scholarly journals Experimental Evidence of the Benefits of Acupuncture for Alzheimer's Disease: An Updated Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao-Chao Yu ◽  
Yan-Jun Du ◽  
Shu-Qin Wang ◽  
Le-Bin Liu ◽  
Feng Shen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Neuronal Apoptosis ◽  
Tau Phosphorylation ◽  
Therapeutic Effects ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Brain Responses ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
Neuron Function ◽  
Global Population

As the global population ages, the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common form of dementia, is also increasing. At present, there are no widely recognized drugs able to ameliorate the cognitive dysfunction caused by AD. The failure of several promising clinical trials in recent years has highlighted the urgent need for novel strategies to both prevent and treat AD. Notably, a growing body of literature supports the efficacy of acupuncture for AD. In this review, we summarize the previously reported mechanisms of acupuncture's beneficial effects in AD, including the ability of acupuncture to modulate Aβ metabolism, tau phosphorylation, neurotransmitters, neurogenesis, synapse and neuron function, autophagy, neuronal apoptosis, neuroinflammation, cerebral glucose metabolism, and brain responses. Taken together, these findings suggest that acupuncture provides therapeutic effects for AD.

scholarly journals Zinc Therapy in Early Alzheimer’s Disease: Safety and Potential Therapeutic Efficacy

Biomolecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1164
Author(s):  
Rosanna Squitti ◽  
Amit Pal ◽  
Mario Picozza ◽  
Abofazl Avan ◽  
Mariacarla Ventriglia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Intestinal Tract ◽  
Normal Values ◽  
The Body ◽  
Intestinal Cell ◽  
Therapeutic Effects ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Primary Endpoints ◽  
Early Alzheimer’S Disease

Zinc therapy is normally utilized for treatment of Wilson disease (WD), an inherited condition that is characterized by increased levels of non-ceruloplasmin bound (‘free’) copper in serum and urine. A subset of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or its prodromal form, known as Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), fail to maintain a normal copper metabolic balance and exhibit higher than normal values of non-ceruloplasmin copper. Zinc’s action mechanism involves the induction of intestinal cell metallothionein, which blocks copper absorption from the intestinal tract, thus restoring physiological levels of non-ceruloplasmin copper in the body. On this basis, it is employed in WD. Zinc therapy has shown potential beneficial effects in preliminary AD clinical trials, even though the studies have missed their primary endpoints, since they have study design and other important weaknesses. Nevertheless, in the studied AD patients, zinc effectively decreased non-ceruloplasmin copper levels and showed potential for improved cognitive performances with no major side effects. This review discusses zinc therapy safety and the potential therapeutic effects that might be expected on a subset of individuals showing both cognitive complaints and signs of copper imbalance.

scholarly journals Effect of C-phycocyanin on HDAC3 and miRNA-335 in Alzheimer’s disease

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-172
Author(s):  
Zhengyu Li ◽  
Li Gan ◽  
Si Yan ◽  
Yufang Yan ◽  
Wei Huang
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Spatial Memory ◽  
Therapeutic Option ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Tau Proteins ◽  
Therapeutic Effects ◽  
Epigenetic Factors ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Ameliorative Effect

AbstractBackground:Amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaque deposits and neurofibrillary tangles containing tau proteins are the key pathognomonic manifestations of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Lack of holistic drugs for AD has reinvigorated enthusiasm in the natural product-based therapies. In this study, our idea to decipher the beneficial effects of C-phycocyanin (CPC) in the management of AD is buoyed by its multifaceted and holistic therapeutic effects.Methods:We evaluated the effect of CPC treatment on epigenetic factors and inflammatory mediators in a mouse with oligomeric Aβ1-42-induced AD. Besides, the cognitive function was evaluated by the spatial memory performance on a radial arm maze.Results:The results showed cognitive deficit in the mice with AD along with upregulated HDAC3 expression and diminished miRNA-335 and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expressions. In addition, inflammation was provoked (manifested by increased interleukins (IL)-6 and IL-1β) and neuronal apoptosis was accelerated (indicated by increased Bax, caspase-3, and caspase-9 along with decreased Bcl2) in the hippocampus of the mice with AD. Interestingly, CPC treatment in the mice with AD improved spatial memory performance and decreased the perturbations in the epigenetic and inflammatory biofactors.Conclusion:These results underscore that mitigation of inflammation via regulation of epigenetic factors might be the key pathway underlying the ameliorative effect of CPC against the aberrations in AD. Our findings provide the rationale for considering CPC as a viable therapeutic option in the management of AD.

