Saving the Mind Faces High Hurdles

Children of Alzheimer Patients: An Overview

“…41 Children of Alzheimer patients are among the first to pursue whatever regime receives the attention of the public media, but systematic studies of the results of their actions have as yet to be published. By contrast, researchers, especially those concerned with drug discovery, are exploring novel approaches that include, to name only 3, anti-β amyloid strategies 42,43 ; emphasis on tau protein, 44,45 with the suggestion that it may represent a protective antioxidant response to oxidative stress 46 ; and the role of microglial motility in response to brain injury or infection. 47 The latter fits in well with the philothermal response mechanism and the microtubule hypothesis of AD formulated some 25 years ago.…”

Analysis of Fuzhisan and quantitation of baicalin and ginsenoside Rb1 by HPLC-DAD-ELSD

“…It is anticipated that the number of patients with AD may triple by 2050 with a significant economic and emotional impact on society (Travis, 2005). The hypothesis that cholinergic neurons are involved (Francis et al, 1999) and that the production of acetylcholine is diminished in AD resulted in the development of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors such as donepezil (Pfizer), rivastigmin, and galantamine.…”

“…However, the licensed compounds appear to only alleviate symptoms and not cure or even slow the pathology of the disease. Recently developed therapies for AD have not delivered many efficacious compounds to date (Travis, 2005). FZS is a complex traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) composed of Radix Ginseng Rubra (Araliaceae family), Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi (Labiatae family), Angelica sinensis (Oliv) Diels (Umbelliferae family), Anemone altaica Fisch Ex C.A.…”

Treating Alzheimers Disease by Inactivating Bioactive Amyloid β Peptide

“…However, AD is not a conventional disease. As one recent review on AD drug development commented: "Saving the mind faces high hurdles " [1]. Battling AD may require multiple approaches, and aiming at a currently unconventional target may well be worth the risk.…”

“…Drugs that aim to modify the disease mechanisms in the pathogenesis of AD are still in the developmental stage [1]. Two of the pathological hallmarks of AD are extracellular plaques that are primarily composed of amyloid β peptide (Aβ) and intraneuronal neurofibrillary tangles that are assembled from the hyperphosphorylated form of tau, a microtubule-associated protein.…”