Alzheimer's Disease - Future Therapy Based on Dendrimers

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the loss of neurons. It is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly population accompanied by pathological degeneration of neurofibrillary tangles. Senile plaques are formed with beta-amyloid, hyperphosphoryled tau protein, apolipoprotein E and presenilin associated with protease activity [amyloid beta (Aβ), gamma-secretase (γS)]. The molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration include apoptosis, oxidative stress (free radical generation), inflammation, immune activation, and others. The lack of effective treatments for AD stems mainly from the incomplete understanding the causes of AD. Currently, there are several hypotheses explaining the early mechanisms of AD pathogenesis. Recent years witnessed an unprecedented research growth in the area of nanotechnology, which uses atomic, molecular and macromolecular methods to create products in microscale (nanoscale) dimensions. In this article, we have discussed the role of nanotechnology in the development and improvement of techniques for early diagnosis and effective treatment of AD. Since AD pathology is practically irreversible, applications of disease-modifying treatments could be successful only if early diagnosis of AD is available. This review highlights various possibilities for the early diagnosis and therapy of AD and investigates potential adaptation of nanoparticles-dendrimers as a class of well-defined branched polymers that are chemically synthesized with a well-defined shape, size and nanoscopic physicochemical properties reminiscent of the proteins for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; dendrimers; molecular neurodegeneration; nanoparticles-dendrimers; protein misfolding; treatment strategies..