Emerging treatments
Tau-directed therapies
FTD syndromes that have a predominantly tau pathology are attractive for testing tau-directed therapeutics.[123] These include: tau aggregation inhibitors (e.g., leuco-methylthioninium); blockers of tau modification (e.g., tau acetylation inhibitors); vaccines against tau aggregation; and microtubule stabilisers (e.g., paclitaxel; patients with FTD present microtubule destabilisation as a result of a compromised tau binding to these structures).[124][125][126][127] These possible treatments are still in very early stages of investigation.
Therapies for patients with FTD associated with identified mutations
The progranulin stimulator amiodarone has been investigated as a possible therapy for patients with FTD having a mutation in the GRN gene.[128] Another suggested approach is the use of antisense oligonucleotides for patients with FTD with repeat expansions in the C9orf72 gene.[129] These possible treatments are still in very early stages of investigation.
Treatments for behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia
There is preliminary evidence that the voltage-gated calcium-channel blockers gabapentin and pregabalin may be effective for treating aggression in patients with dementia, but in the absence of randomised controlled trials no firm conclusions can be drawn.[130]
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