[Treatment of Alzheimer's disease].
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder with a decline in memory and cognitive abilities. During the past 20 years, research on AD has increased the knowledge of the physiopathological mechanisms leading to the disease. The major hallmarks of AD are amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, associated with a prevalent and early cholinergic deficit and an excitotoxicity with inflammation. These pathological mechanisms represent current and future therapeutic targets. cholinesterase inhibitors were the first therapeutic class that has consistently shown a clinical efficacy and safety in patients with mild to moderate ad. more recently glutamate receptor antagonists have been shown effective in the management of patients with moderate to severe AD. These two therapeutic classes could improve cognitive functions, slow the progression of the cognitive decline, prevent some behavioural changes and delay institutionalisation. However, AD represents a problem of public health and preventive and curative strategies have to be proposed.
Bombois
Stéphanie
S
Centre mémoire de ressource et de recherche, EA 2691, CHRU de Lille, 59037 Lille. s-bombois@chru-lille.fr
Lebert
Florence
F
Vellas
Bruno
B
Pasquier
Florence
F
D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology; D018450:Disease Progression; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000502:physiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate