Alzheimer: 100 Years and Beyond

Few medical or scientific addresses have so unmistakeably made history as the presentation delivered by Alois Alzheimer on November 4th, 1906 in Tübingen. The celebratory event, "Alzheimer 100 Years and Beyond" organized on the initiative of the Alzheimer community in Germany and worldwide, in collaboration with the Fondation Ipsen, at the very site of the original lecture, namely the Institute of Psychiatry at the University of Tübingen in Germany from November 2nd to 5th, 2006, was the highlight of the Alzheimer Year. Over the last century of Alzheimer research (1906-2006), remarkable progress has been achieved. Most of the authors of the major discoveries and the people involved in research in this field will present, during the meeting and in this volume, the pioneering research explaining the conditions under which they were conducted. The goal of this book is to honor the work accomplished, to summarize the most important knowledge and to provide material for the history of science.

Inhalt

Alois Alzheimer.- Concerning a unique disease of the cerebral cortex.- The history of Alois Alzheimer's first case Auguste D..- Alois Alzheimer and the beginnings of research into Alzheimer's disease.- Alois Alzheimer and the myth of the pioneer.- The beginning of modern research.- Alzheimer's Disease at mid-Century (1927-1977) and a little more.- A chapter in the development on Alzheimer's disease research.- Anatomy & Neuropsychology.- Anatomical changes underlying dementia in Alzheimer's disease.- Staging of cortical neurofibrillary inclusions of the Alzheimer's type.- Of stains and brains: a brief account of how microscopic and clinical observations contributed to the understanding of Alzheimer's disease.- Presenile forms of Alzheimer's disease in 2006.- Cholinergic Deficit.- The cholinergic deficit in Alzheimer's disease.- Acetylcholine in AD: Expectations meet reality.- Amyloid and Genetics.- The Discovery of ? Amyloid.- Pathways to the discovery of the neuronal origin and proteolytic biogenesis of A? amyloid of Alzheimer's disease.- The Amyloid Hypothesis: history and alternatives.- Segregation of a missense mutation in the amyloid ?-protein precursor gene with familial Alzheimer's disease.- From the amyloid ? protein (A4) to isolation of the first Alzheimer's disease gene: amyloid ? (A4) precursor protein (APP).- Commentary on "Correlative memory deficits, A? elevation, and amyloid plaques in transgenic mice".- Vision for the future.- PS1, PS2, and APP mutations that cause Alzheimer's disease increase A?42.- Amyloid precursor protein, Alzheimer's disease, and Down's syndrome.- Catabolism of amyloid ? peptide and pathogenesis of sporadic Alzheimer's disease: towards understanding the underlying mechanisms.-Synaptic activity, amyloid-? and Alzheimer's disease.- Molecular pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease in human peripheral cells: platelets show it all!.- The neuronal origin hypothesis of cerebral amyloid angiopathy.- A neuropathologist and Alzheimer genetics.- Genetics, molecular biology, and animal modeling of Alzheimer's disease.- The genetic Alzheimer-frontotemporal dementia spectrum.- Mutation of the Alzheimer's disease amyloid gene in hereditary cerebral hemorrhage, Dutch type. The role of amyloid in dementia and stroke.- Physiological generation of Amyloid ?-peptide and its Consequences for Alzheimer's disease research.- Activation of ?-secretase as an approach for treatment of Alzheimer's disease.- Challenges to the enigma of ?-secretase and to Alzheimer's disease.- Targeting ?-Secretase for Alzheimer's Disease.- The Presenilin/gamma-secretase complex and its potential as a drug target in Alzheimer's Disease.- Identification of ?-secretase.- ApoE.- Apolipoprotein E and Alzheimer's disease: A brief retrospective.- Apolipoprotein E4: From synaptic remodeling to genetic risk factor in both familial and sporadic Alzheimer's disease.- Tau.- The Alzheimer tangle - 100 years on..- Immunological demonstration of tau protein in neurofibrillary tangles.- Bulk isolation of neurofibrillary tangles and discoveries of tau and its abnormal hyperphosphorylation.- The natural and molecular history of Alzheimer's disease: Tau is part of the story.- Tau focused drug discovery for Alzheimer's disease and related Neurodegenerative Tauopathies.- Ubiquitin is a component of paired helical filaments in Alzheimer's disease.- Influence of tau on neuronal traffic mechanisms.- The Search for structure of tau and paired helical filaments.- OxidativeStress.- The Changing landscape of Alzheimer's disease: From Insoluble to Soluble and from Pathogen to Protector.- Molecular and cellular pathways towards and away from Alzheimer's disease.- Epidemiology.- Paquid: an integrated, multidisciplinary, population-based approach to normal and pathological cerebral aging.- Imaging.- Hippocampal imaging in the early diagnosis of AD, 1988 to 2006.- Detecting Early-Stage Alzheimer's Disease in MCI and PreMCI: The value of informants.- Imaging the pathology of Alzheimer's disease: Building on a century-Old blueprint.- Therapeutical Perspectives.- How do we test drugs?.- Inflammation and the lesions of Alzheimer's disease.- A? immunotherapy prevents and Reverses Alzheimer's disease neuropathology.- Immunotherapy of Alzheimer's disease.- "Magic" bullets, shotguns or cocktails to treat or prevent Alzheimer's disease?.- The seventh age of man: Solving senility.- Forum and Network.- Fondation Ipsen and Alzheimer's disease: a 20-year relationship.- Alzheimer Research Forum: A Knowledge Base and e-Community for AD Research.