At present, Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias cannot be cured. Therefore, scientists all over the world are trying to find a new approach to prolong an active life of patients with initial dementia. Both pharmacological and non-pharmacological pathways are investigated to improve the key symptom of the disease, memory loss. In this respect, influencing the neuromodulator acetylcholine via muscarinic receptors, such as cevimeline, might be one of the therapeutic alternatives. The purpose of this study is to explore the potential of cevimeline on the cognitive functions of AD patients. The methodology is based on a systematic literature review of available studies found in Web of Science, PubMed, Springer, and Scopus on the research topic. The findings indicate that cevimeline has shown an improvement in experimentally induced cognitive deficits in animal models. Furthermore, it has demonstrated to positively influence tau pathology and reduce the levels of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide in the cerebral spinal fluid of Alzheimer's patients. Although this drug has not been approved by the FDA for its use among AD patients and there is a lack of clinical studies confirming and extending this finding, cevimeline might represent a breakthrough in the treatment of AD.

Agora Pharmaceuticals s r o 50009 Hradec Kralove Czech Republic

Biomedical Research Centre University Hospital 50003 Hradec Kralove Czech Republic

Department of Chemistry Faculty of Science University of Hradec Kralove 50003 Hradec Kralove Czech Republic

Department of Neurology Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Hradec Kralove Charles University 50003 Hradec Kralove Czech Republic

Institute of Radiology Toxicology and Civil Protection Faculty of Health and Social Studies University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice 37005 Ceske Budejovice Czech Republic

Memory Clinic Department of Neurology 2nd Faculty of Medicine and Motol University Hospital Charles University 15006 Prague Czech Republic

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