title: Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia: prospects of a tailored therapy?
abstract: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent dementia (accounting for 50%-75% of cases of dementia in people aged over 65 years), followed by frontotemporal dementia (FTD) (10%-20% of cases). AD is characterised histopathologically by Abeta-containing amyloid plaques and tau-containing neurofibrillary tangles, whereas FTD exhibits neurofibrillary tangles alone. Current symptomatic treatments of AD are of limited benefit, as they are not directed at the underlying biological basis of the disease. The development of transgenic animal models has provided insight into disease mechanisms and helped define novel drug targets. More than 50 drugs are currently in clinical trials, and novel and more effective drugs targeting both AD and FTD are expected to become available within 5-10 years.
authors.affiliation: Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease Laboratory, Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia. jgoetz@med.usyd.edu.au
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Götz
authors.forename: Lars M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Ittner
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Schonrock
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000187:drug effects; D000818:Animals; D003704:Dementia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D015195:Drug Design; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D024801:Tauopathies / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides