Something Old, Something New and Something Used in Alzheimer's; the Idea of Pore, Ethanol and the Use of Oocytes to Understand the Disease

Abstract

Background: Alzheimer's disease remains an unsolved public health problem. Recent studies shifted the focus of the pathogenesis from a neurodegenerative process to a synaptic failure, including a large group of pathologies called peptide misfolding diseases. Objective: In this line, recent research has proposed new models to study the pathologies such as frog oocytes, revalidation of a mechanism such as the amyloid pore, and a link of moderate alcohol consumption with a reduced risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases. Methods: We reviewed the latest publication in this field. Conclusion: We believe, therefore, that the available data suggest an important role of the amyloid pore mechanism in the pathogenesis of the Alzheimer's disease, the use of oocytes for its study, and how a moderate consumption of ethanol could reduce the effects of amyloid aggregates.