Therapeutic Effects of Natural Drugs on Alzheimer’s Disease

Abstract

Alzheimer disease (AD) is characterized as a chronic neurodegenerative disease associated with aging. The clinical manifestations of AD include latent episodes of memory and cognitive impairment, psychiatric symptoms and behavioral disorders, as well as limited activities in daily life. In developed countries, AD is now acknowledged as the third leading cause of death, following cardiovascular disease and cancer. The pathogenesis and mechanism of AD remain unclear, although some theories have been proposed to explain AD, such as the theory of β-amyloid, the theory of the abnormal metabolism of tau protein, the theory of free radical damage, the theory of the inflammatory response, the theory of cholinergic damage, etc. Effective methods to predict, prevent or reverse AD are unavailable, and thus the development of new, efficient therapeutic drugs has become a current research hot spot worldwide. The isolation and extraction of active components from natural drugs have great potential in treating AD. These drugs possess the advantages of multiple targets in multiple pathways, fewer side effects and a long duration of curative effects. This article summaries the latest research progress regarding the mechanisms of natural drugs in the treatment of AD, providing a review of the literature and a theoretical basis for improving the clinical treatment of AD.

Comprehensive Review on Alzheimer’s Disease: Causes and Treatment

“…Recently, bryostatin, a macrolide lactone extract from bryozoan Bugula neritina, has been evaluated and showed the ability to induce α-secretase activity, reduce Aβ production, and enhance the learning and memory in an AD mice model [ 145 ]. Other natural compounds used in folk medicine (traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)) demonstrated a great potential in treating AD by acting on several mechanisms, as shown in Table 2 below [ 146 ].…”

Viral Involvement in Alzheimer’s Disease

“…To date, there is no treatment for AD. 7 Many clinical trials failed to remove Aβ in AD patients, and none of them have reduced the pathogenesis of AD. 8 Currently approved drugs can only alleviate symptoms, such as cholinesterase inhibitors (donepezil, rivastigmine, and galantamine) that act by slowing the breakdown of acetylcholine in the synaptic cleft and memantine, an antagonist of glutamatergic NMDA receptors.…”

Enfermagem: um estudo da fisiopatologia do Alzheimer e os seus tratamentos alternativos com células-tronco e cannabis

“…Conforme estudos apresentados anteriormente relatando os fármacos mais comuns utilizados no tratamento da DA, serão relatados os tratamentos promissores incluindo a substância extraída da Cannabis, o CBD que vem revolucionando a terapia com a DA pelos seus resultados satisfatórios, como também a terapia celular (células-tronco) como possibilidade futura de combater a DA (Ma et al, 2019).…”