Select: Molecular Pathology of Alzheimer's Disease

beta-amyloid accumulation is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease pathology, but how does it cause cognitive impairment? New findings described in this issue's Select examine how beta-amyloid impacts signaling events at the synapse at early stages of disease progression. And at later stages, one study suggests that Alzheimer's patients exhibit a pronounced deficiency in their capacity to metabolize beta-amyloid.