In order to help the patients of dementia or stroke to recover fast from these debilitating conditions, a potential drug should have the ability to promote neurite growth and synaptic plasticity through enhanced neurotrophic support by augmenting and sustaining the levels of endogenous neurotrophins [such as Nerve Growth Factor (NGF), Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), Glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), Neurotrophin-3 (NT3), Neurotrophin-4 (NT4), etc.] and/or increasing the adult neurogenesis in the affected circuitry. The gene discussed is GDNF; the disease is dementia.