Neuropharmacology in Alzheimer and Huntington Disease

Abstract

The Alzheimer’s disease and Huntington’s disease are the two important neurodegenerative disorders currently under research for various therapeutic approaches ranging from newer biochemical molecules, plant extracts and food supplements to highly advanced biotechnological and genetic therapies. Alzheimer’s disease (AD), one of the leading causes of disability in the elderly population is exponentially rising worldwide. The acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and memantine, the mainstay of treatment only slow down the disease progression and provide symptomatic improvement. The cholinesterase inhibitors, rivastigmine and donepezil apart from improving cognition also delay hospitalization and reduce behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia. Other cholinesterase inhibitors and cholinomimetic targets like muscarinic and nicotinic receptor agonists are in development. Extensive research in this area in the past few decades has given insight into the cellular and molecular pathogenesis of the disease. This has led to the development of certain novel strategies to modify the disease progression and prognosis. This includes amyloid and tau-based therapeutics, various immunotherapies, vaccines and food and plant supplements. Other new promising agents under research are anti-inflammatory drugs, neurotrophic factors and antioxidants. Huntington’s disease is a rare inherited neurodegenerative disorder producing motor, cognitive and psychiatric symptoms. A greater understanding of the pathology in the recent past has led to research into the development of newer therapeutic agents mainly DNA and RNA based therapies and technologies using gene editing tools. Several of these putative drugs are in preclinical studies and many of them have failed to show positive results. In this section, we are going to discuss the approved therapies for AD and HD currently in use, the status and evidence regarding drugs in various stages of clinical trial and mention advanced biotechnological and gene therapies under investigation.