BDNF and Alzheimer disease: Other strategies targeting cholinergic neurons and acetylcholine to protect from AD-related neurotoxicity include promoting the expression of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), which is a key enzyme in the acetylcholine biosynthetic pathway, and protecting cholinergic neurons by stimulating the expression of nerve growth factor (NGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and their receptors [163].