scholarly journals Natural Products in Neurodegenerative Diseases: A Great Promise but an Ethical Challenge

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (20) ◽  
pp. 5170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Di Paolo ◽  
Luigi Papi ◽  
Federica Gori ◽  
Emanuela Turillazzi
Keyword(s):  
Natural Products ◽  
Patient Safety ◽  
Neurodegenerative Diseases ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Biomedical Ethics ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Ethical Framework ◽  
Ethical Challenge ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Mortality And Morbidity

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) represent one of the most important public health problems and concerns, as they are a growing cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide, particularly in the elderly. Despite remarkable breakthroughs in our understanding of NDs, there has been little success in developing effective therapies. The use of natural products may offer great potential opportunities in the prevention and therapy of NDs; however, many clinical concerns have arisen regarding their use, mainly focusing on the lack of scientific support or evidence for their efficacy and patient safety. These clinical uncertainties raise critical questions from a bioethical and legal point of view, as considerations relating to patient decisional autonomy, patient safety, and beneficial or non-beneficial care may need to be addressed. This paper does not intend to advocate for or against the use of natural products, but to analyze the ethical framework of their use, with particular attention paid to the principles of biomedical ethics. In conclusion, the notable message that emerges is that natural products may represent a great promise for the treatment of many NDs, even if many unknown issues regarding the efficacy and safety of many natural products still remain.

A Pharmacological Appraisal of Neuroprotective and Neurorestorative Flavonoids Against Neurodegenerative Diseases

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jia Zhao ◽  
Mengxia Zhu ◽  
Mukesh Kumar ◽  
Fung Yin Ngo ◽  
Yinghui Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Products ◽  
Side Effects ◽  
Neurodegenerative Diseases ◽  
Elderly Population ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Novel Therapeutics ◽  
The Core ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Core Symptoms

Background & Objective: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) affect an increasing number of the elderly population worldwide. The existing treatments mainly improve the core symptoms of AD and PD in a temporary manner and cause alarming side effects. Naturally occurring flavonoids are well-documented for neuroprotective and neurorestorative effects against various neurodegenerative diseases. Thus, we analyzed the pharmacokinetics of eight potent natural products flavonoids for the druggability and discussed the neuroprotective and neurorestorative effects and the underlying mechanisms. Conclusion: This review provides valuable clues for the development of novel therapeutics against neurodegenerative diseases.

scholarly journals Marine Natural Products: Promising Candidates in the Modulation of Gut-Brain Axis towards Neuroprotection

Marine Drugs ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 165
Author(s):  
Sajad Fakhri ◽  
Akram Yarmohammadi ◽  
Mostafa Yarmohammadi ◽  
Mohammad Hosein Farzaei ◽  
Javier Echeverria
Keyword(s):  
Natural Products ◽  
Neurodegenerative Diseases ◽  
Marine Natural Products ◽  
Neurological Diseases ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Road ◽  
Bidirectional Regulation ◽  
Bidirectional Relationship ◽  
Macrolactin A ◽  
Stress Mediators

In recent decades, several neuroprotective agents have been provided in combating neuronal dysfunctions; however, no effective treatment has been found towards the complete eradication of neurodegenerative diseases. From the pathophysiological point of view, growing studies are indicating a bidirectional relationship between gut and brain termed gut-brain axis in the context of health/disease. Revealing the gut-brain axis has survived new hopes in the prevention, management, and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Accordingly, introducing novel alternative therapies in regulating the gut-brain axis seems to be an emerging concept to pave the road in fighting neurodegenerative diseases. Growing studies have developed marine-derived natural products as hopeful candidates in a simultaneous targeting of gut-brain dysregulated mediators towards neuroprotection. Of marine natural products, carotenoids (e.g., fucoxanthin, and astaxanthin), phytosterols (e.g., fucosterol), polysaccharides (e.g., fucoidan, chitosan, alginate, and laminarin), macrolactins (e.g., macrolactin A), diterpenes (e.g., lobocrasol, excavatolide B, and crassumol E) and sesquiterpenes (e.g., zonarol) have shown to be promising candidates in modulating gut-brain axis. The aforementioned marine natural products are potential regulators of inflammatory, apoptotic, and oxidative stress mediators towards a bidirectional regulation of the gut-brain axis. The present study aims at describing the gut-brain axis, the importance of gut microbiota in neurological diseases, as well as the modulatory role of marine natural products towards neuroprotection.

scholarly journals Parkinson’s disease: Etiopathogenesis, molecular basis and potential treatment opportunities

2019 ◽  
Vol 73 ◽  
pp. 256-268
Author(s):  
Marta Lemieszewska ◽  
Agnieszka Zabłocka ◽  
Joanna Rymaszewska
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Natural Products ◽  
Neurodegenerative Diseases ◽  
Life Quality ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Oxidative Stress Biomarkers ◽  
Enhanced Production

Neurodegenerative diseases affect the life quality and lifespan of aging populations. Among all forms of neurodegenerative diseases, Parkinson’s disease (PD) has a massive impact on the elderly. Oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction are the main causes of neurodegeneration and progression of PD. Oxidative stress, which plays a vital role in the pathophysiology of PD, is related to the dysfunction of cellular antioxidant mechanisms as a result of enhanced production of reactive oxygen species. A large number of studies have utilized oxidative stress biomarkers to investigate the severity of neurodegeneration and medications are available, but these only treat the symptoms. Extensive studies scientifically validated the beneficial effect of natural products against neurodegenerative diseases, using suitable animal models. The review focuses on the role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease and the protective potential of natural products against neurodegeneration.

