Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia and a major cause of morbidity and mortality. The greatest risk factor for AD is age and as many countries are experiencing an aging population, the expected rise in AD threatens to have serious medical and socioeconomic impact in the coming decades. The only approved medications for AD are symptomatic and there are no currently available disease modifying treatments. Hence, a disease modifying treatment is desperately needed for AD not only for proper care and management of affected patients, but also to reduce society's socioeconomic burden. Developing novel compounds for any indication is a time, effort, and money consuming endeavor and most treatments never make it to market. Other research and development strategies are needed, especially for the treatment of AD. We provide a review of the current literature in assessing possibilities of repurposing medications currently used for non-AD indications. Many different compounds from many different pharmacological classes have already been studied in an AD context. We provide a "pragmatic drug repurposing score" for each of these compounds based on type of studies conducted, number of possible mechanisms of action, efficacy in AD and other neurodegenerative disease studies, tolerability profile, and their ability to cross the blood brain barrier. The current data suggest several compounds worthy of further study as treatments for AD. Compounds with the highest scores include lithium, minocycline, exenatide, valproic acid, methylene blue, and nicotine.
Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, amyloid, dementia, medications, neurodegenerative disease, repurposing, tau, treatment.
Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry
Title:Discovering New Treatments for Alzheimer's Disease by Repurposing Approved Medications
Volume: 13 Issue: 18
Author(s): Brian S. Appleby and Jeffrey L. Cummings
Affiliation:
Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, amyloid, dementia, medications, neurodegenerative disease, repurposing, tau, treatment.
Abstract: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia and a major cause of morbidity and mortality. The greatest risk factor for AD is age and as many countries are experiencing an aging population, the expected rise in AD threatens to have serious medical and socioeconomic impact in the coming decades. The only approved medications for AD are symptomatic and there are no currently available disease modifying treatments. Hence, a disease modifying treatment is desperately needed for AD not only for proper care and management of affected patients, but also to reduce society's socioeconomic burden. Developing novel compounds for any indication is a time, effort, and money consuming endeavor and most treatments never make it to market. Other research and development strategies are needed, especially for the treatment of AD. We provide a review of the current literature in assessing possibilities of repurposing medications currently used for non-AD indications. Many different compounds from many different pharmacological classes have already been studied in an AD context. We provide a "pragmatic drug repurposing score" for each of these compounds based on type of studies conducted, number of possible mechanisms of action, efficacy in AD and other neurodegenerative disease studies, tolerability profile, and their ability to cross the blood brain barrier. The current data suggest several compounds worthy of further study as treatments for AD. Compounds with the highest scores include lithium, minocycline, exenatide, valproic acid, methylene blue, and nicotine.
Export Options
About this article
Cite this article as:
Appleby S. Brian and Cummings L. Jeffrey, Discovering New Treatments for Alzheimer's Disease by Repurposing Approved Medications, Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry 2013; 13 (18) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/15680266113136660162
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/15680266113136660162 |
Print ISSN 1568-0266 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1873-4294 |
Call for Papers in Thematic Issues
Chemistry Based on Natural Products for Therapeutic Purposes
The development of new pharmaceuticals for a wide range of medical conditions has long relied on the identification of promising natural products (NPs). There are over sixty percent of cancer, infectious illness, and CNS disease medications that include an NP pharmacophore, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Since NP ...read more
Current Trends in Drug Discovery Based on Artificial Intelligence and Computer-Aided Drug Design
Drug development discovery has faced several challenges over the years. In fact, the evolution of classical approaches to modern methods using computational methods, or Computer-Aided Drug Design (CADD), has shown promising and essential results in any drug discovery campaign. Among these methods, molecular docking is one of the most notable ...read more
Drug Discovery in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
In the age of artificial intelligence (AI), we have witnessed a significant boom in AI techniques for drug discovery. AI techniques are increasingly integrated and accelerating the drug discovery process. These developments have not only attracted the attention of academia and industry but also raised important questions regarding the selection ...read more
From Biodiversity to Chemical Diversity: Focus of Flavonoids
Flavonoids are the largest group of polyphenols, plant secondary metabolites arising from the essential aromatic amino acid phenylalanine (or more rarely from tyrosine) via the phenylpropanoid pathway. The flavan nucleus is the basic 15-carbon skeleton of flavonoids (C6-C3-C6), which consists of two phenyl rings (A and B) and a heterocyclic ...read more
- Author Guidelines
- Graphical Abstracts
- Fabricating and Stating False Information
- Research Misconduct
- Post Publication Discussions and Corrections
- Publishing Ethics and Rectitude
- Increase Visibility of Your Article
- Archiving Policies
- Peer Review Workflow
- Order Your Article Before Print
- Promote Your Article
- Manuscript Transfer Facility
- Editorial Policies
- Allegations from Whistleblowers
- Announcements
Related Articles
-
Neurobiology of Alzheimer’s Disease: Integrated Molecular, Physiological, Anatomical, Biomarker, and Cognitive Dimensions
Current Alzheimer Research The Trigeminocardiac Reflex as Oxygen Conserving Reflex in Humans: Its Ischemic Tolerance Potential
Vascular Disease Prevention (Discontinued) Beyond Monoamines-Novel Targets for Treatment-Resistant Depression: A Comprehensive Review
Current Neuropharmacology Nonbacterial Thrombotic Endocarditis (Marantic Endocarditis) in Cancer Patients
Cardiovascular & Hematological Disorders-Drug Targets The Effect of Cognitive Remediation Therapy on Social Skills in Institutionalized Elderly Patients with Schizophrenia
Reviews on Recent Clinical Trials Immunotherapy in a Natural Model of Aβ Pathogenesis: The Aging Beagle
CNS & Neurological Disorders - Drug Targets Modulation of Ischemic Brain Injury and Neuroinflammation by Adenosine A2A Receptors
Current Pharmaceutical Design Targeting NO/cGMP Signaling in the CNS for Neurodegeneration and Alzheimer’s Disease
Current Medicinal Chemistry Expression and Function of Cytokines and Chemokines in Neuropsychiatric Related Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Current Rheumatology Reviews Donepezil Base: Physicochemical Characterization, HPLC Method Development, Validation and its Application for the Determination of Shelf Life in Developed Solid Lipid Nanoparticles
Current Nanomedicine The Neuroprotective Role of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) for Neurodegenerative Diseases: A Short Review on Experimental Studies
Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry Pharmacophore-based Drug Design of Novel Potential Tau Ligands for Alzheimer's Disease Treatment
Current Physical Chemistry Oxidative Stress Targeting Amyloid Beta Accumulation and Clearance in Alzheimer’s Disease: Insight into Pathological Mechanisms and Therapeutic Strategies
Current Psychopharmacology Non-Classical Therapeutic Approach in the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease: A Mini Review
Letters in Drug Design & Discovery Diet and Neurocognition: Review of Evidence and Methodological Considerations
Current Aging Science Huntingtons Disease: New Frontiers for Molecular and Cell Therapy
Current Drug Targets Moving to the Rhythm with Clock (Circadian) Genes, Autophagy, mTOR, and SIRT1 in Degenerative Disease and Cancer
Current Neurovascular Research Targeting the NMDA Receptor for Fear-Related Disorders
Recent Patents on CNS Drug Discovery (Discontinued) The Temporal Relationship between Pain Intensity and Pain Interference and Incident Dementia
Current Alzheimer Research Progression of Renal Dysfunction in Patients with Cardiovascular Disease
Current Cardiology Reviews