Cognitive disorders affect memory – the ability of the brain to capture, store and recall information.
Categories of cognitive disorders include dementia, delirium and amnesia, the most common being dementia. An estimated 37 million people worldwide live with dementia, with Alzheimer's disease and vascular (multi-infarct) dementia accounting for the majority of cases. It is also increasingly recognized that cognitive impairment is an important symptom in major psychotic illness especially in schizophrenia.
Current treatments: Until the relatively recent introduction of the acetylcholinesterase (AchE) inhibitors, the only pharmacological approach to the treatment of cognitive impairment were mild stimulant drugs such as caffeine, pemoline and herbal remedies.
Although generally thought to offer only symptomatic treatment in Alzheimer’s, these drugs have given considerable insight into the neurobiology of dementia and led to further research into disease-modifying drugs
