Peptide-based therapeutics in the management of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and their potential to develop novel strategies.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder marked by amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition, tau pathology, synaptic dysfunction, and chronic neuroinflammation. Current therapies are largely symptomatic and offer limited efficacy in slowing disease progression, underscoring the need for novel approaches. Peptide-based therapeutics have emerged as a promising class of agents due to their high target specificity, structural versatility, and ability to modulate protein–protein interactions central to AD pathogenesis. In recent years, short peptides have been designed to interfere with key checkpoints of Aβ aggregation, including the inhibition of oligomer formation, prevention of fibril assembly, and destabilization of pre-formed aggregates. Additional peptide candidates demonstrate neuroprotective, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties, broadening their potential impact beyond amyloid-centric pathways. Preclinical studies using transgenic models consistently report improvements in cognition and neuropathology, and early clinical trials with peptide-based compounds have provided encouraging, albeit preliminary, results. This review highlights the therapeutic promise of peptides in AD management, emphasizing their mechanisms of action, current experimental and clinical evidence, and future directions for translating these agents into effective disease-modifying treatments. Peptide-based strategies therefore represent a novel and versatile avenue in the evolving landscape of AD therapeutics.