Prion-like aspects of cerebral amyloidosis

The commonality of many neurodegenerative disorders is the predictable temporal occurrence and progression of specific aggregated proteins in the brain. The hallmark proteopathy is Alzheimer’s disease in which aggregated amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) is deposited in the brain parenchyma as amyloid plaques. Multiple evidence suggests that β-amyloidosis is induced by aggregated Aβ which can spread within and among brain regions and act as corruptive templates (seeds) that induce a chain-reaction of Aβ misfolding and aggregation. The insight that the prion paradigm may also apply to cerebral β-amyloidosis and other proteopathies suggests new avenues in search of biomarkers and novel therapeutic strategies.