Therapeutic approaches to Alzheimer's disease.
Alzheimer's disease is an age-related progressive neurodegenerative disorder with an enormous unmet medical need. It is the most common form of dementia affecting approximately 5% of adults over 65 years. In view of our ageing society the number of patients, as well as the economical and social impact, is expected to grow dramatically in the future. Currently available medications appear to be able to produce moderate symptomatic benefits but not to stop disease progression. The search for novel therapeutic approaches targeting the presumed underlying pathogenic mechanisms has been a major focus of research and it is expected that novel medications with disease-modifying properties will emerge from these efforts in the future. In this review, currently available drugs as well as novel therapeutic strategies, in particular those targeting amyloid and tau pathologies, are discussed.
Klafki
Hans-Wolfgang
HW
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany.
Staufenbiel
Matthias
M
Kornhuber
Johannes
J
Wiltfang
Jens
J
D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000502:physiology; D002491:Central Nervous System Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D038362:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods; D058225:Plaque, Amyloid / Q000187:drug effects; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors
D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D002491:Central Nervous System Agents; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D038362:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3; C080888:tau-protein kinase