An overview on global trends in nanotechnological approaches for Alzheimer therapy

Despite extensive research for over two decades, the medical science is yet to assign the exact aetiology and mode of progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The modern era of AD drug development began with the proposal of the cholinergic hypothesis of memory impairment. Since then, despite the proposal and phase trials of many therapeutic options, only few drugs have shown some efficacy and safety. The reasons behind this have been many including the ineffectiveness of tested drugs and inadequacy of clinical development methods. In this manuscript, we present an account of modern structural, functional and molecular imaging developed for AD therapy. A comprehensive review of all the current and future treatment options for AD, ranging from cholinergic drugs, NMDA receptor antagonist, immunotherapy, drugs reducing Aβ production, and drugs targeting tau protein and mitochondrial dysfunction has also been provided. However, the failure of all the proposed treatment options to provide a complete cure of AD has been pushing for the need of new therapies. The recent advent of nano-drugs has been proposed to provide crucial breakthroughs in AD therapy. Hence, a detailed outline of the usage and applications of nano-drugs in AD therapy, and outstanding developments in nanodrug metabolism and disposition has been discussed.