Alzobaidi Nafaa, Quasimi Huma, Emad Nasr A, Alhalmi Abdulsalam, Naqvi Maaz
Department of Pharmacology, Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (HIMSR), Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, India.
Department of Physiology, Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (HIMSR), Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, India.
Degener Neurol Neuromuscul Dis. 2021 Apr 12;11:1-14. doi: 10.2147/DNND.S299589. eCollection 2021.
Dementia is a term that encompasses a group of clinical symptoms affecting memory, thinking and social abilities, characterized by progressive impairment of memory performance and cognitive functions. There are several factors involved in the pathogenesis and progression of dementia, such as old age, brain ischemia, toxin exposure, and oxidative stress. There are extensive similarities between dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD) either in clinical manifestations or experimental animal models. AD is the most dominant form of dementia, characterized by the accumulation of beta-amyloid protein and cholinergic neurotransmission deficits in the brain. Currently available medications for the treatment of dementia, such as choline esterase inhibitors, N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonists (memantine), have short-term efficacy and only relieve symptoms rather than targeting the main underlying pathogenesis. Several animal studies and clinical trials are being conducted to provide a rational approach to these medicinal plants in the prevention or treatment of memory deficits. This review highlights the potential effects of medicinal plants and their derived lead molecules, and explains the related mechanisms and effects reviewed from published literature as major thrust aspects and hopeful strategies in the prevention or treatment of dementia.
痴呆症是一个涵盖影响记忆、思维和社交能力的一组临床症状的术语，其特征是记忆表现和认知功能的进行性损害。痴呆症的发病机制和进展涉及多个因素，如老年、脑缺血、毒素暴露和氧化应激。痴呆症与阿尔茨海默病（AD）在临床表现或实验动物模型方面都有广泛的相似之处。AD是痴呆症最主要的形式，其特征是大脑中β-淀粉样蛋白的积累和胆碱能神经传递缺陷。目前用于治疗痴呆症的药物，如胆碱酯酶抑制剂、N-甲基-D-天冬氨酸（NMDA）拮抗剂（美金刚），具有短期疗效，且仅能缓解症状，而非针对主要的潜在发病机制。目前正在进行多项动物研究和临床试验，以提供一种合理利用这些药用植物预防或治疗记忆缺陷的方法。本综述重点介绍了药用植物及其衍生先导分子的潜在作用，并从已发表的文献中回顾相关机制和作用，将其作为预防或治疗痴呆症的主要重点方面和有希望的策略。
