[Current and future medical treatment of Alzheimer's disease].
The current treatment of Alzheimer's disease (MA) is based on a symptomatic pharmacological therapy of the cognitive decline and the behavioural disturbances. Progress towards understanding the cellular and molecular alterations responsible for the disease promise therapeutic strategies based upon the pathological processes. Corrections of dysregulations of the brain's neurotransmitters (cholinergic deficit and glutamatergic overstimulation) bring significant but modest therapeutic improvement. The pivotal role of the proteolytic processing of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) in neuronal death suggests pharmacological inhibition of the secretases; amyloid antiaggregant therapies are possible, vaccination against AB wil need new immunisation protocols, Anti-inflammatory drugs and antioxydant agents as calcium channel blockers could help against the neurotoxic cascade of Abeta, some cholesterol-lowering drugs could enhance its clearance. This article reviews the available data on current pharmacological treatments, and the future possible strategies that could modify the evolution, or prevent Alzheimer's disease.
Lemper
J C
JC
Service de Gériatrie, Centre Gériatrique Scheutbos, Bruxelles.
D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014612:Vaccines / Q000627:therapeutic use
D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents; D014612:Vaccines