We have shown that human amylin, a 37-amino acid peptide identified in pancreas of diabetics, causes neurotoxicity in a manner very similar to Aβ, and that the effects of the human amylin and Aβ on neurons appear to be expressed via the same receptor, the amylin receptor, a class B G protein-coupled receptor [4]. The gene discussed is IAPP; the disease is diabetes mellitus.