Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative condition which is highly
prevalent. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, the overall
projected prevalence in worldwide will reach 132 million patients by 2050. Amyloid
hypothesis described in 90´s by Hardy et al, is the main therapeutic target. Since
acetylcholinesterase inhibitors as symptomatic treatment, drug development for AD has
been disappointing. All drugs in completed phase 2 and phase 3 trials have failed.
So, the question is, what´s wrong about this hypothesis and the immunotherapy
approach? These compounds aimed at reducing Aβ formation and plaques do not
restore cognition although removes amyloid plaques in PET amyloid scans.
This paper tries to discuss all the aspects and describe the current situation and the
future goals.
Keywords: Amyloid-β, Alzheimer’s Disease, Immunotherapy, New Therapies,
Tau Protein.
