Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease — Searching for a Breakthrough, Settling for Less

The development of drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease remains in its infancy. In the United States, only two drugs have been approved: tacrine, approved in 1993, and donepezil, released this year. Neither affects the underlying process that causes the loss of neurons and synapses and leads to intellectual and functional deterioration. Given the aging of our population and the tragic effects of this age-related disease, there is tremendous interest in developing treatments that will interfere with some step in the etiologic process. In this issue of the Journal, Sano et al. 1 report their experience with the use of . . .