Includes bibliographical references and index.

Protein folding and misfolding, relevance to disease, and biological function / Massimo Stefani -- Alzheimer's disease / Charlotte E. Teunissen and Tischa J.M. van der Cammen -- Improving cholinergic transmission -- Cholinergic transmission and acetylcholine release enhancers / Pierre Francotte, Pascal de Tullio, and Bernard Pirotte -- AChE and its inhibition / Jure Stojan -- AChE inhibitors and their clinical assessment / Pierre Francotte, Pascal de Tullio, and Bernard Pirotte -- Reduction in plaque formation -- Secretase and APP processing / Christian Czech, Helmut Jacobsen, and Celine Adessi -- Mechanism of plaque formation and A[B] aggregation inhibitors / Christian Czech, Helmut Jacobsen, and Celine Adessi -- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs / Bruno P. Imbimbo and Francesca Speroni -- 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors / Dario Cattaneo -- A[B] polymerization reduction / Harry LeVine III and Corrine E. Augelli-Szafran -- Carbonic anhydrase activators as potential anti-Alzheimer's disease agents / Claudiu T. Supuran and Andrea Scozzafava -- Detection and reduction of neurofibrillary lesions / Jeff Kuret -- Protein misfolding in Alzheimer disease : pathogenic or protective? / Rudy J. Castellani ... [et al.] -- Enhancement of brain retinoic acid levels / Ann B. Goodman ... [et al.] -- Parkinson's disease : what is it? what causes it? and how can it be cured? / Tom Foltynie, Andrew W. Michell, and Roger A. Barker -- Restoring dopamine levels / P. Nuno Palma .. [et al.] -- Huntington's disease / Claire-Anne Gutekunst and Fran Norflus -- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (motor neuron disease) / Teresa Sanelli ... [et al.] -- Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies / Michael D. Geschwind and Giuseppe Legname -- Overview / H. John Smith, Robert D.E. Sewell, and Claire Simons.