent enzymes have been implicated in multiple neurological disorders including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Experimental thiamine deficiency (TD) is an established model for reducing the activities of thiamine-dependent enzymes in brain. TD diminishes thiamine-dependent enzymes throughout the brain, but produces a time-dependent selective neuronal loss, glial activation, inflammation, abnormalities in oxidative metabolism and clusters of degenerating neurites in only specific thalamic regions.