Treatments for Alzheimer's Disease

INTRODUCTION

Throughout history there have been reports of decreased memory and mental deterioration that accompanied old age. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) was named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer who described the symptoms in a woman in Germany in the 1907 but it was not until the 1970’s that AD was considered to be a major disorder and AD continues to be a major health concern worldwide (Reger, 2002).

The onset of symptoms is usually between 40 and 90 years of age, although onset before 65 years of age is considered to be the early onset form of the disease and onset at 40 is very rare (Reger, 2002). Characteristics of AD are extracellular deposits of senile plaques made of complexes of the protein amyloid β and neurofibrillary tangles consisting of hyper-phosphorylated tau protein, both of which block the transmission of neuronal impulses between neurons, which lead to neuronal cell death (Chu et al., 2007). The neuronal cells are not themselves diseased but will die due to lack of activation and intercellular communication. Disease development begins in the hippocampus and then advances to the bilateral temporoparietal cortical areas, leading to the reduction of activity of both the enzyme choline acetyltransferase and subsequent degeneration of neurons that produce the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (Chu et al., 2007).

Observable symptoms can be classified as either mild, moderate, or severe. Characteristically, the mild stage of the disease includes difficulty remembering recent events, difficulty preparing meals and managing finances, disorientation, and social withdrawal, but these patients are capable of living on their own (Grossberg et al., 2010). Moderately affected patients progress to a state in which they seem to be re...

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Reger, B (2002). Alzheimer’s Disease: A Brief History and Avenues for Current Research.

Rockwood, K, Black, S, Bedard MA, et al. (2007). Specific symptomatic changes following Donepezil treatment of Alzheimer’s disease: a multi-centre, primary care, open-label study. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 22: 312-319.

Winblad, B, Cummings, J, Andreasen N, et al. (2007). A six-month double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study of a transdermal patch in Alzheimer’s disease–Rivastigmine patch versus capsule. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry; 22: 456–467.