Acetylcholinesterase Inhibition by Novel Carbamates: A Kinetic and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Study

Alzheimer’s dementia (AD) is a condition in which there is a lack of choline acetyl transferase, the enzyme responsible for the synthesis of acetylcholine in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus1. This finding led to the trial of anticholinesterase drugs, physostigmine and tetrahydroamino-acridine as potential treatment for AD2,3. Although both drugs had some beneficial effect in these conditions, their relatively high toxicity, and the chemical instability and short half-life of physostigmine4, prompted the search for safer agents with a longer duration of action.