The role of complement in Alzheimer's disease pathology

Complement proteins are integral components of amyloid plaques and cerebral vascular amyloid ill Alzheimer brains. They can be found at the earliest stages of amyloid deposition and their activation coincides with the clinical expression of Alzheimer's dementia. This review will examine the origins of complement in the brain and the role of P-amyloid peptide (AP) in complement activation in Alzheimer's disease, an event that might serve as a nidus of chronic inflammation. Pharmacology therapies that may serve to inhibit A beta-mediated complement activation will also be discussed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.