Pathological Mechanism of Alzheimer's Disease, Progress in Drug Development and Future Prospects

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the main cause of dementia. Its complex pathological mechanisms and multifactorial characteristics make the development of treatments face great challenges. This article reviews the origin of AD, symptom treatment drugs, pathological mechanism research, drug development progress and prevention strategies, and analyzes the limitations of current clinical applications and future development prospects. The study reviewed the historical discovery of AD, especially the genetic decoding of early-onset AD (EOAD), and explored key pathogenic genes such as APP, PSEN1, and PSEN2 and their role in the Aβ cascade hypothesis. In addition, this article summarizes the development of AD therapeutic drugs, including symptomatic treatment drugs such as cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine, as well as the progress of targeted therapy based on Aβ and Tau proteins in recent years. Although new antibody drugs such as aducanumab and lencanumab have been approved for marketing, their clinical efficacy is still controversial, and their high cost and potential side effects limit their widespread application. At present, AD research is facing the challenge of theoretical hypotheses and the exploration of new therapies. The future development direction may involve more accurate early diagnosis, biomarker screening and personalized treatment strategies, in order to improve the treatment effect and improve the quality of life of patients.