Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia

• 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.