Identification of Novel Multifunctional Compounds for the Treatment of Some Aging Related Neurodegenerative Diseases

Abstract

Aging related neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) are the result of multiple pathophysiological pathways that contribute to the neurodegenerative cascade. Hence, multifunctional drug candidates able to interact with several targets are of great interest for the treatment of such diseases. Therefore, an experimental and virtual screening pathway to generate multifunctional hits showing promise for the treatment of PD or AD was suggested. Moreover, suitable experimental and virtual screening methods to rapidly test pre-focused compound libraries were developed and validated. In particular, the screening was focused on potential inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and monoamine oxidase B (MAO B) using a combination of in vitro enzymatic tests, docking and scoring approaches and refined molecular modeling tools.