Prospects for pharmacological intervention in Alzheimer disease

Abstract

Alzheimer disease (AD) involves neuronal degeneration with impaired cholinergic transmission in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus in areas of the brain particularly associated with memory and higher intellectual functioning. Other neurotransmitter deficits also occur, but the mechanisms underlying the widespread impairment of synaptic functions remain uncertain. Research on the molecular basis of AD has elucidated a pathogenic pathway from which a range of rational pharmacological interventions has emerged. Although at least 3 cholinesterase inhibitors (tacrine hydrochloride, donepezil, and rivastigmine tartrate) are now available and provide patients with modest relief, the most promising..