Alkenylboronic acids have shown important biological activities that contribute to neuroprotection. We have determined their influence on the β-amyloid (βA) aggregation process, β-secretase and acethylcholinesterase activities on cell-free systems, on the redox and lipid peroxidation status, and on the vulnerability to apoptotic death in an APPswe neuroblastoma cell line, before and after hydrogen peroxide treatment. We have discovered that 2-arylvinylboronic acids and some of their esters possess a set of properties which makes them highly useful as neuroprotective agents affecting multiple biological targets involved in AD. These properties are not paralleled by the related 2-arylboronic acids. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.