Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 16, Issue 25, 2010

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative, irreversible disorder clinically characterized by abnormal memory loss along with deterioration of other cognitive abilities as well as motor capacities. AD is a progressive and disabling disorder, which affects particularly the elderly population and is the fourth main cause of death among people over 65 years old in industrialized countries. The greatest risk factor for cognitive declin Read More

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder that affects the elderly. The increase of lifeexpectancy is transforming AD into a major health-care problem. AD is characterized by a progressive impairment of memory and other cognitive skills leading to dementia. The major pathogenic factor associated to AD seems to be amyloid-beta peptide (Aβ) oligomers that tend to accumulate extracellularly Read More

Numerous studies have indicated that Alzheimer's amyloid-β protein (Aβ) causes the degeneration of synapses and neurons, finally inducing the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Recent approaches have emphasized the importance of Aβ oligomerization which enhances its neurotoxicity and synaptotoxicity. Our work as well as other groups' research have demonstrated that Aβ oligomers are directly incorpor Read More

Originally discovered because of its role in the regulation of glucose metabolism, Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3 (GSK-3) is now recognised as a crucial player in a diverse series of cellular processes involved in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. Besides having been identified as the major tau protein kinase, GSK-3 mediates Aβ neurotoxicity, plays an essential role in synaptic plasticity and memory, might be involved in Aβ fo Read More

Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases are the most common neurodegenerative disorders among the aged. The etiologies of these diseases remain to be clarified, but the common disease-modifying factors are confirmed: oxidative stress, apoptosis, mitochondrial dysfunction, excitotoxicity, impaired ubiquitine-proteasome system and inflammation. Neuroprotective therapy is proposed to prevent the disease progression by i Read More

Dual binding site acetylcholinesterase inhibitors have recently emerged as a new class of anti-Alzheimer agents with potential to positively modify the course of the disease. These compounds exhibit a multifunctional pharmacological profile arising from interaction with several biological targets involved upstream and downstream in the neurodegenerative cascade of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The primary target of these Read More

Alzheimer's disease (AD) constitutes a progressive neurodegenerative disorder and the main cause of dementia. Numerous studies have focused on the pathogenic mechanism of AD to cure or prevent this devastating disease. But, despite recent advances, our understanding on the pathophysiology of this genetically complex and heterogeneous disorder is rather limited and treatment of the disease consists of medic Read More

Apoptosis is now recognized as a normal feature in the development of the nervous system and may also play a role in neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease. Cell surface receptors, caspases, mitochondrial factors or p53 participate in the modulation and execution of cell death. Therefore, the ability to understand and manipulate the cell death machinery is an obvious goal of medical research. Pote Read More