Figure 1.

Path to cognitive decline in neurodegeneration. Amyloid-beta (Aβ) monomers clump together to form oligomers of variant structures. Subsequently, the oligomers aggregate to form Aβ fibers, which misarrange to form Aβ plaques. Plaque formation induces an inflammatory response which includes the formation of tau aggregates leading to the conversion of healthy neurons to diseased neurons. The presence of more diseased neurons triggers another inflammatory response leading to more neuron loss and a subsequent loss in brain function as well as cognitive decline.