Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia, two of the most prevalent neurodegenerative diseases, are dreaded disorders that attack the neural networks underlying memory and personality, systems that make us who we are. Major breakthroughs in recent years have spurred new research approaches to these conditions. In Alzheimer's Disease and Frontotemporal Dementia: Methods and Protocols, expert investigators bring together the many divergent areas of expertise used to study these diseases, including behavior, electrophysiology, confocal microscopy, and hardcore biochemistry. Beginning with an overview of the two diseases and contemporary research on them, the book continues with specialized protocols for working with amyloid-beta peptide, tau, and apolipoprotein E as well as experimental systems for studying AD and FTD, including cell and animal models, and outcome measures that can be used to assess neuronal function in these systems. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology(TM) series format, chapters include brief introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.Authoritative and easy to use, Alzheimer's Disease and Frontotemporal Dementia: Methods and Protocols serves as an ideal guide for all scientists pursuing the cause and cure of these widespread and nightmarishly debilitating disorders.

Supplies easily accessible techniques for the complex and wide-ranging avenues of AD and FTD research -Features invaluable descriptions of the experience of experts in the field to aid in the successful completion of experiments -Examines the diversity of the field today in a practical, lab-ready manner

Contemporary Approaches to Alzheimer's Disease and Frontotemporal Dementia.- Preparing Synthetic A in Different Aggregation States.- Isolation of Low-n Amyloid beta-Protein Oligomers from Cultured Cells, CSF, and Brain.- Detecting A *56 Oligomers in Brain Tissues.- Assessing A Aggregation State by Atomic Force Microscopy.- Measuring APP Carboxy-Terminal Fragments.- Detection of APP Intracellular Domain (AICD) in Brain Tissue.- Cell-Based Assays for Regulators of Tau Biology.- Split GFP Complementation Assay for Quantitative Measurement of Tau Aggregation In situ.- Apolipoprotein E Expression and Purification.- Abeta Toxicity in Primary Cultured Neurons.- Manipulation of Gene Expression in the Central Nervous System with Lentiviral Vectors.- Selecting a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease.- Monitoring Spatial Learning and Memory in Alzheimer's Disease Mouse Models Using the Morris Water Maze.- Step-by-Step In Situ Hybridization Method for Localizing Gene Expression Changes in the Brain.- Real-Time Visualization of Axonal Transport in Neurons.- Quantifying Biomarkers of Cognitive Dysfunction and Neuronal Network Hyperexcitability in Mouse Models of Alzheimer's Disease: Depletion of Calcium-Dependent Proteins and Inhibitory Hippocampal Remodeling.- Epigenetic Changes in the Brain: Measuring Global Histone Modifications.