Book Commemorates Centennial of Discovery of Alzheimer's Disease

Newswise — IOS Press is pleased to announce the forthcoming publication of a landmark work commemorating the centennial of Alois Alzheimer's discovery of what would be known as Alzheimer's disease (AD). The book, Alzheimer's Disease: A Century of Scientific and Clinical Research, is scheduled for publication in July 2006 and its release will coincide with the 10th International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders, July 15-20 in Madrid.

The centennial of Alois Alzheimer's original description of the disease that would come to bear his name offers a vantage point from which to commemorate the seminal discoveries in the field. This milestone work has been guided by four of the most prominent voices in the field today, George Perry, Dean of the University of Texas at San Antonio College of Sciences and Professor of Pathology and Neurosciences, Case Western Reserve University, Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Alzheimer's Disease; Jesús Avila, Center for Molecular Biology, University Autónoma of Madrid, Senior Editor, Journal of Alzheimer's Disease; June Kinoshita, Executive Editor, Alzheimer Research Forum; and Mark A. Smith, Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Co-Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. It traces how the true importance of AD as the major cause of late life dementia ultimately came to light and narrates the evolution of the concepts related to AD throughout the years and its recognition as a major public health problem, with an estimated 30-40 million people affected by AD today.

George Perry commented, "The book will bring to life, and in many instances revisit and reflect on, the classic studies that have essentially defined Alzheimer's disease research. My co-editors and I are extremely pleased that this project has attracted participation from nearly every single player in the field and, having read each contribution, I am convinced that the book is destined to become one of the defining works in the field."

To identify the breakthroughs, the editors have used citation analysis, landmark papers identified by current researchers, and drew upon their own experience and insights. This process took into account the perspectives of individuals who recall the impact of findings at the time they were made, as well as of scientists today who have the advantage of hindsight in weighing the lasting influence of these findings. Because modern AD research was triggered by the seminal work of Tomlinson, Blessed, and Roth some four decades ago, it is particularly fortunate that the vast majority of these milestone authors are still with us.

Each contributor was invited to discuss what made his or her particular article a milestone in the context of its time. Furthermore, contributors were asked to provide a highly personal perspective, by recounting the tale of how each discovery unfolded and by frankly describing the contradictions among studies and the debates that once took place in whispered tones in remote corners of seminar rooms and conference halls.

According to Dr. Perry, "These writings bring to the practitioner, student and interested lay person a perspective not only on the past, but also on where the Alzheimer's disease field is likely to go in the future. Only time will tell whether these milestones have charted the future accurately, but they are unquestionably the foundation upon which the future will be built."

Alzheimer's Disease: A Century of Scientific and Clinical ResearchEdited by George Perry, Jesús Avila, June Kinoshita and Mark A. SmithJuly 2006, approx. 400 pages, hardcoverISBN: 1-58603-619-xUS$150 / €120 / £82Orders may be placed at [email protected] (Will also be published as a special issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.)

TABLE of CONTENTS

Historical PerspectiveJesse F. BallengerProgress in the History of Alzheimer's Disease: The Importance of Context

José Manuel Martínez Lage100 Years of Alzheimer's Disease (1906-2006)

NeuropathologyMelvyn J. BallThe Essential Lesion of Alzheimer Disease: A Surprise in Retrospect

Heiko Braak, Udo Rüb, Christian Schultz, Kelly Del TrediciVulnerability of Cortical Neurons to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases

Bernardino GhettiNeurodegeneration and Hereditary Dementias: 40 Years of Learning

Asao Hirano and Maki IidaTopographic Study of Alzheimer's Neurofibrillary Changes: A Personal Perspective

Kurt A. JellingerClinicopathological Analysis of Dementia Disorders in the Elderly - An Update

Michael KiddThe History of the Paired Helical Filaments

Synaptic ChangesM.M Esiri and S.A. ChanceVulnerability to Alzheimer's Pathology in Neocortex: The Roles of Plasticity and Columnar Organization

Eliezer Masliah, Leslie Crews and Lawrence HansenSynaptic Remodeling during Aging and in Alzheimer's Disease

Stephen W. Scheff and Douglas A. PriceAlzheimer's Disease-Related Alterations in Synaptic Density: Neocortex and Hippocampus

Robert D. TerryMy Own Experience in Early Research on Alzheimer Disease

AmyloidKaren H. AsheMolecular Basis of Memory Loss in the Tg2576 Mouse Model of Alzheimer Disease

Massimo Tabaton and Pierluigi GambettiSoluble Amyloid-ß in the Brain: The Scarlet Pimpernel

Dora Games, Manuel Buttini, Dione Kobayashi, Dale Schenk and Peter SeubertMice as Models: Transgenic Approaches and Alzheimer's Disease

John HardyThe Amyloid Cascade Hypothesis: An update and Reappraisal

Colin L Masters and Konrad BeyreutherPathways to the Discovery of the Aß Amyloid of Alzheimer's Disease

Dennis J. SelkoeAmyloid ß-Peptide Is Produced by Cultured Cells during Normal Metabolism: A Reprise

