A Brief Overview on Pharmacological Treatment and Diagnosis of Fungal Infections Associated with Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease. It affects the parts of the brain that control thoughts, memory, and language. The pathogenesis of AD involves the aggregation and the formation of neurofibrillary tangles. Recent Studies revealed that fungal infections are associated with various neurological diseases. The fungal content was detected in different brain regions like the external frontal cortex, hippocampus, cerebellar region, and choroid plexus. Fungal infections were observed in the blood vessels of Alzheimer’s disease patients. The fungal infection may slowly undergo invasion in the CNS if remains untreated. The invasion can lead to the debilitating symptoms of AD. A recent study uncovered the fungus entry into the Blood Brain Barrier and the generation of toxic proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Fungus can produce Amyloid proteins which are the buildup proteins in AD. Evidence has proved that growing fungal content can trigger inflammation and immune responses and alleviate the progression of the disease. In AD various fungal species like Candida Albicans, malasezzia, Alterenia, botrytis, etc were observed in the autopsied brain of the patient. Various anti-fungal antibiotics like polyenes and azoles are effective in the treatment of fungal infections. Yet they are therapeutic regimens available for treating fungal content in neurological disorders they are not producing rational actions. Therapeutic alternatives and accurate fungal diagnostic approaches should be developed to treat and diagnose fungal infections in Alzheimer’s disease patients. The following Chapter explores the commonly involved fungal species associated with AD, limitations in their diagnosis, and its Pharmacological treatment.