ABSTRACT
Alzheimer’s dementia (AD) is an ultimately fatal degenerative disease of the central nervous system, affecting four million Americans. According to the Reagan Research Institute and the Alzheimer’s Association, families spend US$100 billion yearly caring for these patients. Furthermore, as the population ages, the number of Americans suffering from AD is expected to reach 6.2 million in the year 2015 (Cutler et al., 1994). Galanthamine (1), an alkaloid found in species of the Amaryllidaceae, has been recommended for the treatment of AD (Davis, 1987) and is currently in phase III clinical trials. Positive results have prompted the trial’s sponsors, Shire Pharmaceuticals Group and Janssen Pharmaceutica Inc., to proceed with clinical development. As a selective and reversible inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase, this compound has the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and act within the central nervous system (Mucke, 1997).
