[Present and future of the tau dementia therapy]

Neurofibrillarly tangles (NFTs) are seen most patients, who shows dementia, while β amyloid deposition observed specifically in AD patients. NFTs observe first from coeruleus and entorhinal cortex, and then spread to neocortex, which well explain clinical progression of AD, such as memory problem to dementia. Tau fibrils are the major component of NFT. Before forming tau fibrils, tau binds together, form soluble tau oligomer, and then granular tau oligomer. The soluble tau oligomer associates with synapse loss, and granular tau formation induces neuronal loss. Therefore, tau aggregation inhibitor is expected to halt the clinical progression of AD.