The Underlying Mechanisms of Alzheimer’s Disease Uncovered – an Opportunity for New and More Effective Medicines
Tauopathies, specifically Alzheimer’s disease (AD), are neurodegenerative disorders that slowly evoke dementia through years of accumulation of abnormal clumps of amyloid-ß plaques and tangles of mis-folded tau protein aggregates in the brain. The formation of the filamentous neurofibrillary tangles of hyperphosphorylated tau protein is known to be the key pathological feature of AD, as well as a number of other neurodegenerative diseases, and it has been postulated that the excessive accumulation of the amyloid-ß plaques lead to the tangles of tau protein. In addition to the plaques and tangles, there is also a loss of connections between brain neurons. Over time, the neurons lose their ability to function and communicate with other neurons and eventually die. The damage spreads to the hippocampus, an essential structure for memory formation. The damage continues to accumulate until the brain’s supportive functions are no longer possible resulting in death. Approximately one out of every 65 (5.1 million) Americans may have AD and there is no cure. There are, however, four pharmaceutical therapies that are approved by the FDA to treat the symptoms of AD. Donepezil (Aricept®), rivastigmine (Exelon®) and galantamine (Razadyne®) are used to treat mild to moderate AD (donepezil can be used for severe AD as well). Memantine (Namenda®) is used to treat moderate to severe AD. These drugs work by regulating the chemicals that transmit messages between neurons (neurotransmitters). They assist in maintaining thinking, memory, and speaking skills, and help with certain behavioral problems. However, these drugs don’t change the underlying disease processes and appear to be patient specific. read more at: http://edge.criterionbioscience.com/the-underlying-mechanisms-of-alzheimers-disease-uncovered-an-opportunity-for-new-and-more-effective-medicines
