Abstract
Current possibilities of Alzheimer's disease (AD) treatment are very limited and are based on administration of cholinesterase inhibitors (donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine) and/or memantine as N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist. Newly synthesized drugs affect multiple AD pathophysiological pathways and can act as inhibitors of acetylcholinesterases and butyrylcholinesterases (AChE, BuChE), inhibitors of monoamine oxidases (isoforms MAO-A, MAO-B), modulators of mitochondrial permeability transition (mPTP modulators), modulators of amyloid-beta binding alcohol dehydrogenase (ABAD, HSD10) and antioxidants.
Effects of clinically used and newly developed AD drugs are studied in relation to energy metabolism and mitochondrial functions, including changes in oxidative phosphorylation, activities of enzymes of citric acid cycle and electron transfer system, changes in mitochondrial membrane potential, calcium homeostasis, production of reactive oxygen species and MAO activity.