Anti-dementia medications: current prescriptions in clinical practice and new agents in progress

Author(s)

Stella, Florindo ^{[1, 2, 3]} ; Radanovic, Marcia ; Canineu, Paulo Renato ^{[2, 3, 4]} ; de Paula, Vanessa J. R. ^{[2, 3]} ; Forlenza, Orestes V. ^{[2, 3]}

Affiliation

^[1] UNESP Univ Estadual Paulista, Biosci Inst, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Med, Dept & Inst Psychiat, BR-05403010 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Med, Lab Neurosci LIM 27, Rua Dr Ovidio Pires Campos 785, BR-05403010 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[4] Pontificia Univ Catolica Sao Paulo, Gerontol Program, Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Document type: Review article
• Source: THERAPEUTIC ADVANCES IN DRUG SAFETY; v. 6, n. 4, p. 151-165, AUG 2015.
• Web of Science Citations: 17

Abstract

Almost three decades after the publication of the first clinical studies with tacrine, the pharmacological treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains a challenge. Randomized clinical trials have yielded evidence of significant - although modest and transient - benefit from cholinergic replacement therapy for people diagnosed with AD, and disease modification with antidementia compounds is still an urgent, unmet need. The natural history of AD is very long, and its pharmacological treatment must acknowledge different needs according to the stage of the disease process. Cognitive and functional deterioration evolves gradually since the onset of clinical symptoms, which may be preceded by several years or perhaps decades of silent, presymptomatic neurodegeneration. Therefore, the pharmacological treatment of AD must ideally comprise both a symptomatic effect to preserve or improve cognition and a disease-modifying effect to tackle the progression of the pathological process. Primary prevention is the ultimate goal, should these strategies be delivered to patients with preclinical AD. In this article, we briefly address the pharmaceutical compounds that are currently used for the symptomatic treatment of AD and discuss the ongoing strategies designed to modify its natural course. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 09/52825-8 - Neurobiology of Alzheimer's disease: risk markers, prognosis and therapeutic response
• Grantee: Wagner Farid Gattaz
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants