Therapeutic approaches to Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

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 ∼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. © 2006 The Author(s).