Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2000 Feb; 2(1): 20-3.

Current and future treatments for cognitive deficits in dementia.

McLendon BM, Chen GG, Doraiswamy PM.

Duke University Medical Center, Box 3018, Durham, NC 27710, USA. murali@acpub.duke.edu

In this article, we primarily focus on the treatment approaches currently marketed and in advanced stages of development for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles remain the pathologic hallmarks of AD, and much progress has been made in unraveling the molecular biology of these changes. In addition, there is also intense research into inflammatory and oxidative mechanisms as well as vascular and neurochemical alterations in AD. Therapies targeted at these mechanisms are discussed.