Posted by Plant-derived multitarget compounds may represent a promising therapeutic strategy for multifactorial diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Artemisinin and its derivatives, approved antimalarial drugs were indicated to beneficially modulate various aspects of AD pathology in different AD animal models through the regulation of a wide range of different cellular processes, such as energy homeostasis, apoptosis, proliferation and inflammatory pathways. In this review, it is provided an up-to-date overview of the experimental evidence documenting the neuroprotective activities of artemisinins to underscore the potential of these already-approved drugs for treating AD also in humans and propose their consideration for carefully designed clinical trials. In particular, the benefits to the main pathological hallmarks and events in the pathological cascade throughout AD development in different animal models of AD are summarized. Moreover, dose- and context-dependent effects of artemisinins are noted.
The 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine was awarded to Prof. Youyou Tu for the discoveries concerning a novel therapy against malaria. Prof. Tu, professor at the China Academia of Traditional Chinese Medicine, discovered artemisinin, a drug that has significantly reduced the mortality rates for patients suffering in malaria. Artemisinin has low solubility and bioavailability. That is the reason why so many research groups tried to develop cyclodextrin-based drug delivery systems to improve the pharmacokinetic properties. For the review of CD-related research see the Cyclodextrin News (March 2016).
Kiss E, Kins S, Gorgas K, Venczel Szakács KH, Kirsch J, Kuhse J. Another Use for a Proven Drug: Experimental Evidence for the Potential of Artemisinin and Its Derivatives to Treat Alzheimer’s Disease. Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Apr 9;25(8):4165. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25084165