Advances in Alzheimer's disease's pharmacological treatment - PubMed
- ️Sun Jan 01 2023
Review
Advances in Alzheimer's disease's pharmacological treatment
Carlos Elias Conti Filho et al. Front Pharmacol. 2023.
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia in the elderly. Several hypotheses emerged from AD pathophysiological mechanisms. However, no neuronal protective or regenerative drug is available nowadays. Researchers still work in drug development and are finding new molecular targets to treat AD. Therefore, this study aimed to summarize main advances in AD pharmacological therapy. Clinical trials registered in the National Library of Medicine database were selected and analyzed accordingly to molecular targets, therapeutic effects, and safety profile. The most common outcome was the lack of efficacy. Only seven trials concluded that tested drugs were safe and induced any kind of therapeutic improvement. Three works showed therapeutic effects followed by toxicity. In addition to aducanumab recent FDA approval, antibodies against amyloid-β (Aβ) showed no noteworthy results. 5-HT6 antagonists, tau inhibitors and nicotinic agonists' data were discouraging. However, anti-Aβ vaccine, BACE inhibitor and anti-neuroinflammation drugs showed promising results.
Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; drug development; molecular target; new drugs; pharmacological treatment.
Copyright © 2023 Conti Filho, Loss, Marcolongo-Pereira, Rossoni Junior, Barcelos, Chiarelli-Neto, Silva, Passamani Ambrosio, Castro, Teixeira and Mezzomo.
Conflict of interest statement
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Figures

Main potential targets for drug design in AD and relation of its pathways. (A) AD’s targets used to develop new drugs in clinical trials evaluated in this work. (B) All mechanisms related to AD pathogenesis and progression are connected and were explored in these clinical trials, such as Aβ and tau aggregation; BACE-1, γ-secretase, or glutaminyl cyclase activity; neuroinflammation; excitotoxicity; 5-HT7R or 5-HT6R hyperstimulation and cholinergic impairment.
Similar articles
-
Peng Y, Jin H, Xue YH, Chen Q, Yao SY, Du MQ, Liu S. Peng Y, et al. Front Aging Neurosci. 2023 Aug 3;15:1206572. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2023.1206572. eCollection 2023. Front Aging Neurosci. 2023. PMID: 37600514 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Tolar M, Abushakra S, Hey JA, Porsteinsson A, Sabbagh M. Tolar M, et al. Alzheimers Res Ther. 2020 Aug 12;12(1):95. doi: 10.1186/s13195-020-00663-w. Alzheimers Res Ther. 2020. PMID: 32787971 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Emerging drugs to reduce abnormal β-amyloid protein in Alzheimer's disease patients.
Panza F, Seripa D, Solfrizzi V, Imbimbo BP, Lozupone M, Leo A, Sardone R, Gagliardi G, Lofano L, Creanza BC, Bisceglia P, Daniele A, Bellomo A, Greco A, Logroscino G. Panza F, et al. Expert Opin Emerg Drugs. 2016 Dec;21(4):377-391. doi: 10.1080/14728214.2016.1241232. Epub 2016 Oct 6. Expert Opin Emerg Drugs. 2016. PMID: 27678025 Review.
-
PTI-125 Reduces Biomarkers of Alzheimer's Disease in Patients.
Wang HY, Pei Z, Lee KC, Lopez-Brignoni E, Nikolov B, Crowley CA, Marsman MR, Barbier R, Friedmann N, Burns LH. Wang HY, et al. J Prev Alzheimers Dis. 2020;7(4):256-264. doi: 10.14283/jpad.2020.6. J Prev Alzheimers Dis. 2020. PMID: 32920628 Clinical Trial.
-
Alzheimer's Disease: Treatment Today and Tomorrow.
Gorthi SP, Gupta D. Gorthi SP, et al. Ann Indian Acad Neurol. 2023 Jul-Aug;26(4):326-333. doi: 10.4103/aian.aian_254_23. Epub 2023 Aug 28. Ann Indian Acad Neurol. 2023. PMID: 37970257 Free PMC article.
Cited by
-
Tondo G, De Marchi F, Bonardi F, Menegon F, Verrini G, Aprile D, Anselmi M, Mazzini L, Comi C. Tondo G, et al. J Clin Med. 2024 May 25;13(11):3098. doi: 10.3390/jcm13113098. J Clin Med. 2024. PMID: 38892809 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Sulfonamide Derivatives: Recent Compounds with Potent Anti-alzheimer's Disease Activity.
Egbujor MC. Egbujor MC. Cent Nerv Syst Agents Med Chem. 2024;24(1):82-104. doi: 10.2174/0118715249278489231128042135. Cent Nerv Syst Agents Med Chem. 2024. PMID: 38275073 Review.
-
Gomez-Sequeda N, Jimenez-Del-Rio M, Velez-Pardo C. Gomez-Sequeda N, et al. Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Apr 30;25(9):4925. doi: 10.3390/ijms25094925. Int J Mol Sci. 2024. PMID: 38732141 Free PMC article.
-
Cáceres C, Heusser B, Garnham A, Moczko E. Cáceres C, et al. Cells. 2023 Nov 21;12(23):2669. doi: 10.3390/cells12232669. Cells. 2023. PMID: 38067098 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Ye L, Ajuyo NMC, Wu Z, Yuan N, Xiao Z, Gu W, Zhao J, Pei Y, Min Y, Wang D. Ye L, et al. Curr Issues Mol Biol. 2024 Sep 14;46(9):10160-10179. doi: 10.3390/cimb46090606. Curr Issues Mol Biol. 2024. PMID: 39329958 Free PMC article.
References
-
- Alzheimer A. (1906). Über einen eigenartigen schweren Erkrankungsprozeß der Hirnrinde. Neurol. Cent. 23, 1129–1136.
Publication types
Grants and funding
This work was supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Inovação do Espírito Santo (FAPES) grant number 931/2022 P: 2022-2N1DV.
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources