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Updated: Aug 23, 2026

Preparation and In Vivo Use of an Activity-based Probe for N-acylethanolamine Acid Amidase
Published on: November 23, 2016
Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors: novel activities of old molecules
Marco Racchi1, Michela Mazzucchelli, Emanuela Porrello
1Department of Experimental and Applied Pharmacology, University of Pavia, Viale Taramelli 14, 27100 Pavia, Italy. racchi@unipv.it
Abstract:
The therapeutic approach for improving the cognitive function in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) is mainly based on the potentiation of central cholinergic activity and is achieved clinically by the use of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors such as tacrine, donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine and other drugs currently in clinical trials. These are, by their pharmacology, only symptomatic drugs yet recently these molecules have shown some potential also in the modulation of amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing. We explore in this review the experimental evidence that suggests a role for AChEIs in APP processing and point to multiple complex mechanisms involving either a cholinergic agonist effect, coupled to multiple signal transduction pathways, or post-transcriptional effects that modulate the expression of cellular APP.
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