Cognitive Enhancers
The most prevalent and well-known kind of degenerative dementia is Alzheimer’s disease. Over half of Alzheimer’s disease, which affects 2.4–4.5 million Americans, is the cause of dementia. Dementia is by definition a condition, or collection of symptoms, of compromised cognition that impairs an individual’s intellectual capacities, including memory, problem-solving, judgment, consciousness, and conduct. Alzheimer’s disease is a gradual, irreversible brain illness that causes brain cells to deteriorate and eventually lose their mental processes.
Alzheimer’s disease is uncertain in its etiology, yet the illness’s symptoms may be related to the death of cholinergic neurons (a kind of brain cell) selectively in brain regions that are afflicted. There are some pathogenic characteristics of Alzheimer’s disease discovered after autopsy, such as neurofibrillary plaques and senile plaques, which are degenerating neurons wound around a waxy protein-polysaccharide material called amyloid knots (internal helical thread-like knots in neurons).
Medication for dementia is called a cognitive enhancer. They are often used to treat Except for Namenda (memantine), which has an indication for treating moderate-to-severe Alzheimer’s disease, to-moderate dementia caused by the condition. Deterioration of memory and thinking is a possible cause of Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia is cholinergic neuron degradation. By preventing the breakdown of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, cognitive enhancers raise acetylcholine levels in the brain and maximize the activity of intact cholinergic neurons by preventing the breakdown of acetylcholine by the cholinesterase enzyme and so preventing its degradation, These substances, which are referred to as cholinesterase inhibitors, may enhance memory and general work.
Different from the other cognitive enhancers is Namenda (memantine). It is a novel type of drug for the treatment that differs greatly from previous cognitive agents in its mode of action. Namenda works by preventing glutamate from binding to its receptors. Glutamate is thought to be a key component of the brain circuits linked to memory and learning. In brain conditions including Alzheimer’s disease, excessive neuronal activity brought on by atypical
It’s possible that glutamate contributes to neuronal cell malfunction, which impairs cognition and memory. additionally ultimate cell death, which causes intellectual functioning to decline and eventually collapse. By inhibiting certain NMDA receptors, a kind of glutamate receptor that permits regular neurotransmission, Namenda may contribute to lessening the harmful, excitotoxic consequences of aberrant glutamate transmission. Additionally, Namenda may be used in combination with other cognitive enhancers due to its unique mode of action using agents like Aricept.
It is anticipated that new drugs will be developed as research into Alzheimer’s disease therapies progresses like Namenda might be released. Namenda with cholinesterase inhibitors (Cognex, Aricentept, Razadyne (formerly known as Reminyl), Exelon) may enhance the patient’s general function and postpone the deterioration of both classes of drugs may treat symptoms, but they are unable to stop the fundamental course of Alzheimer’s disease. Once more Finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease is not as crucial as researching its etiology. If the reason for when a disease is better understood, new preventative strategies could potentially be found.
