Individuals suffering from Alzheimer's disease (AD) exhibit dramatic reductions in the content of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), increased expression of CRF receptors (CRFRs) and abnormalities in neuronal morphology in affected brain areas. In addition, AD patients show decreased concentrations of CRF in their cerebrospinal fluid, which may contribute to their cognitive impairment. A high affinity CRF binding protein, designated CRF-BP, has been discovered in post-mortem brain samples from AD patients. CRF-BP serves to bind and inactivate CRF, reducing the pool of