Table 2.
Pharmacotherapy and clinical features of neurodegenerative diseases.
| Drugs | Synaptic plasticity Clinical features improvement |
References | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AD | FTD | DLB | VaD | PD/PDD | ||
| IAChE Donepezil Rivastigmine Galantamine |
(1) Small procognitive effects (2) Disease modification in animal studies |
(1) Might have benefits in very severe cognitive and behavioral symptoms | (1) Improvement in cognitive and behavioral functions | (1) Consider when there is evidence of cholinergic deficit | (1) Improvement in cognitive and behavioral functions | Spencer et al. [128] Ginestet et al. [129] Noufi et al. [130] |
| Memantine | (1) Improves cognitive function, learning, and memory deficits (2) Small improvement |
(1) Slightly improves clinical features | (1) Improves cognitive and motor function, memory, and language | (1) Little benefit in improving cognitive function | (1) Improves cognitive and motor function, memory, and language | Parsons et al. [131] Matsunaga et al. [133] Kishi et al. [134] Meng et al. [136] Ritter and Pillai [137] |
| AEDs LTG CBZ VPA OXC LEV ZNS GBP |
(1) Positive effect on memory (2) Improved word recognition and naming (3) Reduced spontaneous seizures |
(1) No clear data (2) Individuals have improved with gabapentin |
(1) No clear data (2) Treatment of agitation |
(1) No significant effect | (1) Treatment of epileptic seizures | Tekin et al. [143] Ziyatdinova et al. [144] Sommer et al. [146] Sanchez et al. [147] Hershey and Coleman-Jackson [149] Supasitthumrong et al. [150] Tombini et al. [151] |
| L-dopa | (1) No indication in parkinsonian syndrome of EOAD | (1) Consider L-dopa treatment in parkinsonism in FTD | (1) Limited use due to side effects worsens cognitive function | (1) No indication | (1) Improves synaptic plasticity | Hershey and Coleman-Jackson [149] Arias-Montaño et al. [152] Rajan et al. [153] Milosevic et al. [154] Picconi et al. [155] Jang et al. [156] Siuda et al. [157] Nardone et al. [158] |
| Antipsychotic/antidepressants | (1) Noncognitive disorders, in behavioral disorders and psychological symptoms of dementia | (1) Noncognitive disorders, in behavioral disorders and psychological symptoms of dementia | (1) Noncognitive disorders, in behavioral disorders and psychological symptoms of dementia | (1) Noncognitive disorders, in behavioral disorders and psychological symptoms of dementia | (1) Noncognitive disorders, in behavioral disorders and psychological symptoms of dementia | Legesse et al. [159] Ohno et al. [138] |
| Other drugs Aducanumab Poly-APS Ladostigil 17β-Estradiol |
(1) Improves cognitive function, learning and memory deficits, and physiological and pathological symptoms | (1) Improves cognitive function and physiological and pathological symptoms | (1) Improves cognitive function | (1) Improves synaptic plasticity and hippocampal-dependent cognitive function | (1) Improves cognitive function | Sevigny et al. [160] Koss et al. [162] Youdim [163] Zhu et al. [164] |
AD: Alzheimer's disease; FTD: frontotemporal dementia; DLB: dementia with Lewy bodies; VaD: vascular dementia; PDD: Parkinson's disease dementia; IAChE: acetylcholinesterase inhibitors; AEDs: antiepileptic drugs; LTG: lamotrigine; CBZ: carbamazepine; VPA: valproic acid; OXC: oxcarbazepine; LEV: levetiracetam; ZNS: zonisamide; GBP: gabapentin; EOAD: early-onset AD; Poly-APS: pore-former polymeric 1,3-alkylpyridinium salts.