Progress in Target Drug Molecules for Alzheimer's Disease

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiayang Xie ◽  
Ruirui Liang ◽  
Yajiang Wang ◽  
Junyi Huang ◽  
Xin Cao ◽  
...  

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that 4 widespread in the elderly. The etiology of AD is complicated, and its pathogenesis is still unclear. Although there are many researches on anti-AD drugs, they are limited to reverse relief symptoms and cannot treat diseases. Therefore, the development of high-efficiency anti-AD drugs with no side effects has become an urgent need. Based on the published literature, this paper summarizes the main targets of AD and their drugs, and focuses on the research and development progress of these drugs in recent years.

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Li Yang ◽  
Cheng Xuan ◽  
Caiyan Yu ◽  
Pinpin Zheng ◽  
Jing Yan

Background: With the accelerating aging process, the number of participants with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is rising sharply, causing a huge economic burden. Objective: This study aimed to identify blood protein and metabolic biomarkers and explore the diagnostic model for AD among elderly in southeast China. Methods: We established a cohort among population with high risk AD in Zhejiang Province in 2018. Case and control groups each consisting of 45 subjects, matched for gender and age, were randomly selected from the cohort. Based on bioinformatics research, PRM/MRM technology was used to detect candidate biomarkers. Ensemble-based feature selection and machine learning methods was used to screen important variables as risk indicators for AD. Based on the risk biomarkers, the risk diagnostic model of AD in the elderly was constructed and evaluated. Results: Cystine and CPB2 were evaluated as biomarkers. The diagnostic model is constructed using logistic regression algorithm with the best cutoff value, sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 0.554, 0.895, 0.976, and 0.938, respectively, which determined by Youden’s index. The results showed that the model with protein and metabolite had a high efficiency. Conclusion: It showed that the diagnostic model constructed by Cystine and CPB2 had a good performance on sample classification. This study was of great significance for the early screening and diagnosis of AD, timely intervention, control and delay the development of dementia in southeast China.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Chinonye A Maduagwuna ◽  

Study background: Chronic neuroinflammation is a common emerging hallmark of several neurodegenerative diseases. Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia among the elderly and is characterized by loss of memory and other cognitive functions.


Author(s):  
Georgiana Uță ◽  
Denisa Ștefania Manolescu ◽  
Speranța Avram

Background.: Currently, the pharmacological management in Alzheimer's disease is based on several chemical structures, represented by acetylcholinesterase and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor ligands, with still unclear molecular mechanisms, but severe side effects. For this reason, a challenge for Alzheimer's disease treatment remains to identify new drugs with reduced side effects. Recently, the natural compounds, in particular certain chemical compounds identified in the essential oil of peppermint, sage, grapes, sea buckthorn, have increased interest as possible therapeutics. Objectives.: In this paper, we have summarized data from the recent literature, on several chemical compounds extracted from Salvia officinalis L., with therapeutic potential in Alzheimer's disease. Methods.: In addition to the wide range of experimental methods performed in vivo and in vitro, also we presented some in silico studies of medicinal compounds. Results. Through this mini-review, we present the latest information regarding the therapeutic characteristics of natural compounds isolated from Salvia officinalis L. in Alzheimer's disease. Conclusion.: Thus, based on the information presented, we can say that phytotherapy is a reliable therapeutic method in a neurodegenerative disease.


Author(s):  
Zeba Firdaus ◽  
Tryambak Deo Singh

: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an age-associated nervous system disorder and a leading cause of dementia worldwide. Clinically it is described by cognitive impairment, and pathophysiologically by deposition of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain and neurodegeneration. This article reviews the pathophysiology, course of neuronal degeneration, and the various possible hypothesis of AD progression. These hypotheses include amyloid cascade, tau hyperphosphorylation, cholinergic disruption, metal dysregulation, vascular dysfunction, oxidative stress, and neuroinflammation. There is an exponential increase in the occurrence of the AD in recent few years that indicate an urgent need to develop some effective treatment. Currently, only 2 classes of drugs are available for AD treatment namely acetylcholinesterase inhibitor and NMDA receptor antagonist. Since AD is a complex neurological disorder and these drugs use a single target approach, alternatives are needed due to limited effectiveness and unpleasant side-effects of these drugs. Currently, plants have been used for drug development research especially because of their multiple sites of action and fewer side effects. Uses of some herbs and phytoconstituents for the management of neuronal disorders like AD have been documented in this article. Phytochemical screening of these plants shows the presence of many beneficial constituents like flavonoids, triterpenes, alkaloids, sterols, polyphenols, and tannins. These compounds show a wide array of pharmacological activities such as anti-amyloidogenic, anticholinesterase, and antioxidant. This article summarizes the present understanding of AD progression and gathers biochemical evidence from various works on natural products that can be useful in the management of this disease.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md. Sahab Uddin ◽  
Sharifa Hasana ◽  
Md. Farhad Hossain ◽  
Md. Siddiqul Islam ◽  
Tapan Behl ◽  
...  

