CD34 + progenitor cells as diagnostic and therapeutic targets in Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease(AD)is the main neurodegenerative disease leading to dementia and cognitive impairment in the elderly.Considering AD to be an epidemic,an increase from the current 50 million to more than 150 million patients is expected by the year 2050.AD is characterized by a slow,progressive and asymptomatic onset;making it difficult to decipher the precise etiology.It is well established that AD presents two characteristic features,extracellularβ-amyloid plaques and intracellular tau tangles,that eventually lead to the impairment of cognitive functions.Unfortunately,AD symptomatology shares many similarities with other dementias once is present,which makes it difficult an accurate pre mortem diagnosis.