Alzheimer's Disease: Exploring the Landscape of Cognitive Decline

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by cognitive decline, memory loss, and impaired daily functioning. The pathology of AD is marked by the accumulation of amyloid-beta plaques and tau protein tangles in brain, along with neuroinflammation and synaptic dysfunction. Genetic factors, such as mutations in APP, PSEN1, and PSEN2 genes, as well as APOE ε4 allele, contribute to increased risk of acquiring AD. Currently available treatments provide symptomatic relief but do not halt disease progression. Research efforts are focused on developing disease-modifying therapies that target the underlying pathological mechanisms of AD. Advances in identification and validation of reliable biomarkers for AD hold great promise for enhancing early diagnosis, monitoring disease progression, and assessing treatment response in clinical practice, in effort to alleviate the burden of this devastating disease. In this paper, we analyze data from the CAS Content Collection to summarize the research progress in Alzheimer’s disease. We examine the publication landscape in effort to provide insights into current knowledge advances and developments. We also review the most discussed and emerging concepts and assess the strategies to combat the disease. We explore the genetic risk factors, pharmacological targets, and comorbid diseases. Finally, we inspect clinical applications of products against AD with their development pipelines and efforts for drug repurposing. The objective of this review is to provide a broad overview of the evolving landscape of current knowledge regarding AD, to outline challenges, and evaluate growth opportunities to further efforts in combating the disease.