""This book will appeal to the broad readership that it is intended for including researchers and clinicians.""

"This book will appeal to the broad readership that it is intended for including researchers and clinicians."

This new edition of a book first published in 1995, presents an accessible and up-to-date overview of Alzheimer's disease, with an emphasis on research into the molecular mechanisms of neuronal degeneration. Leading international experts have provided in-depth reviews of their areas of expertise, including coverage of the key molecules known to be involved, such as Aß, tau, apolipoprotein E and the presenilins. Other areas covered include neuropathology, genetics,
neurochemical pathology, inflammation, diagnosis, models of the disease and opportunities for treatment, employing both current and emerging drug therapies. The book will provide a readable introduction for those new to the subject, as well as covering a wide range of specialist topics for the more experienced researcher and those interested in the overlap with other related specialist areas. Also included are appendices detailing gene and protein information on APP, tau, the presenilins,
apolipoprotein E and
the newly cloned therapeutic target, BACE.

This new edition of a book first published in 1995, presents an accessible and up-to-date overview of Alzheimer's disease, with an emphasis on research into the molecular mechanisms of neuronal degeneration. Leading international experts have provided in-depth reviews of their areas of expertise, including coverage of the key molecules known to be involved, such as As, tau, apolipoprotein E and the presenilins. Other areas covered include neuropathology, genetics, neurochemical pathology, inflammation, diagnosis, models of the disease and opportunities for treatment, employing both current and emerging drug therapies. The book will provide a readable introduction for those new to the subject, as well as covering a wide range of specialist topics for the more experienced researcher and those interested in the overlap with other related specialist areas. Also included are appendices detailing gene and protein information on APP, tau, the presenilins, apolipoprotein E and the newly cloned therapeutic target, BACE.

Dr Dave Dawbarn Molecular Neurobiology Unit Department of Medicine Bristol Royal Infirmary Bristol BS2 8HW Tel: 01179 282897 Fax: 01179 382137 E-mail: dave.dawbarn@bristol.ac.uk Dr Shelley Allen Molecular Neurobiology Unit Department of Medicine Bristol Royal Infirmary Bristol BS2 8HW Tel: 01179 282897 Fax: 01179 283137 E-mail: shelley.allen@bristol.ac.uk

2007-10-23 The Neurobiology of Alzheimer's Disease (Molecular & Cellular Neurobiology)

It is estimated that 18-24 million people suffer from Alzheimer's disease (AD) worldwide. AD is marked by dementia. At autopsy, extracellular amyloid plaques, containing amyloid Aâ, and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles containing the tau protein, which normally stabilises microtubules, are found in the neocortex and hippocampus, which become progressively atrophied. Early diagnosis is important and it is imperative that new biochemical markers and imaging techniques should be found to aid diagnosis, with a hope that future research will lead to therapies that slow or halt the progress of AD.

This book sets out to give "an accessible overview of the major areas of knowledge and controversy" in research on AD. Within the confines of a multiauthor volume, it does it very well in a fast moving area in which the editors claim that nearly half of the papers have been published since 2000. The chapters are well chosen and well written by an international team of contributors, with good use of headings to guide readers through the text. Each chapter has a substantial bibliography. My major criticism is that the volume would have been better divided into sections, and that the chapter sequence could have been improved.

The book starts with a review of a hundred years of investigation into AD and is followed by chapters on neuropathology, genetics, molecular biology and biochemistry, including a chapter on protein misfolding, aggregation and fibril formation. Various model systems are then discussed as is the role of anti-inflammatory drugs to delay onset and slow disease progression. The cellular targets of amyloid â peptide are considered and two later chapters consider amyloid-based therapies for diagnosis, prevention or treatment of AD. Intervening chapters deal with neurotransmitters, nerve growth factors, clinical assessment of AD, molecular and biological markers and current pharmacological approaches to treatment - the ordering of the chapters could have been better.

All things considered, if you want to know more of what is going on in terms of understanding and treating Alzheimer's Disease, then this book is for you, but remember that what you are seeing is snapshot of what was happening up to 2006. I look forward to future editions to see what further advances have been achieved in our understanding of this deeply distressing, progressive illness.

Bill Winlow