: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia in the elderly and this complex disorder is associated with environmental as well as genetic components. Early-onset AD (EOAD) and late-onset AD (LOAD, more common) are major identified types of AD. The genetics of EOAD is extensively understood with three genes variants such as APP, PSEN1, and PSEN2 leading to disease. On the other hand, some common alleles including APOE are effectively associated with LOAD identified but the genetics of LOAD is not clear to date. It has been accounted that about 5% to 10% of EOAD patients can be explained through mutations in the three familiar genes of EOAD. The APOE ε4 allele augmented the severity of EOAD risk in carriers, and APOE ε4 allele was considered as a hallmark of EOAD. A great number of EOAD patients, who are not genetically explained, indicate that it is not possible to identify disease- triggering genes yet. Although several genes have been identified through using the technology of next-generation sequencing in EOAD families including SORL1, TYROBP, and NOTCH3. A number of TYROBP variants were identified through exome sequencing in EOAD patients and these TYROBP variants may increase the pathogenesis of EOAD. The existence of ε4 allele is responsible for increasing the severity of EOAD. However, several ε4 allele carriers live into their 90s that propose the presence of other LOAD genetic as well as environmental risk factors that are not identified yet. It is urgent to find out missing genetics of EOAD and LOAD etiology to discover new potential genetics facets which will assist to understand the pathological mechanism of AD. These investigations should contribute to developing a new therapeutic candidate for alleviating, reversing and preventing AD. This article based on current knowledge represents the overview of the susceptible genes of EOAD, and LOAD. Next, we represent the probable molecular mechanism which might elucidate the genetic etiology of AD and highlight the role of massively parallel sequencing technologies for novel gene discoveries.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shohei Kato ◽  
Akira Homma ◽  
Takuto Sakuma

Objective: This study presents a novel approach for early detection of cognitive impairment in the elderly. The approach incorporates the use of speech sound analysis, multivariate statistics, and data-mining techniques. We have developed a speech prosody-based cognitive impairment rating (SPCIR) that can distinguish between cognitively normal controls and elderly people with mild Alzheimer's disease (mAD) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) using prosodic signals extracted from elderly speech while administering a questionnaire. Two hundred and seventy-three Japanese subjects (73 males and 200 females between the ages of 65 and 96) participated in this study. The authors collected speech sounds from segments of dialogue during a revised Hasegawa's dementia scale (HDS-R) examination and talking about topics related to hometown, childhood, and school. The segments correspond to speech sounds from answers to questions regarding birthdate (T1), the name of the subject's elementary school (T2), time orientation (Q2), and repetition of three-digit numbers backward (Q6). As many prosodic features as possible were extracted from each of the speech sounds, including fundamental frequency, formant, and intensity features and mel-frequency cepstral coefficients. They were refined using principal component analysis and/or feature selection. The authors calculated an SPCIR using multiple linear regression analysis. Conclusion: In addition, this study proposes a binary discrimination model of SPCIR using multivariate logistic regression and model selection with receiver operating characteristic curve analysis and reports on the sensitivity and specificity of SPCIR for diagnosis (control vs. MCI/mAD). The study also reports discriminative performances well, thereby suggesting that the proposed approach might be an effective tool for screening the elderly for mAD and MCI.


2021 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 405-422
Author(s):  
MG Figueiro ◽  
HC Kales

Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias is the collective term for a progressive neurodegenerative disease for which there is presently no cure. This paper focuses on two symptoms of the disease, sleep disturbances and depression, and discusses how light can be used as a non-pharmacological intervention to mitigate their negative effects. Bright days and dark nights are needed for health and well-being, but the present components of the built environment, especially those places where older adults spend most of their days, are too dimly illuminated during the day and too bright at night. To be effective light needs to be correctly specified, implemented and measured. Yet, without the appropriate specification and measurement of the stimulus, researchers will not be able to successfully demonstrate positive results in the field, nor will lighting designers and specifiers have the confidence to implement lighting solutions for promoting better sleep and mood in this population.