Effect Of Nhexane Extract Of Caryota No Seed On Markers Of Neurodegeneration And Fecundity In Drosophila Melanogaster

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Chinonye A Maduagwuna ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Neurodegenerative Diseases ◽  
Cognitive Functions ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Common Cause ◽  
Chronic Neuroinflammation

Study background: Chronic neuroinflammation is a common emerging hallmark of several neurodegenerative diseases. Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia among the elderly and is characterized by loss of memory and other cognitive functions.

Natural Products for the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (34) ◽  
pp. 5790-5828 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ze Wang ◽  
Chunyang He ◽  
Jing-Shan Shi
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Natural Products ◽  
Neurodegenerative Diseases ◽  
Neuroprotective Effect ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
New Drugs ◽  
Progressive Degeneration ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
And Function

Neurodegenerative diseases are a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by the progressive degeneration of the structure and function of the central nervous system or peripheral nervous system. Alzheimer's Disease (AD), Parkinson's Disease (PD) and Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) are the common neurodegenerative diseases, which typically occur in people over the age of 60. With the rapid development of an aged society, over 60 million people worldwide are suffering from these uncurable diseases. Therefore, the search for new drugs and therapeutic methods has become an increasingly important research topic. Natural products especially those from the Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs), are the most important sources of drugs, and have received extensive interest among pharmacist. In this review, in order to facilitate further chemical modification of those useful natural products by pharmacists, we will bring together recent studies in single natural compound from TCMs with neuroprotective effect.

Potential for Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases with Natural Products or Synthetic Compounds that Stabilize Microtubules

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (35) ◽  
pp. 4362-4372
Author(s):  
John H. Miller ◽  
Viswanath Das
Keyword(s):  
Natural Products ◽  
Neurodegenerative Diseases ◽  
In Vivo Models ◽  
Synthetic Compounds ◽  
Stabilizing Agents ◽  
Animal Models Of Disease ◽  
Model Studies ◽  
Models Of Disease

No effective therapeutics to treat neurodegenerative diseases exist, despite significant attempts to find drugs that can reduce or rescue the debilitating symptoms of tauopathies such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Pick’s disease. A number of in vitro and in vivo models exist for studying neurodegenerative diseases, including cell models employing induced-pluripotent stem cells, cerebral organoids, and animal models of disease. Recent research has focused on microtubulestabilizing agents, either natural products or synthetic compounds that can prevent the axonal destruction caused by tau protein pathologies. Although promising results have come from animal model studies using brainpenetrant natural product microtubule-stabilizing agents, such as paclitaxel analogs that can access the brain, epothilones B and D, and other synthetic compounds such as davunetide or the triazolopyrimidines, early clinical trials in humans have been disappointing. This review aims to summarize the research that has been carried out in this area and discuss the potential for the future development of an effective microtubule stabilizing drug to treat neurodegenerative disease.

scholarly journals A Feasibility Study of the Use of Smartwatches in Wearable Fall Detection Systems

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 2254
Author(s):  
Francisco Javier González-Cañete ◽  
Eduardo Casilari
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Fall Detection ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
False Alarms ◽  
Battery Life ◽  
Area Network ◽  
Battery Lifetime ◽  
Detection Systems ◽  
Operational Aspects

Over the last few years, the use of smartwatches in automatic Fall Detection Systems (FDSs) has aroused great interest in the research of new wearable telemonitoring systems for the elderly. In contrast with other approaches to the problem of fall detection, smartwatch-based FDSs can benefit from the widespread acceptance, ergonomics, low cost, networking interfaces, and sensors that these devices provide. However, the scientific literature has shown that, due to the freedom of movement of the arms, the wrist is usually not the most appropriate position to unambiguously characterize the dynamics of the human body during falls, as many conventional activities of daily living that involve a vigorous motion of the hands may be easily misinterpreted as falls. As also stated by the literature, sensor-fusion and multi-point measurements are required to define a robust and reliable method for a wearable FDS. Thus, to avoid false alarms, it may be necessary to combine the analysis of the signals captured by the smartwatch with those collected by some other low-power sensor placed at a point closer to the body’s center of gravity (e.g., on the waist). Under this architecture of Body Area Network (BAN), these external sensing nodes must be wirelessly connected to the smartwatch to transmit their measurements. Nonetheless, the deployment of this networking solution, in which the smartwatch is in charge of processing the sensed data and generating the alarm in case of detecting a fall, may severely impact on the performance of the wearable. Unlike many other works (which often neglect the operational aspects of real fall detectors), this paper analyzes the actual feasibility of putting into effect a BAN intended for fall detection on present commercial smartwatches. In particular, the study is focused on evaluating the reduction of the battery life may cause in the watch that works as the core of the BAN. To this end, we thoroughly assess the energy drain in a prototype of an FDS consisting of a smartwatch and several external Bluetooth-enabled sensing units. In order to identify those scenarios in which the use of the smartwatch could be viable from a practical point of view, the testbed is studied with diverse commercial devices and under different configurations of those elements that may significantly hamper the battery lifetime.

