Background: Alzheimer’s disease is the most common neurodegenerative disorder affecting the elderly population and emerges as a leading challenge for the scientific research community. The wide pathological aspects of AD made it a multifactorial disorder and even after long time it’s difficult to treat due to unexplored etiological factors.
Methods: The etiogenesis of AD includes mitochondrial failure, gut dysbiosis, biochemical alterations but deposition of amyloid-beta plaques and neurofibrillary tangles are implicated as major hallmarks of neurodegeneration in AD. The aggregates of these proteins disrupt neuronal signaling, enhance oxidative stress and reduce activity of various cellular enzymes which lead to neurodegeneration in the cerebral cortex, neocortex and hippocampus. The metals like copper, aluminum are involved in APP trafficking and promote amyloidbeta aggregation. Similarly, disturbed ubiquitin proteasomal system, autophagy and amyloid- beta clearance mechanisms exert toxic insult in the brain. Results and Conclusion: The current review explored the role of oxidative stress in disruption of amyloid homeostasis which further leads to amyloid-beta plaque formation and subsequent neurodegeneration in AD. Presently, management of AD relies on the use of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, antioxidants and metal chelators but they are not specific measures. Therefore, in this review, we have widely cited the various pathological mechanisms of AD as well as possible therapeutic targets.Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, amyloid-beta proteins, insulin-degrading enzymes, oxidative stress, ubiquitin proteasomal system, pathological mechanisms.