BACKGROUND: The amyloid beta (Abeta) peptide is critical to the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD), the major neurodegenerative disease of the elderly for which there is currently no cure. OBJECTIVE: To review the literature on emerging treatments and potential therapeutic strategies for AD. METHODS: Available published literature and information from pharmaceutical companies was utilised. RESULTS/CONCLUSION: Several of the current treatments to combat AD are aimed at inhibiting the production, blocking the oligomerisation/aggregation or enhancing the degradation of Abeta. In our opinion, albeit based on limited available data, a future potential therapeutic strategy is to mimic the mechanism by which the normal cellular form of the prion protein inhibits the beta-secretase beta-site amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme-1 (BACE1), and hence the production of Abeta. ; Griffiths, Heledd H Morten, Isobel J Hooper, Nigel M United Kingdom Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council United Kingdom Medical Research Council Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England Expert opinion on therapeutic targets Expert Opin Ther Targets. 2008 Jun;12(6):693-704.