Treatment of Alzheimer's disease: Classical therapeutic approach

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex and progressive neurodegenerative disorder, and represents the most common form of dementia. The number of people affected by AD is estimated to be doubled by the year of 2050, and more than 100 million people worldwide will be affected by this disease. Still, there is no reliable diagnostic test which would indicate pre-symptomatic conditions or an increased risk of developing AD. The only drugs approved by the FDA belong to the cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEI) group, such as donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine and memantine that belongs to a class of drugs named receptor NMDA antagonists. Most mainstream pharmacotherapeutic approaches act by slowing the progression of the condition rather than to treat or prevent the cause of AD. In this review we are presenting literature data from recent research related to new avenues in the classical approach to prevention and treatment of AD.