TauJesús AvilaTau Protein, the Main Component of Paired Helical Filaments

Jean-Pierre BrionImmunological Demonstration of Tau Protein in Neurofibrillary Tangles of Alzheimer's Disease

André DelacourteThe Natural and Molecular History of Alzheimer's Disease

Michel Goedert, Aaron Klug and R. Anthony CrowtherTau Protein, the Paired Helical Filament and Alzheimer's Disease

Yasuo IharaNeurofibrillary Tangles/Paired Helical Filaments (1981-83)

Khalid Iqbal and Inge Grundke-IqbalDiscoveries of Tau, Abnormally Hyperphosphorylated Tau and Others of Neurofibrillary Degeneration: A Personal Historical Perspective

Gail V.W. JohnsonTau Phosphorylation and Proteolysis: Insights and Perspectives

Kenneth S. KosikTraveling the Tau Pathway: A Personal Account

Virginia M.-Y. Lee and John Q. TrojanowskiProgress from Alzheimer's Tangles to Pathological Tau Points Towards More Effective Therapies Now

Disease MechanismsPeter DaviesA Long Trek Down the Pathways of Cell Death in Alzheimer's Disease

Patrick L. McGeer, Joseph Rogers and Edith G. McGeerInflammation, Antiinflammatory Agents and Alzheimer Disease: The Last 12 Years

Ralph A. Nixon and Anne M CataldoLysosomal System Pathways: Genes to Neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's Disease

Daniel P. Perl, Sharon MoalemAluminum and Alzheimer's Disease, A Personal Perspective After 25 Years

George PerryWhen Is the Insoluble Solvable?

Mark A. SmithOxidative Stress and Iron Imbalance in Alzheimer Disease: How Rust Became the Fuss!

Akihiko TakashimaGSK-3 Is Essential in the Pathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease

F.W.van Leeuwen, E.M. Hol and D.F. FischerFrameshift Proteins in Alzheimer's Disease and in Other Conformational Disorders: Time for the Ubiquitin-Proteasome System

GeneticsEfrat Levy, Frances Prelli and Blas FrangioneStudies on the First Described Alzheimer's Disease Amyloid ß Mutant, the Dutch Variant

Alison GoateSegregation of a Missense Mutation in the Amyloid ß-Protein Precursor Gene with Familial Alzheimer's Disease

Dmitry GoldgaberThe Discovery and Mapping to Chromosome 21 of the Alzheimer Amyloid Gene: My Story

Allen D. RosesOn the Discovery of the Genetic Association of Apolipoprotein E Genotypes and Common Late-Onset Alzheimer Disease

Gerard D. SchellenbergEarly Alzheimer's Disease Genetics

Maria Grazia Spillantini, Jill R. Murrell, Michel Goedert, Martin Farlow, Aaron Klug and Bernardino GhettiMutations in the Tau gene (MAPT) in FTDP-17: the family with Multiple System Tauopathy with Presenile Dementia (MSTD)

Ekaterina Rogaeva, Toshitaka Kawarai and Peter St George-HyslopGenetic Complexity of Alzheimer's Disease: Successes and Challenges

Christine Van Broeckhoven and Samir Kumar-SinghGenetics and Pathology of Alpha-Secretase Site AßPP Mutations in Understanding of Alzheimer's Disease

Diagnosis and TreatmentJesse Skoch, Bradley T. Hyman and Brian J. BacskaiPreclinical Characterization of Amyloid Imaging Probes with Multiphoton Microscopy

Zaven KhachaturianDiagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease: Two-Decades of Progress

Ian G. McKeithConsensus Guidelines for the Clinical and Pathologic Diagnosis of Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB): Report of the Consortium on DLB International Workshop

Dave MorganImmunotherapy for Alzheimer's Disease

Beka SolomonAlzheimer's Disease Immunotherapy: From in vitro Amyloid Immunomodulation to in vivo Vaccination

William SummersTacrine and Alzheimer's Treatments

Peter J. WhitehouseQuality of Life: The Bridge from the Cholinergic Basal Forebrain to Cognitive Science and Bioethics

About the Journal of Alzheimer's DiseaseThe Journal of Alzheimer's Disease (http://www.j-alz.com) is an international multidisciplinary journal to facilitate progress in understanding the etiology, pathogenesis, epidemiology, genetics, behavior, treatment and psychology of Alzheimer's disease. The journal publishes research reports, reviews, short communications, book reviews, and letters-to-the-editor. The journal is dedicated to providing an open forum for original research that will expedite our fundamental understanding of Alzheimer's disease.

About IOS PressCommencing its publishing activities in 1987, IOS Press (http://www.iospress.com) is a rapidly expanding scientific, technical, medical and professional publishing house focusing on a broad range of subject areas. Headquartered in Amsterdam, IOS Press publishes approximately 200 new books each year, including Delft University Press titles, and 70 international journals, covering topics ranging from computer science and mathematics to medicine and the natural sciences. Electronic access to all journals is now available. IOS Press also maintains offices in the Washington, DC area and Berlin and a co-publishing relationship with Ohmsha, Ltd (Tokyo).