Peripherally Applied Aβ-Containing Inoculates Induce Cerebral β-Amyloidosis

Abstract

Infectious Amyloid? Patients with Alzheimer's disease have characteristic lesions in the brains associated with masses of polymerized protein called β-amyloid. Recently, evidence from mouse models of Alzheimer's disease shows that brain extracts containing β-amyloid can “infect” otherwise healthy animals when injected directly into their brains. Eisele et al. (p. 980 , published online 21 October; see the Perspective by Kim and Holtzman ) extend these findings to show that when mice are injected in other parts of their bodies with similar brain extracts after several months, they also develop amyloidosis within their brains.