A hypothetical sequence of the pathogenic steps of the Alzheimer mitochondrial cascade hypothesis. The main cytotoxic pathway of Aβ (red arrows) involves Aβ-induced mitochondrial function, increased ROS production, activation of neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) formation, synaptic failure, and neurodegeneration. Several other pathways feed this cascade via feeding back (black arrows) or forward (dashed arrows) revealing several vicious cycles within a larger vicious cycle. All of them, once set in motion, amplify their own processes, thus accelerating the development of AD.
