Pharmacological Characterization of PD151832, an M1 Muscarinic Receptor Agonist

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an age-related disorder characterized by progressive neurological impairment. Among neurotransmitters affected, the loss of forebrain cholinergic neurons has been well documented with the results contributing to the idea that therapies based on cholinergic pharmacology would be useful treatments in AD (Bartus et al., 1982). Among those suggested have been acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors and muscarinic agonists. Clinical studies have shown that the AC inhibitor tacrine is therapeutically active (Knapp et al., 1994). However, robust and reproducible clinical data with classical muscarinic agonists have been variable and no agonists have been approved to date for AD treatment.