Anti-amyloidogenic therapies: strategies for prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Deposition of amyloid beta-protein (Abeta) in the brain is an early and invariant neuropathological feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The current search for anti-AD drugs is mainly focused on modification of the process of accumulation of Abeta in the brain. Here, we review four anti-amyloidogenic strategies: (i) reduction of Abeta production, which has mainly been approached with secretase inhibition, (ii) promotion of the Abeta degrading catabolic pathway, including an Abeta degrading enzyme, neprilysin, (iii) immunotherapy for Abeta and (iv) inhibition of Abeta aggregation. We have reported that AD patients have a favorable molecular environment for Abeta aggregation and that various compounds, such as polyphenols, interfere with Abeta aggregation and destabilize preformed Abeta fibrils.