Abstract
Background: Advances in health sciences during the last century have increased the average age in industrialized nations. Despite this progress, neurodegenerative diseases that affect higher order thinking and memory continue to increase in prevalence as they take a devastating toll on human productivity in the later years. There is an acute need for new drugs and therapeutic approaches for treating these severe diseases, and also for improving the quality of cognitive function associated with normal aging and in many other disorders and syndromes that present with cognitive dysfunction. Objective: The purpose of this review is to ascertain the pharmacological approaches being exploited to improve cognition and memory and to determine the most relevant and effective directions taken for new drug discovery. Limitations and difficulties encountered in this effort also are discussed. Methods: This review focuses primarily on compounds already undergoing clinical trials for improving cognition and memory with some discussion of rising new drug targets. Results/conclusion: Compounds that act on allosteric sites on neurotransmitter receptors are expected to lead the field with new levels of specificity and reduced side effects. New multi-functional compounds can be designed that can both improve cognition and slow the process of disease.
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