Abstract

Slowly but surely, Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients lose their memory and their cognitive abilities, and even their personalities may change dramatically. These changes are due to the progressive dysfunction and death of nerve cells that are responsible for the storage and processing of information. Although drugs can temporarily improve memory, at present there are no treatments that can stop or reverse the inexorable neurodegenerative process. But rapid progress towards understanding the cellular and molecular alterations that are responsible for the neuron's demise may soon help in developing effective preventative and therapeutic strategies.

1. Laboratory of Neurosciences, National Institute on Aging Intramural Research Program, 5600 Nathan Shock Drive, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, and Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 725 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA

Correspondence to: Mark P. Mattson Email: mattsonm@grc.nia.nih.gov

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