Alzheimer’s Disease Management: Current Therapy and Recent Drug Development
Mohammad Yaseen Abbasi
Department of Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Pharmacy, Unaizah College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Md. Shamshir Alam *
Department of Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Pharmacy, Unaizah College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Alzheimer’s disease is an age-related central nervous disorder that has created daunting challenges for the treating physicians, the families and the society. Alzheimer’s disease, a leading neurodegenerative disorder worldwide, is a major cause of dementia in the developed and developing countries around the globe. While, there is no definitive cure for Alzheimer’s disease and no treatment is available to reverse or halt its progression. Currently Food Drug Administration approved acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and memantine, a N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Moreover, new therapeutic approaches, including those more closely targeted to the pathogenesis of the disease, are being developed. This potentially disease-modifying therapeutics includes both beta and gamma secretase inhibitors, cholesterol-lowering drugs, amyloid-beta immunotherapy, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, hormonal modulation and the use of antioxidants. In this current review we summarize the available evidences on the newer therapeutic approaches for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
Keywords: Alzheimer, neurodegenerative disorder, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, amyloid-beta immunotherapy, current therapy, clinical trials