Alzheimer’s Disease - EnVivo

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a complex neurodegenerative disease that affects the brain that was first described in 1906 by German physician Dr. Alois Alzheimer. An estimated 10% of Americans over the age of 65 and 50% of those over age 85 have Alzheimer’s. Currently, more than four million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease and as life-span increases it is projected that 11-16 million Americans will develop Alzheimer’s by 2050. Alzheimer’s is now the third most expensive disease to treat in the U.S., costing society close to $100 billion annually.

The disease is characterized by the key findings: amyloid plaques (extracellular deposits in the brain of a sticky protein called amyloid beta peptide) and neurofibrillary tangles (intracellular abnormally twisted forms of the protein tau, in the long branches of neurons). Both of these abnormal protein deposits have been implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease but the exact cause remains unclear.

Over time, the disease destroys large areas of the brain resulting in a gradual loss of memory, problems with reasoning or judgment, disorientation, difficulty in learning, loss of language skills, and decline in the ability to perform routine tasks. People with Alzheimer’s also experience changes in their personalities and behavioral problems, such as agitation, anxiety, delusions (believing in a reality that does not exist), and hallucinations (seeing things that do not exist) leaving its victims with little comprehension or awareness.

From the onset of symptoms, the disease runs its course in 2 to 15 years. Seven years is the typical disease course, but patients may survive as long as 20 years. Alzheimer’s always ends in death, typically from pneumonia, lack of nutrition or secondary medical problems.

Four medications are currently approved by regulatory agencies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) to treat the cognitive manifestations of AD: three are acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and the other is Memantine, an NMDA receptor antagonist. Acetylcholine (ACh) is a brain neurotransmitter involved in cognition. Acetylcholine-esterase (AChE) breaks down ACh. The AChE inhibitors block the breakdown of ACh, increase ACh levels and have modest pro-cognitive effects. They do not have any effect on the progression of the AD and they are associated with a variety of side effects. No drug has an indication for delaying or halting the progression of the disease

For more information:
http://www.alzforum.org/home.asp
http://www.alz.org/