Novel strategies for the prevention of dementia from Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

As the world's population continues to age, Alzheimer's disease presents a looming public health crisis that, left unchecked, threatens to overwhelm health care systems throughout the developed world. In order to significantly tackle the most catastrophic and devastating symptom of Alzheimer's disease (AD)--dementia--we must be able to detect the disease prior to the onset of clinical symptoms, and be able to offer patients preventative treatments that block or significantly slow disease progression. This review summarizes a variety of the most promising early detection methods for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) that could be used to identify those at high risk of developing the disease and used for monitoring disease progression and response to investigational treatments. In addition, treatment research programs that could be developed into disease-modifying treatments that significantly delay the development of dementia are highlighted. These potential treatments target many different pathways, and may one day be dosed in combination to increase efficacy and prevent cognitive deterioration in patients with AD. While we still face numerous challenges, AD researchers have made great progress in understanding disease mechanisms. As we have seen in the treatment of heart disease, even modest preventative treatments can have hugely significant clinical outcomes and drastically reduce disease prevalence on a population scale. Therefore, there is hope that the development of prophylactic treatments, combined with improved early detection methods, will provide dramatic relief for millions of aging individuals threatened by the specter of Alzheimer's disease.