Revisiting the cholinergic hypothesis in Alzheimer's disease: Emerging evidence from translational and clinical research.

Revisiting the cholinergic hypothesis in Alzheimer's disease: Emerging evidence from translational and clinical research. Alzheimers Dement. 2017 Oct 10;: Authors: Hampel H, Mesulam MM, Cuello AC, Khachaturian AS, Farlow MR, Snyder PJ, Giacobini E, Khachaturian ZS, Cholinergic System Working Group Abstract Scientific evidence collected over the past four decades suggests that a loss of cholinergic innervation in the cerebral cortex of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an early pathogenic event correlated with cognitive impairment. This evidence led to the formulation of the "cholinergic hypothesis of AD" and the development of cholinesterase inhibitor therapies. Although approved only as symptomatic therapies, recent studies suggest that long-term use of these drugs may also have disease-modifying benefits. A Cholinergic System Workgroup reassessed the role of the cholinergic system on AD pathogenesis in light of recent data, including neuroimaging data charting the progression of neurodegeneration in the cholinergic system and suggesting that cholinergic therapy may slow brain atrophy. Other pathways that contribute to cholinergic synaptic loss and their effect on cognitive impairment in AD were also reviewed. These studies indicate that the cholinergic system as one of several interacting systems failures that contribute to AD pathogenesis. PMID: 29028480 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: The Journal of Alzheimers Association - Category: Psychiatry Tags: Alzheimers Dement Source Type: research