Amyloid Plaques Are Surprisingly Dynamic

The amyloid hypothesis of Alzheimer disease predicts that amyloid plaques are a precursor of neuronal damage. However, researchers recently proposed that neuronal damage may precede plaque formation. In this study, the authors used a novel imaging technique to provide insights into the chronology of amyloid deposition in the brains of transgenic mice bred to overexpress human amyloid precursor protein.

The authors monitored brain parenchyma of these transgenic mice weekly and then daily. They observed that fully morphologically typical amyloid plaques could appear within a single day, and develop to their final size within 1 week. Evidence of neuritic dystrophy appeared after the plaques appeared.