Mark Cookson on DJ Chaperones α-Synuclein—Offers Cell Model of Parkinson Disease

COMMENT shows a direct molecular link between recessive parkinsonism and PD. As others have commented (Hardy and

Nikolaos K. Robakis on MARKing tau for tangles and toxicity.

COMMENT An interesting review. 0 nikos.robakis

Nikolaos K. Robakis on Got RIP? Presenilin-dependent intramembrane proteolysis in growth factor receptor signaling.

COMMENT An extensive review of the field. 0 nikos.robakis

Neelima Chauhan on Intravenous immunoglobulins containing antibodies against beta-amyloid for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

COMMENT This pilot study by Dodel et al. demonstrates the effect of passive immunization in Alzheimer’s patients with the intravenous immunoglobulin prepared from the plasma pools of normal, healthy donors, based on the fact that healthy individuals have circulat

Dominic Walsh on An in vitro and in vivo study of early deficits in associative learning in transgenic mice that over-express a mutant form of human APP associated with Alzheimer's disease.

COMMENT This study is in good agreement with earlier work by Moechars et al., 1999, which demonstrates alterations in both cognitive function and synaptic plasticity in mice transgenic for human APP695 (V642I) several months before amyloid deposition is detectabl

Mary Reid on Remote Healing by Stem Cell-Derived GDNF?

COMMENT Is the difference in the reported results explained by the fact that Borlongan and colleagues used mannitol to permealize the BBB? The fact that mannitol is a hydroxyl radical scavenger has me wondering whether the mannitol itself may be therapeutic? The

Yungfeng Liao on Nicastrin modulates presenilin-mediated notch/glp-1 signal transduction and betaAPP processing.

COMMENT A key paper accelerating the subsequent discovery of the members in the gamma-secretase complex. 0 yliao

Yungfeng Liao on Peripherally administered antibodies against amyloid beta-peptide enter the central nervous system and reduce pathology in a mouse model of Alzheimer disease.

COMMENT A critical initial study for validating immunotherapy of AD. 0 yliao

Elena Galea on PPARγ Partner PGC-1α Linked to Huntington Disease-Like Symptoms

COMMENT The excellent study by Spiegelman and colleagues shows that the absence of PGC-1 α, a coactivator of transcription factors including the PPAR family of nuclear receptors, leads to Huntington disease-like neurodegeneration in the mouse brain. As mentioned

Dominic Walsh on FRETting Pays off—NSAIDs Target Presenilins, Reduce Aβ42

COMMENT Allosteric modulation of γ-secretase activity offers a new avenue for specific inhibition of Aβ42 production Using fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM), the authors demonstrate that certain NSAIDs known to specifically reduce Aβ42 levels without altering

John Breitner on Merck Withdraws Vioxx®

COMMENT is of probable interest to readers, and the Alzforum editors have asked me to comment. First, any

Milan Fiala on Intravenous immunoglobulins containing antibodies against beta-amyloid for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

COMMENT The authors should cite the literature on CSF levels of amyloid-β (total and 1-42). Without having a comparison and seeing a discussion of previous CSF studies, I do not know whether the reduced level in CSF is good, bad, or a chance event. Antibodies to

Nikolaos K. Robakis on Interference of human and Drosophila APP and APP-like proteins with PNS development in Drosophila.

COMMENT A nice paper suggesting new APP functions. 0 nikos.robakis

Paul Aisen on Merck Withdraws Vioxx®

COMMENT What impact does Merck's withdrawal of rofecoxib have on AD patients? Some AD patients have been taking rofecoxib and other NSAIDs to treat the AD. There is little justification for this. Each large trial of rofecoxib for the treatment of AD or MCI h

Todd E. Golde on FRETting Pays off—NSAIDs Target Presenilins, Reduce Aβ42

COMMENT The findings are significant for three main reasons: First: They provide strong evidence that NSAIDs bind to and modulate γ-secretase function in the brain. This extends findings from Dr. Koo's and my laboratories (Weggen et al., Eriksen et al. refer