Acta Pharm. 61 (2011) 1-14
Review
Metal ions, Alzheimer’s disease and chelation therapy
ANA BUDIMIR
University of Zagreb, Faculty
of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Accepted January 27, 2011
In the last few years, various studies have been providing evidence that metal ions are critically involved in the pathogenesis of major neurological diseases (Alzheimer, Parkinson). Metal ion chelators have been suggested as potential therapies for diseases involving metal ion imbalance. Neurodegeneration represents an excellent target for exploiting the metal chelator approach to therapeutics. In contrast to the direct chelation approach in metal ion overload disorders, in neurodegeneration the goal seems to be a better and subtle modulation of metal ion homeostasis, aimed at restoring ionic balance. Thus, moderate chelators able to coordinate deleterious metals without disturbing metal homeostasis are needed. To date, several chelating agents have been investigated for their potential to treat neurodegeneration, and a series of 8-hydroxyquinoline analogues showed the greatest potential for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.
Keywords: metal ions, Alzheimer’s disease,
neurodegeneration, metal chelators, chelation therapy