It is also possible that the protection may be due to off-target (ie, independent of cholinesterase inhibition) activities of dementia medications, including against amyloid-β toxic effects, glutamate-induced neurotoxic effects, neuroinflammation and tau pathologic characteristics, and vascular pathologic characteristics—which may or may not play a role in the cause of AMD. The gene discussed is MAPT; the disease is age-related macular degeneration.