Christian Behl

This book highlights the key phases and central findings of Alzheimer’s Disease research since the introduction of the label ‘Alzheimer’s Disease’ in 1910. The author, Christian Behl, puts dementia research in the context of the respective zeitgeist and summarizes the paths that have led to the currently available Alzheimer’s drugs. As the reader is taken through the major developments in Alzheimer's Disease research, particularly over the past thirty years, Behl poses critical questions: Why are the exact causes of Alzheimer's Disease still in the dark, despite all the immense, worldwide research efforts in academia as well as in the pharmaceutical industry? Why has the majority of an entire research field kept focusing on a single hypothesis that establishes the deposition of the amyloid beta peptide in the brain as the key trigger of Alzheimer's pathology, even though this concept has still not been convincingly proven in the clinics? Are there other hypotheses that might explain the pathogenesis of this complex brain disease, and if so, why were these perspectives not adequately followed? In this book, Behl tries to answer these questions. Starting with the historical background, the author illustrates the long and arduous research journey, its numerous setbacks, and the many alternative explanations for the disease, which have started gaining increasing attention and acceptance in the Alzheimer’s research community only more recently. With his deep dive into the history and progression of this research, including the most recent developments, Behl explains why he believes that it is high time to promote a paradigm shift in Alzheimer’s Disease research. The book is written for all researchers in the fields of neurobiology and neurodegeneration, as well as other biomedical fields, who would like to gain a broad and beyond the surface insight into (the key developments of) one of the most promoted research fields of our time. With its extensive literature references and over 100 illustrations, the book is also attractive for students and interested lay persons. Elaborating on all the different aspects and research approaches of this research field, the author aims to convince the reader that the underlying causes of Alzheimer’s Disease may be much more complex than previously thought and that this must be considered for future research directions. While he hopes that the Alzheimer’s research community is finally ready to shed its ‘amyloid-straitjacket’ that has hampered progress for too long, he is also convinced that a much-needed paradigm shift can guide future Alzheimer’s Disease research and provide a new and broader perspective on this age-dependent brain disease.

What Has Guided Research So Far and Why It Is High Time for a Paradigm Shift

Alzheimer’s Disease Research

It is well known that estrogen is "somehow” a protective hormone for various age-related disorders. This book provides a solid knowledge of estrogen’s neuroprotective activities in the brain with a special emphasis on neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s Disease. The focus is (1) to describe the biochemical, molecular, and cellular basis of the protective activity of estrogen and (2) to transfer this knowledge into the hospitals by discussing preventive and therapeutic approaches such as estrogen replacement therapy for post-menopausal women. Besides up-to-date information on estrogen and the brain, this book explains in a highly understandable manner molecular and cellular techniques by which basic data have been collected. The reader, which may include the professional specialist as well as the interested non-specialist, will also gain insight into the scientific transfer process of knowledge from basic science to the clinical situation and therefore "from bench to bed”.

The Neuroprotective Activities of the Female Sex Hormone

Estrogen — Mystery Drug for the Brain?

Christine Ziegler

Dieses Buch führt in die wichtigsten Theorien des Alterns ein; es konzentriert sich auf Telomere, DNA-Schädigung, oxidativen Stress, die Rolle der Nährstoffversorgung bzw. -erkennung, das Zusammenspiel von Genen und Umwelt (Epigenetik) und die Proteinhomöostase und stellt einige Gene vor, die die Lebensdauer in Modellorganismen zu verändern in der Lage sind. Indem es die verschiedenen das Altern bestimmenden Faktoren mit Erkrankungen des Menschen verknüpft, sucht das Buch ihre vielfältigen Wechselbeziehungen und Abhängigkeiten aufzuzeigen und zu einer molekularen Matrix des Alterns zusammenzuführen. Von diesem Buch werden alle profitieren, die sich einen profunden Überblick über die Mechanismen der Zellalterung und ihre Verknüpfung mit altersassoziierten Erkrankungen des Menschen verschaffen wollen.

Christian Behl

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