HORMONE REPLACEMENT - THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES IN THE TREATMENT OF ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE AND AGING-RELATED COGNITIVE DISORDERS

While the incidence of cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) is increasing among the ageing populations of Europe and North A merica, few therapeutic agents have been identified for effective dise ase management. Substantial recent evidence suggests that the neurolog ical circuits targeted by AD are also sensitive to gonadal hormones su ch as oestrogen. This review examines the evidence for hormone replace ment therapy as a possible strategy for the management of ageing-relat ed cognitive disorders, emphasising possible cellular/molecular action s of oestrogen. We examine the recent patent literature for promising trends in hormone-related therapeutics, especially advances related to the development of tissue-selective oestrogenic compounds. We also re view the strategy of combining oestrogen with other compounds to incre ase their therapeutic efficacy.