APP and familial Alzheimer disease: Although AD is prevalently sporadic, mutations in the three genes–amyloid precursor protein (APP), presenilin 1 (PSEN1), and presenilin 2 (PSEN2)–cause a rare (<0.5%) familial form of AD (fAD) that develops at an earlier age (between 30 and 50 years) than the sporadic case [2,3].