Biological mechanisms, cerebrovascular alterations and pharmacological targets in the pathology of dementia

In response to stimulation, information is stored in the brain when synapses are simultaneously active. Interestingly, a physiological continuum may exist between processes of memory formation and brain injury, as many of the molecular mechanisms involved in memory encoding are the same as those activated during excitotoxic events in neurons. However, how brain injury leads to long lasting impairments in memory and/or dementia is still open for debate. Furthermore, evidence now suggests that cerebrovascular alterations and the pathology seen in dementia from Alzheimer's disease are mechanistically linked. Investigations have generated a wealth of information on mechanisms that become disturbed in dementia. However, there is still no cure for dementia of the Alzheimer's type. Undaunted by failures or drugs that have only modest effects, hundreds of drug discovery programs across the world continue to look for promising and more effective treatments for the disease. (C) 2002 Prous Science. All rights reserved.