ベータアミロイド仮説に基づくアルツハイマー病治療薬の開発研究

概要

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Currently, there are five anti-Alzheimers disease drugs approved. These are tacrine, donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine, and memantine. The mechanism of the first four drugs is acetylcholinesterase inhibition, while memantine is an NMDA-receptor antagonist. However, these drugs do not cure Alzheimers, but are only symptomatic treatments. Therefore, a cure for Alzheimers disease is truly needed. Alzheimers disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by cognitive deficits. The cause of the disease is not well understood, but research indicates that the aggregation of β-amyloid is the fundamental cause. This theory suggests that β-amyloid aggregation causes neurotoxicity. Therefore, development of the next anti-Alzheimers disease drug is based on the β-amyloid theory. We are now studying natural products, such as mulberry leaf extracts and curcumin derivatives, as potential cure for Alzheimers disease. In this report, we describe some data about these natural products and derivatives.