Abstract

ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE: AN OVERVIEW

Bhavana Patil, Neha Yadav*, Gopal Yadav, Shrikesh Yadav and Suraj Yadav

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Abstract

Alzheimer's disease is one among the foremost devastating brain disorders of elderly humans. It is an undertreated & under-recognized disease that’s becoming a serious public ill health. The last decade has witnessed a steadily increasing effort directed at discovering the etiology of the disease & developing pharmacological treatment. Recent developments include improved clinical diagnostic guidelines & improved treatment of both cognitive disturbance & behavioral problems. Symptomatic treatment mainly that specialize in cholinergic therapy has been clinically evaluated by randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled, parallel-group studies measuring performance-based tests of cognitive function, activities of daily living, & behavior. Cholinesterase inhibitors, including donepezil, tacrine, rivastigmine, & galantamine are the suggested treatment of cognitive disturbance in patients with Alzheimer's disease. The role of estrogen replacement, anti-inflammatory agents, & antioxidants is controversial & needs further study. Antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, anxiolytics, & hypnotics are utilized for the treatment of behavioral disturbance. Future directions within the research & treatment of patients with Alzheimer's disease include: applying functional brain imaging techniques within early diagnosis & evaluation of treatment efficacy; development of latest classes of medicines performing on different neurotransmitter systems (cholinergic, glutamatergic, etc), both for the treatment of the cognitive deficit & therefore the treatment of the behavioral changes; & developing preventive methods (amyloid p-peptide immunizations & inhibitors of β- secretase & γ-secretase).

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, etiology, epidemiology, apolipoprotein E4, cholinesterase inhibitor, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory agent, estrogen replacement therapy, behavioral disturbance.