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Cholinergic therapies for Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been developed following painstaking neuropathological and neurochemical studies. Drugs based upon this approach are in development and it is hoped that these compounds will be of some use as palliative therapy. However, increasing evidence from molecular biology suggests that increasing cholinergic neurotransmission might not only alter cognition but also modify disease progression. The evidence that muscarinic-induced increases in protein kinase C activity favourably alter amyloid precursor protein metabolism and tau phosphorylation is reviewed. A unifying hypothesis of AD pathogenesis brings together plaque and tangle formation, suggesting that cholinergic therapies in development may have far-reaching implications as treatments for AD. (Int J Psych Clin Pract 1997; 1: 15-20).

Original publication

DOI

10.3109/13651509709069201

Type

Journal article

Journal

Int J Psychiatry Clin Pract

Publication Date

1997

Volume

1

Pages

15 - 20

Keywords

Alzheimer's disease, amyloid.tau, cholinergic neurones, muscarinic agonists