Metabolic influences on neurological disorders: Focus on homocysteine in Alzheimer's Disease: Homocysteine and Alzheimer's Disease

Reading of the scientific literature would lead us to believe that the nervous system consists mainly of neurons that exist in isolation, cut off from the influences of the periphery due to the presence of the blood-brain barrier. However, it is becoming increasingly evident that neurons are extensively influenced by both blood-borne factors that can determine both their viability and function; and also by the activities of the support, non-neuronal cells of the nervous system. This book considers how such factors can influence neuropathology.

This first chapter considers the consequences of elevated levels of homocysteine in the blood for the development and pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s Disease, revealing an important role of dysfunction in homocysteine metabolism for influencing the pathogenesis of this disorder.