Experimental models of Alzheimer's disease

Experimental models of Alzheimer's disease are organism or cellular models used in research to investigate biological questions about Alzheimer's disease as well as develop and test novel therapeutic treatments. Alzheimer's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder associated with aging, which occurs both sporadically (the most common form of diagnosis) or due to familial passed mutations in genes associated with Alzheimer's pathology. Common symptoms associated with Alzheimer's disease include: memory loss, confusion, and mood changes.

As Alzheimer's disease affects around 55 million patients globally and accounts for approximately 60-70% of all dementia cases, billions of dollars are spent yearly towards research to better understand the biological mechanisms of the disease as well as develop effective therapeutic treatments for it. Researchers commonly use post-mortem human tissue or experimental models to conduct experiments relating to Alzheimer's disease. Experimental models of Alzheimer's disease are particularly useful as they allow complex manipulation of biological systems to elucidate questions about Alzheimer's disease without the risk of harming humans. These models often have genetic modifications that enable them to be more representative of human Alzheimer's disease and its associated pathology: extracellular amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). Current methods used by researchers are: traditional 2D cell culture, 3D cell culture, microphysiological systems, and animal models.