2010 ◽  
Vol 30 (11) ◽  
pp. 1883-1889 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allyson R Zazulia ◽  
Tom O Videen ◽  
John C Morris ◽  
William J Powers

Studies in transgenic mice overexpressing amyloid precursor protein (APP) demonstrate impaired autoregulation of cerebral blood flow (CBF) to changes in arterial pressure and suggest that cerebrovascular dysfunction may be critically important in the development of pathological Alzheimer's disease (AD). Given the relevance of such a finding for guiding hypertension treatment in the elderly, we assessed autoregulation in individuals with AD. Twenty persons aged 75±6 years with very mild or mild symptomatic AD (Clinical Dementia Rating 0.5 or 1.0) underwent 15O-positron emission tomography (PET) CBF measurements before and after mean arterial pressure (MAP) was lowered from 107±13 to 92±9 mm Hg with intravenous nicardipine; 11C-PIB-PET imaging and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were also obtained. There were no significant differences in mean CBF before and after MAP reduction in the bilateral hemispheres (−0.9±5.2 mL per 100 g per minute, P=0.4, 95% confidence interval (CI)=−3.4 to 1.5), cortical borderzones (−1.9±5.0 mL per 100 g per minute, P=0.10, 95% CI=−4.3 to 0.4), regions of T2W-MRI-defined leukoaraiosis (−0.3±4.4 mL per 100 g per minute, P=0.85, 95% CI=−3.3 to 3.9), or regions of peak 11C-PIB uptake (−2.5±7.7 mL per 100 g per minute, P=0.30, 95% CI=−7.7 to 2.7). The absence of significant change in CBF with a 10 to 15 mm Hg reduction in MAP within the normal autoregulatory range demonstrates that there is neither a generalized nor local defect of autoregulation in AD.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 391-401
Author(s):  
Jiang Cheng ◽  
Guowei Wang ◽  
Na Zhang ◽  
Fang Li ◽  
Lina Shi ◽  
...  

AbstractBackground:Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an ultimately fatal, degenerative brain disease in the elderly people. In the current work, we assessed the defensive capability of isovitexin (IVX) through an intracerebroventricular injection of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced AD mouse model.Methods:Mice were separated into four cohorts: sham-operated control mice; STZ-intoxicated Alzheimer’s mice; IVX cohort, IVX + STZ; and Ant-107 cohort, antagomiR-107 + IVX/STZ as in the IVX cohort.Results:The outcomes indicated that IVX administration ameliorated spatial memory loss and blunted a cascade of neuro-noxious episodes – including increased amyloid-beta (Aβ) and degraded myelin basic protein burden, neuroinflammation (represented by elevated caspase-1, TNF-α and IL-6 levels) and autophagic dysfunction (represented by altered LC3-II, Atg7 and beclin-1 expressions) – via the inhibition of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signalling axis. We considered the question of whether the epigenetic role of microRNA-107 (miR-107) has any impact on these events, by using antagomiR-107.Conclusion:This probing underscored that miR-107 could be a pivotal regulatory button in the activation of molecular signals linked with the beneficial autophagic process and anti-inflammatory activities in relation to IVX treatment. Hence, this report exemplifies that IVX could guard against Aβ toxicity and serve as an effectual treatment for patients afflicted with AD.


2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 674-681 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sietske A.M. Sikkes ◽  
Dirk L. Knol ◽  
Mark T. van den Berg ◽  
Elly S.M. de Lange-de Klerk ◽  
Philip Scheltens ◽  
...  

AbstractA decline in everyday cognitive functioning is important for diagnosing dementia. Informant questionnaires, such as the informant questionnaire on cognitive decline in the elderly (IQCODE), are used to measure this. Previously, conflicting results on the IQCODEs ability to discriminate between Alzheimer's disease (AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and cognitively healthy elderly were found. We aim to investigate whether specific groups of items are more useful than others in discriminating between these patient groups. Informants of 180 AD, 59 MCI, and 89 patients with subjective memory complaints (SMC) completed the IQCODE. To investigate the grouping of questionnaire items, we used a two-dimensional graded response model (GRM).The association between IQCODE, age, gender, education, and diagnosis was modeled using structural equation modeling. The GRM with two groups of items fitted better than the unidimensional model. However, the high correlation between the dimensions (r=.90) suggested unidimensionality. The structural model showed that the IQCODE was able to differentiate between all patient groups. The IQCODE can be considered as unidimensional and as a useful addition to diagnostic screening in a memory clinic setting, as it was able to distinguish between AD, MCI, and SMC and was not influenced by gender or education. (JINS, 2011, 17, 674–681)


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