  We discuss conditions to be put on mean-field-like theories to be able to
describe fundamental physical phenomena in disordered electron systems. In
particular, we investigate options for a consistent mean-field theory of
electron localization and for a reliable description of transport properties.
We argue that a mean-field theory for the Anderson localization transition must
be electron-hole symmetric and self-consistent at the two-particle (vertex)
level. We show that such a theory with local equations can be derived from the
asymptotic limit to high spatial dimensions. The weight of the diffusion pole,
i. e., the number of diffusive states at the Fermi energy, in this mean-field
theory decreases with the increasing disorder strength and vanishes in the
localized phase. Consequences of the disclosed behavior for our understanding
of vanishing of electron diffusion are discussed.
