beta-amyloid

noun

be·​ta-am·​y·​loid ˈbā-tə-ˈa-mə-ˌlȯid 

variants or beta-amyloid protein or beta-amyloid peptide

: an amyloid that is derived from a larger precursor protein and is the primary component of plaques characteristic of Alzheimer's disease

… beta-amyloid is the main component of the plaques, or brain lesions, found in the estimated 4 million Americans afflicted with Alzheimer's disease.

—Discover

… researchers in California have created mice carrying the gene for beta-amyloid protein, the principal component of the plaques riddling the brains of people with Alzheimer's.

—Charlene Crabb

… he never underwent an autopsy that would have shown unequivocally whether the gummy mess of beta-amyloid plaques that is the telltale symptom of Alzheimer's had infected his brain.

—Michael Greenberg

called also A-beta, amyloid beta, amyloid beta peptide, amyloid beta protein

Examples of beta-amyloid in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

As new therapies emerge for multiple sclerosis, preventive treatments for migraines, and advances in targeting beta-amyloid, new technological tools have allowed the sector to develop in measurable ways. —Matt Emma, USA Today, 3 June 2026

Cork recently led a meta-analysis of 30 studies investigating the effects of GLP-1s on Alzheimer’s pathology—namely the buildup of beta-amyloid and p-tau—to determine just that. —Jenna Anderson, Health, 2 June 2026

The drugs assessed in the new review, published on Thursday, target beta-amyloid proteins, which form plaques that seem to accumulate in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s. —Claire Cameron, Scientific American, 16 Apr. 2026

First, sleep allows the brain’s glymphatic system to clean out waste, such as beta-amyloid, that accumulates during waking hours, similar to how the lymphatic system clears waste from the rest of the body, Hwang said. —Kaitlin Sullivan, NBC news, 8 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1987, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for beta-amyloid

• corticosteroid
• adenoid
• alkaloid
• amoeboid
• amyloid
• aneroid
• arachnoid
• asteroid
• benzenoid
• carcinoid
• celluloid
• coronoid

Medical Definition

beta-amyloid

noun

be·​ta-am·​y·​loid

variants also β-amyloid

-ˈam-ə-ˌlȯid 

or beta-amyloid protein or beta-amyloid peptide

: an amyloid that is derived from amyloid precursor protein and is the primary component of plaques characteristic of Alzheimer's disease

called also A-beta, amyloid beta, amyloid beta peptide, amyloid beta protein