Antineoplastics for treating Alzheimer's disease and dementia: Evidence from preclinical and observational studies

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Oncology
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Aging populations face a growing burden of untreatable neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease (AD).
• Current AD treatments are symptomatic, highlighting an urgent need for disease-modifying therapies.
• Drug repurposing offers a viable strategy by utilizing compounds with established safety and pharmacokinetic data.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the therapeutic potential of repurposing antineoplastic drugs for treating dementia due to AD.
• To investigate shared pathological mechanisms between cancer and AD.
• To highlight the role of artificial intelligence in drug repurposing strategies.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on drug repurposing for neurodegenerative diseases.
• Analysis of retrospective, clinical, and preclinical studies on antineoplastic drug use in AD.
• Exploration of AI-driven drug repurposing approaches.
• Consideration of repurposing drugs targeting prion-like spreading in AD pathology.

Main Results:

• Antineoplastic drugs show potential for treating AD dementia based on shared pathological pathways.
• Evidence from various study types supports the efficacy of repurposed antineoplastics.
• AI and prion-like pathology targeting represent emerging areas in AD drug repurposing.

Conclusions:

• Drug repurposing, especially of antineoplastics, presents a viable strategy to develop novel treatments for Alzheimer's disease dementia.
• Further research into AI-driven repurposing and targeting prion-like mechanisms could accelerate therapeutic development.
• Repurposing existing drugs offers a faster and potentially safer route to effective dementia therapies.