During the past decade my interest have focused on the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease, one of the most destructive neurological diseases that affects millions worldwide. This insidious disease becomes clinically symptomatic during the sixth decade of life, but there are reasons for believing that the disease process may begin one or two decades earlier, and abnormal metabolism of amyloid abeta peptides may be an important contributing factor.
I have been analyzing naturally occurring auto-antibodies to the amyloid abeta protein as a measure of the body's response to either elevated levels or abnormal forms of these peptides. It is my feeling that the development of a reliable way to identify individuals who are risk for AD before the disease is evident is a critical unmet need. This lack of early detection hampers our ability to develop new therapies.
Specialized Terms: Pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease; Neurodegeneration; Amyloid abeta metabolism; Auto-antibodies; Protein-folding
Alzheimer Disease; Autoantibodies; Cell Biology; Pathology; Protein Folding