scholarly journals Pharmacological inhibition of soluble epoxide hydrolase as a new therapy for Alzheimer’s Disease

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Griñán-Ferré ◽  
Sandra Codony ◽  
Eugènia Pujol ◽  
Jun Yang ◽  
Rosana Leiva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Epoxide Hydrolase ◽  
Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase ◽  
Therapeutic Effects ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Novel Target ◽  
Age Related Cognitive Decline

AbstractThe inhibition of the enzyme soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) has demonstrated clinical therapeutic effects in several peripheral inflammatory-related diseases, with two compounds that have entered clinical trials. However, the role of this enzyme in the neuroinflammation process has been largely neglected. Herein, we disclose the pharmacological validation of sEH as a novel target for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Of interest, we have found that sEH is upregulated in brains from AD patients. We have evaluated the cognitive impairment and the pathological hallmarks in two models of age-related cognitive decline and AD using three structurally different and potent sEH inhibitors as chemical probes. Our findings supported our expectations on the beneficial effects of central sEH inhibition, regarding of reducing cognitive impairment, tau hyperphosphorylation pathology and the number of amyloid plaques. Interestingly, our results suggest that reduction of inflammation in the brain is a relevant therapeutic strategy for all stages of AD.

Lifelong bilingualism, cognitive reserve and Alzheimer’s disease

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 171-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian T. Gold
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Control Systems ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Cognitive Reserve ◽  
Symptom Expression ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Aging Society ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Growing Body

Abstract Increasing our understanding about neuroprotective lifestyle variables has become a practical imperative in our aging society. Cognitive reserve (CR) refers to the use brain resources in a way that allows for coping with neuropathology and maintaining cognitive functioning. A growing body of evidence suggests that bilingualism may represent a form of CR against Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The purpose of the present review is to summarize both behavioral and neuroimaging evidence for bilingualism as a reserve variable against AD. The potential influences of literacy, intelligence, immigration status are discussed. Evidence is reviewed suggesting that bilingualism may delay clinical AD symptoms by protecting against age-related declines in the brain’s executive control circuitry. It is suggested that such potential beneficial effects within executive control systems may enable bilinguals to circumvent the typical effects of AD pathology on symptom expression for several years.

scholarly journals Medicinal plants possessed beneficial therapeutic effects in Alzheimer’s disease and memory deficits

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 008-033
Author(s):  
Ali Esmail Al-Snafi
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Therapeutic Effect ◽  
Memory Deficits ◽  
Therapeutic Effects ◽  
Phosphodiesterase Inhibition ◽  
Common Cause ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Current Article

Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia, accounting for an estimated 60% to 80% of cases. The treatment of Alzheimer's disease remains challenging. Many medicinal plants possessed beneficial therapeutic effect inAlzheimer’s disease and memory deficits, by their anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, neuroprotective, NF-κB inhibition, phosphodiesterase inhibition, anti-amyloidogenic, and anticholinesterase activities. In the current article, the medicinal plants with beneficial effects in Alzheimer’s disease and memory deficits were discussed. This article considers not only the therapeutic effect of medicinal plants in AD and memory deficits, but also discussed the mechanisms of their beneficial effects.

scholarly journals “Don’t Phos Over Tau”: recent developments in clinical biomarkers and therapies targeting tau phosphorylation in Alzheimer’s disease and other tauopathies

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuxing Xia ◽  
Stefan Prokop ◽  
Benoit I. Giasson
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cerebrospinal Fluid ◽  
Kinase Inhibitors ◽  
Tau Phosphorylation ◽  
Phosphorylated Tau ◽  
Clinical Biomarkers ◽  
Early Results ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Tau Aggregation

AbstractPhosphorylation is one of the most prevalent post-translational modifications found in aggregated tau isolated from Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patient brains. In tauopathies like AD, increased phosphorylation or hyperphosphorylation can contribute to microtubule dysfunction and is associated with tau aggregation. In this review, we provide an overview of the structure and functions of tau protein as well as the physiologic roles of tau phosphorylation. We also extensively survey tau phosphorylation sites identified in brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluid from AD patients compared to age-matched healthy controls, which may serve as disease-specific biomarkers. Recently, new assays have been developed to measure minute amounts of specific forms of phosphorylated tau in both cerebrospinal fluid and plasma, which could potentially be useful for aiding clinical diagnosis and monitoring disease progression. Additionally, multiple therapies targeting phosphorylated tau are in various stages of clinical trials including kinase inhibitors, phosphatase activators, and tau immunotherapy. With promising early results, therapies that target phosphorylated tau  could be useful at slowing tau hyperphosphorylation and aggregation in AD and other tauopathies.

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