Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a type of dementia characterized pathologically
by inappropriate neuronal loss in the specific brain regions, mainly in the hippocampus
and cerebral cortex, where an accumulation of insoluble plaques of amyloid-beta (Aβ)
and tau tangles formation occurs, resulting in progressive memory loss, impaired
thinking, deterioration and changes in personality and mood. Alzheimer’s disease now
possesses a significant health burden and is considered the main source of inability
among aged individuals. Recently, Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI) evaluations
of 2019 featured that there would be more than 50 million individuals living with
dementia around the world, a figure set to increment to 152 million by 2050.
Somebody creates dementia-like clockwork, and the current year expense of dementia
is assessed at US $1trillion, a figure set to twofold by 2030. AD is the leading cause of
dementia and accounts for 60-80% of cases. In spite of the fact that Aβ conglomeration
and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) development are notable major causative
components engaged with AD pathogenesis, the researchers failed to cure or prevent
progression of disease effectively by focusing on these pathogenic variables. Thus,
tackling AD is a complex job, as we have erudite lately by continuous phase III clinical
trial programs failures. Due to the lack of a clear etiology and increased morbidity
associated with Alzheimer's disease, there is an immediate need to investigate the
underlying causes of the disease and design and develop novel therapeutic agents to
slow or reverse disease progression. Animal models mimicking different types of ADlike
pathological conditions, which is an essential component in discovering potential
therapeutic targets and studying mechanism of action behind that therapeutic agent, as
we know, are primary tools in the field of biomedical research including AD. This
chapter discusses emerging pathophysiological mechanisms and drug targets, as well as
a summary of in-vivo/ex-vivo, in-vitro, QSAR, and in-silico models commonly used in
Alzheimer's disease research. Moreover, we will also describe how to select suitable and valid models and the specifications and relevance of a couple of behavioral
assessment methods.
Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, Behavioral animal models, In-silico models,
Therapeutic strategies, Transgenic animal models.
