Patent ID: 7468389

Claim:
A method for reducing the severity of dementia that is ameliorated by increasing LTP-like potentiation of synaptic transmission comprising: administering to a mammalian subject in need thereof an amount of a carboxylic acid compound having one or more cyclopropane rings of the formula (I), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, effective to increase LTP-like potentiation of synaptic transmission; wherein formula (I) is: wherein R is alkyl selected from the group consisting of methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl, tert-butyl, pentyl, hexyl, heptyl, octyl, nonyl, decyl, undecyl, dodecyl, tridecyl, tetradecyl, pentadecyl, hexadecyl, heptadecyl, octadecyl, eicosanyl and docosanyl; wherein R may have 1,2-cylcopropylene in a carbon chain and/or cyclopropyl at the end of a chain; or R is: in which R′ is hydrogen or alkyl selected from the group consisting of methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl, tert-butyl, and pentyl, Y is a single bond or alkylene, A is 1,2-cyclopropylene or vinylene, and m is an integer from 0 to 5; wherein the 1,2-cyclopropylene which may be contained in R may have an alkyl selected from the group consisting of methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl, tert-butyl, pentyl, tert-pentyl, and hexyl at the 3-position carbon atom; X is a single bond or alkylene; and the total number of carbon atoms minus the number of cyclopropane ring(s) in the compound of formula (I) is 10-25.