Alzheimer ’ s disease and its potential drug targets-review article

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder in which the death of brain cells causes memory loss and cognitive decline, i.e., dementia. However even with it being very common no effective drug has been introduced or developed to fight against it. There are several targets in AD which has been worked on, prominent being Acetylcholinesterase, NMDA (N-methyl D-aspartate), BACE 1 (beta-site amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme 1) and GSK3 Beta. But the drugs developed against these targets have seen partial success in decreasing or halting Alzheimer’s disease. Many molecules have failed in the clinical trials on various parameters like efficacy and safety. Ayurvedic medicine is a system of traditional medicine native to India, and ayurvedic practitioners have developed a number of medicinal preparations and surgical procedures for the treatment of various ailments. There are certain plants referred to as “nervines” that are known to have good neuroprotective properties. There have been many studies on therapeutic application of these plants against Alzheimer’s. Computational studies on the bioactive compounds from these Ayurvedic plants can help us identify potential molecules as potent drug molecules against the targets of Alzheimer’s disease.