Nanoimaging for Molecular Pharmaceutics of Alzheimer's and other Neurodegenerative Disorders.

Abstract

Misfolding and aggregation of proteins is a common thread linking a number of important human health problems. Particularly, recent studies highlighted increasing recognition of the public health importance of protein deposition diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease (PD), Alzheimer’s (AD), Huntington’s and prion diseases and many other disorders [1]. Little progress has been made in the treatment of these diseases, due to a fundamental lack of knowledge of the protein self-assembly process. In fact, no effective therapeutic agents exist for Alzheimer’s disease, the most common neurodegenerative disease of aging. Understanding the mechanisms underlying selfassembly into nano-aggregates would facilitate the development of efficient therapeutic and diagnostic tools for these devastating diseases.