The anti-dementia drugs: myth, hype or reality?
The neurodegenerative diseases are in need of drugs that are capable of treating their many different presentations. Some drugs have recently been developed and approved by the authorities for use in Alzheimer's disease; their beneficial effects are no longer questionable. From the discussion about what to call these drugs (anti-dementia drugs?), it is apparent that pharmacology research has veered from pursuing the myth of the fountain of eternal youth back to the reality of the struggle for survival of neurons whenever they are attacked, long before the signs of dementia have developed (antiapoptotic drugs?). The neurosciences teach that there is a biology of cognition (hence a pharmacology of cognition), and that the brain is the permanent area of the confrontation between neurogenesis and apoptosis. Pharmacology has taken this new understanding on board, and has finally defined its objective as preventing the decline of the neuron as much as of cognitive performance. It remains for clinicians to confirm the authenticity of this worldwide project.
Allain
Hervé
H
Laboratoire de Pharmacologie Expérimentale et Clinique et Centre Mémoire Ressources Recherche, Faculté de Médecine, Université de Rennes I, Rennes, France. herve.allain@univrennes1.fr
Hervé
Allain
A
Bentué-Ferrer
Danièle
D