EDITORIAL Current and Future Treatments for Alzheimer Disease Gary W. Small, M.D., Susan Greenfield, Ph.D. ore than a century ago, Alois Alzheimer de- scribed the results of a brain autopsy he performed on a middle-aged woman who had devel- oped rapidly progressive cognitive decline. The amyloid plaques and tau tangles that he noted in the patient’s neocortex and other brain regions were thought to explain her condition. Initially, Alzheimer disease was considered a rare presenile dementia; then, in the late 1960s neuropathologists showed that plaques and tangles were present in the brains of older persons who suffered from dementia.Alzheimer disease strikes approximately 10% of people 65 years or older and 45% of those 85 or older. 1 Its incidence and prevalence double every 5 years after age 60 years. Over 5 million people suffer from Alzheimer disease in the U.S., and worldwide prevalence estimates approach 44 million. Due in part to the graying of the world population, the prevalence of the disease is expected to triple by 2050. 1 In response to the daunting numbers currently af- flicted and the looming estimates of future sufferers, scientists have attempted to uncover causes, contrib- uting factors, and treatments. Investigations have identified rare mutations (presenilin and amyloid pre- cursor protein [APP] mutations), common genetic risks such as the apolipoprotein E-4 (APOE-4) allele, and nongenetic factors that contribute to risk. Biomarkers that better define the phenotype have advanced our knowledge and provided potential tools that can focus treatment research. Initial drug research aimed to boost brain acetyl- choline, because of the cholinergic deficits known to contribute to symptoms. The U.S. Food and Drug Ad- ministration (FDA) has approved four cholinesterase M inhibitors (tacrine [Cognex], donepezil [Aricept], rivastigmine [Exelon], and galantamine [Razadyne]) and one N-methyl d-aspartate (NMDA)-receptor an- tagonist (memantine [Namenda]) for the treatment of Alzheimer disease. These drugs have demonstrated benefits for cognition, behavior, and function, but their modest effect sizes and temporary benefits leave room for improvement. At the 2015 Alzheimer’s Associa- tion International Conference, many experts expressed optimism about ongoing treatment research, although no disease-modifying drug or symptomatic treat- ment with a moderate or large effect size has yet been discovered. WHY SO MANY DRUGS HAVE FAILED To understand why so many drugs have failed to be effective in treating Alzheimer disease, we need to con- sider the underlying neuronal mechanisms for their mode of action, and then determine whether those mechanisms could indeed explain the known clini- cal effects. The cholinergic hypothesis, which provides the rationale for the cholinesterase inhibitors, posits that the primary problem is a deficit in acetylcholine, caused by the death of cholinergic neurons. Cholinergic cell death cannot be the root of the problem in Alzheimer disease, however, because other populations of noncholinergic neurons (e.g., neurons containing monoamines) 2 are additionally prone to neuro- degeneration. Moreover, any drug that merely in- creases the availability of the dwindling transmitter will Received August 26, 2015; revised August 29, 2015; accepted August 31, 2015. From the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior (GWS), UCLA Longevity Center, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA; and Department of Pharmacology (SG), University of Oxford, Oxford, UK Send correspondence and reprint requests to Gary W. Small, M.D., Semel Institute, 760 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90024. e-mail: gsmall@mednet.ucla.edu. © 2015 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2015.08.006 Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 23:11, November 2015