Role and relation of cell death in Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD), caused by damage to the brain's nerve cells, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that insidiously erodes cognitive function, and primarily affecting elderly adults. AD is associated with a considerable economic burden arising from multiple expenditure categories. The programed cell death, in normal cells, plays importance roles in biological processes, ensuring homeostasis and controlling development in multicellular organisms. However, AD is characterized by a high degree of pathological-related neuronal death, which is observable in various regions of the brain. This chapter aims to examine the diverse forms of cell death involved in AD, including apoptosis, necroptosis, autophagy-related cell death, and excitotoxicity; as well as elucidates the molecular mechanisms linking cell death to AD pathogenesis, including amyloid-beta, tau pathology, neuroinflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and genetic factors. Targeting these cell death pathways offers a promising avenue for future AD therapeutics and drug development.