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The Neurodegenerative Characteristics of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Multi-Target Drug Design Studies
Published in Peter Grunwald, Pharmaceutical Biocatalysis, 2019
Hayrettin Ozan Gülcan, Ilkay Erdogan Orhan
For many years, the main research topic on AD was the dementia component of disease. Therefore, it is not surprising to see the first drug tacrine, a cholinesterase inhibitor, reaching to the market in the 1980s as a cognition enhancer agent (Crismon, 1994). Following years have witnessed the approval of couple more cholinesterase inhibitors (i.e., galantamine, donepezil, and rivastigmine). Besides, memantine, an NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor antagonist also has obtained license for dementia problems associated with the disease. As it is clearly expressed, these agents only provide symptomatic treatment and have no effect on the progressive neurodegenerative character of the disease (Cummings et al., 2014). AD treatment is looking for better validated pharmacological targets for the radical treatment of the disease.
Neuroprotective role of herbal alternatives in circumventing Alzheimer’s disease through multi-targeting approach - a review
Published in Egyptian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 2022
Sunil K Ravi, Balenahalli Narasingappa Ramesh, Shilpa Kj, Jagadesha Poyya, Jyothsna Karanth, N.G Raju, Chandrashekhar G Joshi
The important etiological factor in the pathogenesis of memory deficit in AD is the impairment in cholinergic transmission [24]. The inhibition of AChE increases the levels of acetylcholine in the brain and thus improves the cholinergic functions in AD patients 25. Hence, cholinesterase inhibitors are currently used as standard drugs for treating AD. Tacrine was the first AChE inhibitor drug approved for AD treatment [26]. Later, many other AChE inhibitors such as rivastigmine, galantamine, and donepezil were also developed and approved by the FDA. These drugs alleviate the symptoms but are associated with side effects when used for an extended period [27]. As AD has reached a state of public health burden, the ever-increasing reports of side effects from these synthetic and hybrid drugs have driven the research for a novel and safe AchE inhibitors from plant sources.