The Role of Zinc in Alzheimer's Disease

Zinc, the most abundant trace metal in the brain, has numerous functions, both in health and in disease. Zinc is released into the synaptic cleft of glutamatergic neurons alongside glutamate from where it interacts and modulates NMDA and AMPA receptors. In addition, zinc has multifactorial functions...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInternational journal of alzheimer's disease Vol. 2011; no. 2011; pp. 1 - 10
Main Authors Watt, Nicole T., Whitehouse, Isobel J., Hooper, Nigel M.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cairo, Egypt Hindawi Puplishing Corporation 2011
SAGE-Hindawi Access to Research
John Wiley & Sons, Inc
Wiley
Subjects
Alzheimer's disease
Development and progression
Diagnosis
Health aspects
Review
Risk factors
Zinc compounds
United Kingdom
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Summary:Zinc, the most abundant trace metal in the brain, has numerous functions, both in health and in disease. Zinc is released into the synaptic cleft of glutamatergic neurons alongside glutamate from where it interacts and modulates NMDA and AMPA receptors. In addition, zinc has multifactorial functions in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Zinc is critical in the enzymatic nonamyloidogenic processing of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) and in the enzymatic degradation of the amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide. Zinc binds to Aβ promoting its aggregation into neurotoxic species, and disruption of zinc homeostasis in the brain results in synaptic and memory deficits. Thus, zinc dyshomeostasis may have a critical role to play in the pathogenesis of AD, and the chelation of zinc is a potential therapeutic approach.
Bibliography:Academic Editor: Anthony R. White
ISSN:2090-8024
2090-0252
2090-0252
DOI:10.4061/2011/971021