Abstract
Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia characterized by problems with short-term memory, cognition, and difficulties with activities of daily living. It is a progressive, neurodegenerative disorder. The complement system is an ancient part of the innate immune system and comprises of more than thirty serum and membrane-bound proteins. This system has three different activating pathways and culminates into the formation of a membrane attack complex that ultimately causes target cell lysis (usually pathogens) The complement system is involved in several important functions in the central nervous system (CNS) that include neurogenesis, synaptic pruning, apoptosis, and neuronal plasticity. Here, we discuss how the complement system is involved in the effective functioning of CNS, while also contributing to chronic neuroinflammation leading to neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. We also discuss potential targets in the complement system for stopping its harmful effects via neuroinflammation and provide perspective for the direction of future research in this field.
Highlights
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most frequent form of dementia in the elderly and accounts for approximately 60–70% of all cases [1,2]
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are approximately 50 million people worldwide who suffer from dementia; it is estimated that 30 million people have AD [1]
Since the amyloid hypothesis proposed by Hardy and Allsop et al (1991), Aβ has been thought to be the main causative factor for AD [17], who identified a mutation in the amyloid precursor protein (APP) gene on chromosome 21, and suggested that APP mis
Summary
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most frequent form of dementia in the elderly and accounts for approximately 60–70% of all cases [1,2]. AD is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder in the elderly which results in a slow and progressive decline in both memory and executive cognitive functions [2,3]. Some of the core clinical features are progressive memory loss, apraxia (inability to perform movements and gestures), agnosia (inability to recognise and identify people, objects, and sounds), language decline, and behavioural changes such as the loss of executive brain functions [2]. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are approximately 50 million people worldwide who suffer from dementia; it is estimated that 30 million people have AD [1].
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