Drug treatments in Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by memory loss, impaired reasoning, and difficulty in daily activities. Current treatment strategies can be split into three major categories. Symptomatic pharmacologic treatments aim to improve cognition and daily behavior, providing short-term relief without altering the disease progression. Disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) focus on addressing the underlying pathology, including amyloid plaques, tau tangles, neuroinflammation, and synaptic dysfunction, which represent a promising approach to slow disease progression. Adjunct therapies are used to manage psychiatric and behavioral symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and agitation, which contribute significantly to patient burden. This review summarizes recent progress across these therapeutic categories, including symptomatic treatments that remain the mainstay of care, DMTs are emerging as potential breakthroughs, and adjunct therapies are essential for holistic management. In summary, an integrated strategy is ultimately required to address both the biological and clinical complexity of AD.