Copper coordination by β-amyloid and the neuropathology of alzheimer's disease

Abstract

It is nearly two decades since high concentrations of the redox active transition metal ions Cu2+ and Fe3+ found in β-amyloid plaques were first proposed to play an important role in the pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) (see review by Bush [1]). Over this time, a new field of metallo-neurobiology relating to AD and other neurodegenerative diseases has arisen with approximately 250 original papers and more than 1000 references in secondary publications to date. At first, many neuroscientists failed to recognize the importance of this growing literature. However, a recent pilot Phase II clinical trial of a blood-brain barrier permeable metal protein attenuating compound (MPAC), clioquinol..