Metal Ions-Mediated Oxidative Stress in Alzheimer’s Disease and Chelation Therapy

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), ranked as the seventh leading cause of death worldwide, is one of the most incidental neurodegenerative disorders. AD patients experience irreparable damages to the brain, indicated as progressive, insidious, and degenerative. Past research has discovered that the amyloid cascade hypothesis best describes the pathophysiological etiology of AD, designating amyloid-β plaques and neurofibrillary tangles as the ‘hallmarks’ of AD pathology. Furthermore, accumulating evidence show that the oxidative stress state, the imbalance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and antioxidation, contributes to AD development. This chapter describes the oxidative stress process in AD. It mainly tackles the correlation of metal-catalyzed ROS production with amyloid-β and how it oxidatively damages both the amyloid-β itself and the surrounding molecules, potentially leading to AD. Additionally, both the role of metal chelation therapy as a treatment for AD and its challenges will be mentioned as well. This chapter specially focuses on how metal ions imbalance induces oxidative stress and how it affects AD pathology