Current Treatments of AD
The treatments that are now available for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are
restricted to symptom management and delaying cognitive loss;
nevertheless, they do not offer a cure for the
condition12. Patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s
disease are often given medications to help retain mental function and
reduce memory loss13. Some examples of these
medications include donepezil, rivastigmine, and memantine. Donepezil
blocks the action of an enzyme called cholinesterase, which stops the
breakdown of acetylcholine in the brain12,13.
Rivastigmine prevents the breakdown of acetylcholine as well as
butyrylcholine, whereas memantine obstructs the deleterious effects of
glutamate and regulates its activation. Both of these effects are caused
by the accumulation of glutamate in the body 12,13.
It is difficult to identify clinical trial subjects for possible
therapeutic drugs which is one of the reasons why Alzheimer’s disease
(AD) is so difficult to cure. Another reason for the difficulty of
treating AD is that the biochemical processes underlying AD pathogenesis
are not completely understood. At this point in time, the primary
objective of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research is the development of
treatments that inhibit the progression of the disease by focusing on
genetic, cellular, and molecular pathways. For instance, therapies now
in development focus on beta-amyloid proteins, tau clumps, and
phosphorylation of tau. In addition to preserving cerebrovascular
function, the synaptic functions and certain neurotransmitters. The
medicines in question seek to do so. Utilizing nanoparticulate systems
as a means of delivering drugs in a targeted manner enables these
exploratory treatments to exert an even greater beneficial impact on
patients 12,13.