Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that primarily compromises memory formation and storage. Several hypotheses regarding the pathogenesis of AD have been proposed; however, no cure is available to date. Here we describe the calcium hypothesis of AD, which is gaining popularity. We present data supporting this hypothesis and focus on a recently discovered calcium-signaling pathway that is dysregulated in AD and propose targets for the development of disease-modifying therapies.
Keywords: Alzheimer disease; Ca2+ signaling; mushroom spine; neuronal store-operated Ca2+ channels; synapse.