BECN1 and Alzheimer disease: Early ultrastructural analysis of AD brains showed accumulation of autophagic vacuoles (AVs) in dystrophic neurites [9] and examination of autophagy pathway showed upregulation of mTOR activity, a negative regulator of autophagy signaling [10], and reduced expression of Beclin 1, a core component of class III PI3-kinase (PIK3C3) that controls autophagy initiation [11], therefore suggesting that autophagy is impaired in AD.