scholarly journals Assessment of Poverty by Municipalities in the Context of Population Ageing—The Case of Małopolskie Voivodeship

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2563
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Ćwiek ◽  
Katarzyna Maj-Waśniowska ◽  
Katarzyna Stabryła-Chudzio
Keyword(s):  
The Elderly ◽  
Research Problem ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Social Challenge ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Qualitative Variables ◽  
Chi Square Test ◽  
Research Gap

This article undertakes the research problem of the assessment of the significance of poverty as a social challenge for local self-government units, and the differences in the assessment of the incidence of this phenomenon depending on the type of municipality. The authors also analyse the relationships between the ageing of the population and the assessment of the extent of poverty by municipalities. It must be pointed out that the undertaken problem has not been a subject of in-depth analysis thus far. Hence, this article fills the identified research gap in this field. The empirical part is based on the results of our own research, conducted using the Computer-Assisted Web Interview (CAWI) method on a sample of 144 municipalities of the Małopolskie Voivodship (Poland). In order to verify whether there is a relationship between the researched qualitative variables, the chi-square test of independence was used. In order to determine the relationships occurring between the categories of variables characterising the scale of the incidence of poverty and the remaining variables, a correspondence analysis was conducted. The research enabled us to find the issue of poverty to be one of the most important social problems from the point of view of municipalities. It is also worth noting that the degree of ageing in the population has an impact on the assessment of poverty among the elderly.

scholarly journals Anthropological analysis on recent covid-19 infection in Italy

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
V A Sironi ◽  
M A Riva
Keyword(s):  
Medical Information ◽  
National Level ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Cognitive Distortion ◽  
Psychological Reactions ◽  
Foreign Countries ◽  
The Social ◽  
Informative Role ◽  
Globalized World

Abstract The recent epidemic caused by the Covid-19 virus, which originated in China and then spread rapidly, can rightly be defined as the real 'first' epidemic in the social era. In an increasingly globalized world other recent epidemics (but more circumscribed, even if severely more lethal, such as Ebola and Sars) have been experienced with less media and emotional involvement, while the recent epidemic due to the new coronavirus has generated deserving reactions of analysis from an anthropological and social point of view, rather than on a health aspect. In Italy the epidemic event provoked sometimes excessive and irrational psychological reactions (from an unjustified panic to an irresponsible underestimation) and a cognitive distortion on anthropological level (wrong perspective perception of the pathological event). It has also generated disproportionate social repercussions at national level (refusal of stay for subjects coming from the lands in which diseased people are present) and at international level (foreclosure of landing of Italian tourists in some foreign countries). There was also incorrect medical information (confusion between infected - asymptomatic and/or non-hospitalized paucisymptomatic -, real patients with important symptoms - hospitalized - and sometimes in need of intensive care, subjects - the elderly and carriers of other serious diseases - died not for but with the Covid-19 infection) generated and amplified also by the pounding informative role of the mass media and by the news (often inaccurate and generating fake-news) spread in real time through social media. Key messages Irrational reactions must be avoided. Correct medical information are indispensable.

scholarly journals Effects of Vitamin A Supplementation on Immune Responses and Correlation with Clinical Outcomes

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 446-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Villamor ◽  
Wafaie W. Fawzi
Keyword(s):  
Vitamin A ◽  
Clinical Outcomes ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Lymphocyte Activation ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Conclusive Evidence ◽  
Vitamin A Supplementation ◽  
Mortality And Morbidity ◽  
Severe Diarrhea ◽  
Positive Effects

SUMMARY Vitamin A supplementation to preschool children is known to decrease the risks of mortality and morbidity from some forms of diarrhea, measles, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, and malaria. These effects are likely to be the result of the actions of vitamin A on immunity. Some of the immunomodulatory mechanisms of vitamin A have been described in clinical trials and can be correlated with clinical outcomes of supplementation. The effects on morbidity from measles are related to enhanced antibody production and lymphocyte proliferation. Benefits for severe diarrhea could be attributable to the functions of vitamin A in sustaining the integrity of mucosal epithelia in the gut, whereas positive effects among HIV-infected children could also be related to increased T-cell lymphopoiesis. There is no conclusive evidence for a direct effect of vitamin A supplementation on cytokine production or lymphocyte activation. Under certain circumstances, vitamin A supplementation to infants has the potential to improve the antibody response to some vaccines, including tetanus and diphtheria toxoids and measles. There is limited research on the effects of vitamin A supplementation to adults and the elderly on their immune function; currently available data provide no consistent evidence for beneficial effects. Additional studies with these age groups are needed.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document