Neurotherapeutics: Rethinking Alzheimer's Disease Therapies

What follows are a selection of articles, authored or co-authored by Taub faculty, from a special issue of the journal Neurotherapeutics. The complete volume features additional reviews and original contributions from investigators at various institutions and is available online.

An excerpt from the opening editorial, Stuck in the Mire, by guest editors Drs. Michael Shelanski and Roger Lefort explains:

"The articles in this volume focus on a number of systems that are affected in AD. They explore key topics such as energetics and mitochondria, the role of heavy metals, molecules to increase synaptic plasticity and approaches to the defects in protein sorting and in protein degradation. Given the limitations mentioned in current animal models, articles in this volume describe advances in the use of human stem cells and stem cell-derived neurons for the study of AD, as well as the application of the new areas of computational and systems biology to analyze data derived from post-mortem human brain to predict master regulators of AD progression.

The sum total of the articles provides a snapshot of where we are at this place and time, the model systems that might be appropriate and some glimpse of future research directions" (2).

The Use of Pharmacological Retromer Chaperones in Alzheimer's Disease and other Endosomal-related Disorders
Diego E. Berman, Dagmar Ringe, Greg A. Petsko, Scott A. Small
Pages 12-18

Reversing Synapse Loss in Alzheimer's Disease: Rho-Guanosine Triphosphatases and Insights from Other Brain Disorders
Roger Lefort
Pages 19-28

Synaptic Therapy in Alzheimer's Disease: A CREB-centric Approach
Andrew F. Teich, Russell E. Nicholls, Daniela Puzzo, Jole Fiorito, Rosa Purgatorio, Mauro Fa', Ottavio Arancio
Pages 29-41

Caspases: Therapeutic Targets in Neurologic Disease
Carol M. Troy, Ying Y. Jean
Pages 42-48

Targeting Axonal Protein Synthesis in Neuroregeneration and Degeneration
Jimena Baleriola, Ulrich Hengst
Pages 57-65

Promoting Autophagic Clearance: Viable Therapeutic Targets in Alzheimer's Disease
Lauren G. Friedman, Yasir H. Qureshi, Wai Haung Yu
Pages 94-108

A Systems Approach to Drug Discovery in Alzheimer's Disease
Michael Shelanski, William Shin, Soline Aubry, Peter Sims, Mariano J. Alvarez, Andrea Califano
Pages 126-131

Drug Repositioning Approaches for the Discovery of New Therapeutics for Alzheimer's Disease
Tae-Wan Kim
Pages 132-142