The amyloid hypothesis for Alzheimer’s disease: a critical reappraisal

The amyloid hypothesis has been the basis for most work on the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease. Recent clinical trials based on this hypothesis have been inconclusive. In this article I review the current status of the hypothesis and suggest that a major scientific need is to understand the normal function of amyloid-beta precursor protein (APP) and think how this may relate to the cell death in the disease process.