Davis R E, Emmerling M R, Jaen J C, Moos W H, Spiegel K
Parke-Davis Pharmaceutical Research, Warner-Lambert Co., Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1047.
Crit Rev Neurobiol. 1993;7(1):41-83.
The search for novel therapeutics for human cognitive disorders has intensified. Neurotransmitter replacement therapies represent a short-term hope for treating cognitive dysfunction associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). AD, however, is clearly a neurodegenerative disease and is characterized by a loss of synaptic elements. Ultimately, synaptic loss must be halted to alter the disease course. Agents mimicking or modulating the actions of neurotrophic factors may be useful. They may restore lost function and exert anabolic effects on existing neurons, making treated cells less susceptible to neurotoxic insult (i.e., excitotoxicity, oxidative stress, etc.). Intervening in the biogenesis of amyloid plaques and blunting local inflammatory responses may provide the ultimate treatment for AD. The success of any treatment, however, rests on early diagnosis. Early intervention in the neurodegenerative disease process will be required. Without early intervention, the risk of maintaining patients in a premorbid state is high. Therefore, it is likely that no single approach will provide optimal therapy for the AD patient and multifactorial treatment strategies may be required.
针对人类认知障碍的新型治疗方法的探索已经加强。神经递质替代疗法是治疗与阿尔茨海默病（AD）相关的认知功能障碍的短期希望。然而，AD显然是一种神经退行性疾病，其特征是突触成分丧失。最终，必须阻止突触丧失以改变疾病进程。模拟或调节神经营养因子作用的药物可能会有用。它们可能恢复丧失的功能，并对现有神经元产生合成代谢作用，使经治疗的细胞更不易受到神经毒性损伤（即兴奋性毒性、氧化应激等）。干预淀粉样斑块的生物合成并减轻局部炎症反应可能为AD提供最终治疗方法。然而，任何治疗的成功都取决于早期诊断。将需要对神经退行性疾病进程进行早期干预。如果不进行早期干预，使患者维持在病前状态的风险很高。因此，单一方法可能无法为AD患者提供最佳治疗，可能需要多因素治疗策略。
