Patent ID: 7138427

Claim:
A method of treating a condition or conditions selected from the group consisting of Alzheimer's disease, senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type (SDAT), Parkinson's disease, Lewi body dementia, postural hypotension, autism, chronic fatigue syndrome, Myasthenia Gravis, and learning deficit and memory loss which comprises administering to a human an effective amount of a sapogenin derivative of general formula (I) or (II): including all stereoisomers and racemic mixtures thereof, a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, or a pharmaceutically acceptable pro-drug precursor of any of the compounds of general formula (I) or (II), wherein: in the general formula (I): R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 , R 8 , R 10 , are, independently of each other, either H, OH, =O, and OR where R=optionally substituted alkyl, optionally substituted acyl, optionally substituted carbamoyl, alkoxycarbonyl; R 9 , R 12 , R 11 , R 13 can be either a H, OH, OR where R=optionally substituted alkyl, optionally substituted acyl, optionally substituted carbamoyl, alkoxycarbonyl; R 14 =optionally substituted alkyl group represents an optional double bond, but excluding where simultaneously; R 1 =R 2 =R 4 =R 5 =R 6 =R 7 =R 8 =R 10 =R 11 =R 9 =R 12 =R 13 =H, no double bonds are present the methyl group at C20 is α; and wherein in the general formula (II): R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 , R 8 , R 10 , are, independently of each other, either H, OH, =O, or OR where R=optionally substituted alkyl, optionally substituted acyl, optionally substituted carbamoyl, alkoxycarbonyl; R 9 , R 12 , R 13 can be either a H, OH, OR where R=optionally substituted alkyl, optionally substituted acyl, optionally substituted carbamoyl, alkoxycarbonyl; R 14 =optionally substituted alkyl group; R 15 =H, optionally substituted alkyl, optionally substituted acyl, or glucosyl; represents an optional double bond.