Table 1.
List of FDA-approved drugs to treat ALS, AD, and PD.
| Disease | Drug Name | Approved in | Nature | Mechanism |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALS | Qalsody/Toferson | 2023 | Antisense oligonucleotide | Binds to the RNA produced from mutated SOD1 gene and stop SOD1 protein formation. |
| AMX0035 (Relyvrio) | 2022 | A combination of sodium phenylbutyrate (PB) and taurursodiol (TURSO) | Target both mitochondria and ER and prevent motor neuronal death. | |
| Radicava™ (edaravone) | 2017 | Free radical scavenger | Scavenges ROS and protects neurons. | |
| Rilutek (Riluzole) | 1995 | Benzothiazole class | Inhibit glutamate release (mechanism unknown). | |
| AD | Galantamine (Razadyne®) | 2001 | Cholinesterase inhibitor | Inhibit Cholinesterase activity and increase Acetylcholine concentration. |
| Rivastigmine (Exelon®) | 2007 | |||
| Donepezil (Aricept®) | 1996 | |||
| Lecanemab (Lequembi®) | 2023 | Humanized immunoglobulin gamma 1 (IgG1) monoclonal antibody | Directed against aggregated soluble and insoluble forms of amyloid beta and reduces Aβ burden. | |
| Aducanumab (Aduhelm®) | 2021 | |||
| Memantine (Namenda®) | 2003 | NMDA receptor Antagonist | Restore the function of damaged nerve cells and reduce the abnormal excitatory signal by reducing the glutamate level. | |
| Levodopa/carbidopa | 2015 | Levodopa is metabolic precursor of dopamine Carbidopa inhibits decarboxylation of aromatic amino acid |
Carbidopa inhibits the decarboxylation of peripheral levodopa, making more levodopa available for delivery to the brain, where it is converted to dopamine and increases dopamine concentration. | |
| PD | Apomorphine | 2004 | Non-ergoline dopamine agonist | Mimic dopamine. |
| Pramipexole | 1997 | |||
| Rotigotine | 2007 | |||
| Entacapone | 1999 | Inhibitor of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) which breaks down dopamine | Improve dopaminergic signaling. | |
| Amantadine | 2017 | Weak uncompetitive antagonist of the NMDA receptor | Unknown. |