Disease Genes

# The Author(s) 2013. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Abstract The study of sporadic Alzheimer’s disease etiol-ogy, now more than ever, needs an infusion of new con-cepts. Despite ongoing interest in Alzheimer’s disease, the basis of this entity is not yet clear. At present, the best-established and accepted “culprit ” in Alzheimer’s disease pathology by most scientists is the amyloid, as the main molecular factor responsible for neurodegeneration in this disease. Abnormal upregulation of amyloid production or a disturbed clearance mechanism may lead to pathological accumulation of amyloid in brain according to the “amyloid hypothesis. ” We will critically review these observations and highlight inconsistencies between the predictions of the “amyloid hypothesis ” and the published data. There is still controversy over the role of amyloid in the pathologica