Tools of the trade: investigations into design strategies of small molecules to target components in Alzheimer's disease.

Abstract

The growing prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) has warranted the development of effective therapeutic methods. Current available drugs for AD (i.e., acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists) have only offered brief symptomatic relief. Considering that the numbers affected by AD are projected to substantially rise, long-term strategies are urgently needed. The multiple series of small molecules to combat AD have been expanded, with current methods taking aim at factors, such as misfolded protein accumulation, metal ion dyshomeostasis, and oxidative stress. This concept article focuses on describing the design of compounds to target various components of AD and underlining recent advances that have been made.