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The prevalence of multiple neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD), has been dramatically increasing, particularly in the aging population. However, the currently available therapies merely alleviate the symptoms of these diseases and are unable to retard disease progression significantly. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used in clinical practice for thousands of years for ameliorating symptoms or interfering with the pathogenesis of aging- associated diseases. Modern pharmacological studies have proved that TCM imparts disease-modifying therapeutic effects against these diseases, such as protection of neurons, clearance of protein aggregates, and regulation of neuroinflammation. This review summarizes the evidence from recent studies on AD and PD therapies regarding the neuroprotective activities and molecular mechanisms of a series of TCM formulations comprising herbs and their active ingredients. The findings of this review support the use of TCM as an alternative source of therapy for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.


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Traditional Chinese medicine-based neurorestorative therapy for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease

Show Author's information Zhu Zhang1,2,§Shiqing Zhang1,2,§Cathy Nga-Ping Lui1,2Peili Zhu1,2Zhang Zhang1,2Kaili Lin1,2Yiwu Dai3( )Ken Kin-Lam Yung1,2( )
Department of Biology, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
Golden Meditech Center for NeuroRegeneration Sciences (GMCNS), Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
Department of Neurosurgery, Bayi Brain Hospital, The Seventh Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China

§ The authors contributed equally to this work

Abstract

The prevalence of multiple neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD), has been dramatically increasing, particularly in the aging population. However, the currently available therapies merely alleviate the symptoms of these diseases and are unable to retard disease progression significantly. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used in clinical practice for thousands of years for ameliorating symptoms or interfering with the pathogenesis of aging- associated diseases. Modern pharmacological studies have proved that TCM imparts disease-modifying therapeutic effects against these diseases, such as protection of neurons, clearance of protein aggregates, and regulation of neuroinflammation. This review summarizes the evidence from recent studies on AD and PD therapies regarding the neuroprotective activities and molecular mechanisms of a series of TCM formulations comprising herbs and their active ingredients. The findings of this review support the use of TCM as an alternative source of therapy for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

Keywords: Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, traditional Chinese medicine, neurorestorative therapy

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Received: 21 October 2019
Revised: 03 December 2019
Accepted: 30 December 2019
Published: 17 January 2020
Issue date: December 2019

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