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.