Abstract
• Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent dementia (accounting for 50%-75% of cases of dementia in people aged over 65 years), followed by frontotemporal dementia (FTD) (10%-20% of cases).
• AD is characterised histopathologically by Aβ-containing amyloid plaques and tau-containing neurofibrillary tangles, whereas FTD exhibits neurofibrillary tangles alone.
• Current symptomatic treatments of AD are of limited benefit, as they are not directed at the underlying biological basis of the disease.
• The development of transgenic animal models has provided insight into disease mechanisms and helped define novel drug targets.
• More than 50 drugs are currently in clinical trials, and novel and more effective drugs targeting both AD and FTD are expected to become available within 5-10 years.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 381-384 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Medical Journal of Australia |
Volume | 185 |
Issue number | 7 |
Publication status | Published - 2 Oct 2006 |
Externally published | Yes |