Patent ID: 7179953

Claim:
A method of preparing a composition comprising an agent that affects processing of amyloid precursor protein to beta-amyloid peptide, the method comprising: providing a transgenic rodent comprising a diploid genome comprising a comprising in operable linkage a promoter and a DNA segment encoding a human APP polypeptide comprising the Swedish mutation wherein the amino acid residues aat positions corresopnding to positions 595 and 596 in human APP 695 are asparaagine and leucine, respectively, wherein the transgene is expressed to produced a human APP polypeptide having the Swedish mutaation, and wherein the polypeptide is processed to ATF-βAPP in a sufficient amount to be detectable in a brain homogenate of said transgenic rodent; contacting the transgenic rodent with the agent; monitoring cleavage of the amyloid precursor protein polypeptide between the N-terminus of the beta amyloid peptide and the ATF-βAPP in the contacted transgenic rodent compared to the cleavage in a control transgenic rodent to indicate the agent affects the cleavage; and incorporating the agent into a composition with a pharmaceutical carrier.