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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease in the developed world. The increasing life expectancy in the last years has led to an increase in the prevalence of this age-related condition and has posed an important medical and social challenge for developed societies. The mainstays of current therapy for AD rely on the cholinergic hypothesis developed more than 20 years ago. These compounds, known as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs), inhibit the cholinesterases and aim at improving the brain synaptic availability of acetylcholine. These drugs have been approved for the treatment of AD based on pivotal clinical trials showing modest symptomatic benefit on cognitive, behavioral, and global measures. Memantine, an NMDA antagonist, has been recently included as a therapeutic option for AD. Memantine can be combined safely with AChEIs for an additional symptomatic benefit. During the last years our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of AD has markedly expanded. Several putative neuroprotective drugs are thoroughly investigated and many of them have reached the clinical arena. It can be anticipated that some of these drugs will be able to slow/prevent the progression of this condition in the near future.
Pubmed ID: 19415128
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Registry and results database of federally and privately supported clinical trials conducted in United States and around world. Provides information about purpose of trial, who may participate, locations, and phone numbers for more details. This information should be used in conjunction with advice from health care professionals.Offers information for locating federally and privately supported clinical trials for wide range of diseases and conditions. Research study in human volunteers to answer specific health questions. Interventional trials determine whether experimental treatments or new ways of using known therapies are safe and effective under controlled environments. Observational trials address health issues in large groups of people or populations in natural settings. ClinicalTrials.gov contains trials sponsored by National Institutes of Health, other federal agencies, and private industry. Studies listed in database are conducted in all 50 States and in 178 countries.
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