The formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is linked to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Here we have investigated the effect of soluble and aggregated Aβ and α-synuclein, associated with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease respectively, on the Cu2+-catalyzed formation of ROS in vitro in the presence of a biological reductant. We find that the levels of ROS, and the rate by which ROS is generated, are significantly reduced when the Cu2+ is bound to Aβ or α-synuclein, particularly when they are in the oligomeric or fibrillar forms. This effect is attributed to a combination of radical scavenging and redox silencing mechanisms. Our findings suggest that the increase in ROS associated with the accumulation of aggregated Aβ or α-synuclein does not result from a particularly ROS-active form of these peptides, but rather from either a local increase of Cu2+ and other ROS-active metal ions in the aggregates or as a downstream consequence of the formation of the patho-logical amyloid structures.