Alzheimer's Disease : A Compendium of Current Theories

Although Alzheimer's disease was formally described as a distinct clinical-neuropathological entity at the turn of the century, the intense research effort on this disorder was not mobilized until the 1970s.

In the last 20 years, a rich array of new ideas on diagnosis, treatment, risk factors and possible cause(s) have emerged.

The wealth of new information has led to the formulation of many current theories.

However, little attempt has been made to integrate the different ideas or to establish a coherent link among the distinct theories, which at times appear to be at odds with one another and/or with the available data.

This volume provides a critical evaluation of all major theoretical perspectives on Alzheimer's disease.

Contributors were selected for their broad viewpoints on Alzheimer's disease; each was invited to prepare a short comprehensive paper on the major assumptions and predictions of their hypothesis, which should be incorporated into a "new unifying theory" of the disease. To help establish a practical means for integrating the different points of view, chapters are organized into three functionally unifying themes: theories related to functional changes, structural changes and energetics.