Significances of 5-HT receptors in Alzheimer disease and related drug research progress

Alzheimer disease (AD) is one of the most common types of dementia. Serotonin (5-HT) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of AD, causing alterations in patients’ cognitive abilities, as well as learning and memory capabilities, by regulating the cholinergic and glutamatergic neurotransmission through the signal transduction pathway. Patients suffer from emotional disorders including depression and apathy and clinical manifestations such as unrestrained diet, which are all related to the signaling function of 5-HT receptors. Strengthening the 5-HT receptor-mediated transduction pathway and increasing the concentration of synaptic 5-HT have been used as a novel therapy for delaying the progression of AD. This articles reviews the AD therapies targeting 5-HT transduction pathway.