New and emerging treatments for Alzheimer’s disease

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other dementias represent a significant and increasing clinical challenge. This review highlights current treatment options for AD and the main focusses of therapies currently being evaluated in clinical trials and for future therapeutic development. Existing treatments slow the progression of symptoms of the disease, but their efficacy does not extend to all people with AD, and benefits are not conveyed beyond an average of 6 months. Despite the substantial economic cost and healthcare burden of AD, which is increasing as populations age, there are currently only three therapies being investigated in Phase III clinical trials. This emphasises the substantial caution and underinvestment in treatment development in this area and why it is critical to address the current lack of effective treatments to target the underlying pathology and disease process in Alzheimer’s disease.

Keywords::

• Alzheimer’s
• amyloid
• dementia
• future
• immunotherapy
• repositioning
• tau
• therapy
• treatment

Financial & competing interests disclosure

C Ballard has received research funding from Lundbeck pharmaceutical company and honoraria from Janssen-Cilag, Novartis, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Bial and Eisai pharmaceutical companies. A Corbett has received honoraria from Novartis, Bial and Lundbeck pharmaceutical companies. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.