The Role of Rodent Models in the Drug Discovery Pipeline for Dementia

Early-onset familial and late-onset dementia of the Alzheimer-type account for the major proportion of cases of dementia and of neurodegenerative diseases in general. The number of affected individuals is likely to grow in the decades to come due to demographic changes and rising life expectancy. Considerable research efforts are directed at the development and validation of animal models of AD, aiming to further unravel the underlying degenerative processes and searching for therapeutic strategies to alleviate or prevent this devastating condition. These models have contributed to a growing understanding of the molecular pathways involved in disease development and progression. The successful use of animal models in drug discovery relies on both the development of valid disease models and the availability of adequate testing paradigms for the evaluation of the effects of different therapeutic approaches aiming at symptomatic treatment of memory impairment or behavioral alterations, or at disease-modification and/or neuroprotection.