Alzheimer's Disease

New York, Global Insight Services have recently published a report on Alzheimer's Disease - Drug Pipeline Landscape, 2023.

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, degenerative brain disorder that attacks the brain's nerve cells, or neurons, and causes them to waste away. This disease is characterized by a slow, gradual decline in memory, thinking, and reasoning skills. Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia, accounting for 60 to 80 percent of all cases. Dementia is a general term for a decline in mental ability severe enough to interfere with daily life.

Alzheimer's disease is named after German physician Alois Alzheimer. In 1906, Dr. Alzheimer noticed changes in the brain tissue of a patient who had died of an unusual mental illness. He found abnormal clumps (now called amyloid plaques) and tangled bundles of fibers (now called neurofibrillary tangles) among the patient's brain cells. These discoveries provide some of the first hints about what happens in the brains of people with Alzheimer's.

Alzheimer's disease has is no cure, medications temporarily slow the worsening of dementia symptoms and help with behavioral problems that may appear. Treatment of Alzheimer's disease include cholinesterase inhibitors like donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine; NMDA antagonist like memantine.

There are many clinical trials currently ongoing in Alzheimer's disease drug development. Some of the most promising trials are studying new ways to treat the disease, such as by targeting specific proteins that are thought to be involved in the development of Alzheimer's. Other trials are studying new drugs that may help to improve symptoms or slow the progression of the disease. still others are investigating new ways to diagnose Alzheimer's early, before symptoms begin.