Alzheimer Disease/drug therapy* ; Humans

Aged ; Alzheimer Disease ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Sociology

During the past 30 years, Alzheimer's disease (AD) drug R&D aiming at a variety of potential targets has undergone tremendous setback although a large amount of resources have been invested by pharmaceutical companies, governments, academic institutions and venture capitals globally. There is no doubt that uneasy early diagnosis, unsatisfying therapeutic strategies and genetic polymorphism of AD patients bringing variety of responses to the drugs contribute to the failure of AD drug therapy, but the most important reason might be that people have insufficient understanding of the very complex diseases including AD. Continuing to make efforts in the previous way to find AD drugs might not be a good way. Development of systems biomedicine opens an avenue to understand the disease networks and pursue multi-target drugs R&D based on systems pharmacology theory; neural stem cell transplantation, and neurogenesis affected by small molecules might bring new hope for AD therapy; discovery of new biomarkers of AD will help the study of the pathogenesis and diagnosis of the disease and finally the discovery of new types of AD drugs.
Alzheimer Disease ; drug therapy ; Biomedical Research ; trends ; Humans

Cellular autophagy is a major degradative pathway for clearance of aggregate-prone proteins and damaged organelles. It plays an important role in regulating cellular homeostasis, cell growth and development, and disease development. Dysfunctional autophagy contributes to the pathology of various neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease, in which specific pathological protein accumulation occurs. A growing body of evidence suggests that resveratrol plays a significantly role in the regulation of autophagy and clearance of pathological proteins. Resveratrol is a potential drug for neurodegenerative diseases therapy. This review focuses on the effects of resveratrol on cellular autophagy and clinical application in the control of neurodegenerative diseases.
Alzheimer Disease ; Autophagy ; Humans ; Huntington Disease ; Neurodegenerative Diseases ; drug therapy ; Parkinson Disease ; Stilbenes ; pharmacology

Neuropathological, clinical epidemiology and animal models studies provide clear evidence for the activation of neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's disease (AD), and long-term use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is linked with reduced risk to develop the disease. But the clinical trials got a negative outcome with traditional NSAIDs treating AD. The therapeutic effects of NSAIDs on Alzheimer's disease are still not clear based on the present research. Profound study for anti-inflammatory mechanisms and standardized clinical trials are needed. As cause and effect relationships between neuroinflammation and AD are being worked out, the challenge is how to realize the effect of traditional NSAIDs on treating AD.
Alzheimer Disease ; drug therapy ; Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Inflammation ; drug therapy

Throughout the history of drug development, plants have been an important source for the discovery of novel therapeutically active compounds for many diseases. The ethnopharmacological approach has provided several leads to identify potential new drugs from plant sources, including those for memory disorders. For the treatment of Alzheimer's disease the drug discovery focus shifted from cholinesterase inhibitors, to other targets primarily based on two key neuropathological hallmarks, namely the hyperphosphorylation of the tau protein resulting in the formation of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), and the increased formation and aggregation of amyloid-beta peptide (Aβ) derived from amyloid precursor protein (APP). The present article aims to provide a comprehensive literature survey of plants and their constituents that have been tested for Aβ aggregation, thus possibly relieving several features of Alzheimer's disease (AD).
Alzheimer Disease ; drug therapy ; Amyloid beta-Peptides ; Humans ; Plants, Medicinal ; Protein Aggregation, Pathological ; drug therapy

The naturally-occurring dipeptide carnosine (beta-alanyl-L-histidine) is found exclusively in animal tissues, such as brain and skeletal muscle tissues. Carnosine is a potent hydrophilic antioxidant, antiglycating agent, reactive oxygen species scavenger and pH-buffer. Recent reports suggest that carnosine has potential therapeutic applications in many diseases of central nervous system, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and cerebral ischemic diseases. To investigate the relationship between carnosine and diseases of central nervous system, and to research and develop carnosine drugs will shed light on a new way for treatment of diseases of central nervous system.
Alzheimer Disease ; drug therapy ; Brain Diseases ; drug therapy ; Brain Ischemia ; drug therapy ; Carnosine ; therapeutic use ; Central Nervous System Diseases ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Parkinson Disease ; drug therapy

Alzheimer Disease ; China ; Consensus ; Humans ; Lewy Bodies ; Lewy Body Disease/drug therapy*

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases among the elderly and it accounts for nearly 80% of all dementias. The pathogenesis of AD is complicated and enigmatic thus far. The mitochondrial cascade hypothesis assumes that mitochondrial damage may mediate, drive, or contribute to a variety of AD pathologies and may be the main factor in late-onset AD. Currently, there are no widely recognized drugs able to attenuate mitochondrial damage in AD. Notably, increasing evidence supports the efficacy of acupuncture for improving the mitochondrial structure and protecting mitochondrial functions in AD. This review reports the mechanisms by which acupuncture regulates mitochondrial dynamics, energy metabolism, calcium homeostasis and apoptosis. In conclusion, these findings suggest that AD mitochondrial dysfunction represents a reasonable therapeutic target and acupuncture could play a significant role in preventing and treating AD.
Acupuncture Therapy ; Aged ; Alzheimer Disease/drug therapy* ; Apoptosis ; Humans ; Mitochondria/metabolism*

This study employed bibliometrics tools to review the studies of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) treatment of Alzheimer's disease(AD) in recent ten years, aiming to explore the research status, hotspots, and future trends in this field at home and abroad. The relevant literature published from January 1, 2012 to August 15, 2022 was retrieved from Web of Science and CNKI. CiteSpace 6.1R2 and VOSviewer 1.6.15 were used for the visual analysis of authors, countries, institutions, keywords, journals, etc. A total of 2 254 Chinese articles and 545 English articles were included. The annual number of articles published showed a rising trend with fluctuations. The country with the largest number of relevant articles published and the largest centrality was China. SUN Guo-jie and WANG Qi were the authors publishing the most Chinese articles and English articles, respectively. Hubei University of Chinese Medicine and Beijing University of Chinese Medicine published the most articles in Chinese and English, respectively. Journal of Ethnopharmacology and Neuroscience Letters published the articles with the highest cited frequency and the highest centrality. According to the keywords, the research on TCM treatment of AD mainly focused on the mechanism of action and treatment methods. Metabolomics, intestinal flora, oxidative stress, tau hyperphosphorylation, β-amyloid(Aβ), inflammatory cytokines, and autophagy were the focuses of the research on mechanism of action. Acupuncture, clinical effect, kidney deficiency and phlegm stasis, and dredging governor vessel to revitalize mind were the hotspots of clinical research. This research field is still in the stage of exploration and development. Exchanges and cooperation among institutions should be encouraged to carry out more high-quality basic research on TCM treatment of AD, obtain high-level evidence, and clarify the pathogenesis and prescription mechanism.
Humans ; Alzheimer Disease/drug therapy* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Medicine ; Amyloid beta-Peptides