From Small Peptides to Large Proteins against Alzheimer'sDisease
Pasquale Picone1,2, Tiziana Sanfilippo3,4, Sonya Vasto2,5
1Istituto per la Ricerca e l'Innovazione Biomedica, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via U. La Malfa 153, 90146 Palermo, Italy.
Abstract:
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder in the elderly. The two cardinal neuropathological hallmarks of AD are the senile plaques, which are extracellular deposits mainly constituted by beta-amyloids, and neurofibrillary tangles formed by abnormally phosphorylated Tau (p-Tau) located in the cytoplasm of neurons. Although the research has made relevant progress in the management of the disease, the treatment is still lacking. Only symptomatic medications exist for the disease, and, in the meantime, laboratories worldwide are investigating disease-modifying treatments for AD. In the present review, results centered on the use of peptides of different sizes involved in AD are presented.
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