scholarly journals Natural Products in Alzheimer’s Disease Therapy: Would Old Therapeutic Approaches Fix the Broken Promise of Modern Medicines?

Molecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (8) ◽  
pp. 1519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Habtemariam

Despite extensive progress in understanding the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) over the last 50 years, clinical trials based on the amyloid–beta (Aβ) hypothesis have kept failing in late stage human trials. As a result, just four old drugs of limited clinical outcomes and numerous side effects are currently used for AD therapy. This article assesses the common pharmacological targets and therapeutic principles for current and future drugs. It also underlines the merits of natural products acting through a polytherapeutic approach over a monotherapy option of AD therapy. Multi-targeting approaches through general antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mechanisms coupled with specific receptor and/or enzyme-mediated effects in neuroprotection, neuroregeneration, and other rational perspectives of novel drug discovery are emphasized.

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiutian Jia ◽  
Yulin Deng ◽  
Hong Qing

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with two hallmarks:β-amyloid plagues and neurofibrillary tangles. It is one of the most alarming illnesses to elderly people. No effective drugs and therapies have been developed, while mechanism-based explorations of therapeutic approaches have been intensively investigated. Outcomes of clinical trials suggested several pitfalls in the choice of biomarkers, development of drug candidates, and interaction of drug-targeted molecules; however, they also aroused concerns on the potential deficiency in our understanding of pathogenesis of AD, and ultimately stimulated the advent of novel drug targets tests. The anticipated increase of AD patients in next few decades makes development of better therapy an urgent issue. Here we attempt to summarize and compare putative therapeutic strategies that have completed clinical trials or are currently being tested from various perspectives to provide insights for treatments of Alzheimer’s disease.


Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (14) ◽  
pp. 3190
Author(s):  
Lazhar Zribi ◽  
Irene Pachòn-Angona ◽  
Òscar M. Bautista-Aguilera ◽  
Daniel Diez-Iriepa ◽  
José Marco-Contelles ◽  
...  

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is multifactorial disease characterized by the accumulation of abnormal extracellular deposits of amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptide, and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), along with dramatic neuronal death and decreased levels of choline acetyltransferase. Given the limited therapeutic success of available drugs, it is urgent to explore all the opportunities available to combat this illness. Among them, the discovery of new heterocyclic scaffolds binding different receptors involved in AD should offer structural diversity and new therapeutic solutions. In this context, this work describes new triazolopyridopyrimidine easily prepared in good yields showing anticholinesterase inhibition and strong antioxidant power, particularly the most balanced: 6-amino-5-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2-phenyl-[1,2,4]triazolo[1′,5′:1,6] pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine-4-carbonitrile(3c) with IC50 equal to 1.32 μM against AChE and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) value equal to 4.01 Trolox equivalents (TE); thus representing a new and very promising hit-triazolopyridopyrimidine for AD therapy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (26) ◽  
pp. 4392-4400 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Jesús Oset-Gasque ◽  
José Luis Marco-Contelles

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a complex, neurodegenerative pathology showing, among others, high cholinergic and neurotransmitter deficits, oxidative stress, inflammation, Aβ-aggregation resulting in senile plaques formation, and hyperphosphorylation of tau-protein leading to neurofibrillary tangles. Due to its multifactorial and complex nature, multitarget directed small-molecules able to simultaneously inhibit or bind diverse biological targets involved in the progress and development of AD are considered now the best therapeutic strategy to design new compounds for AD therapy. Among them, tacrine is a very well known standard-gold ligand, and natural products have been a traditional source of new agents for diverse therapeutic treatments. In this review, we will update recent developments of multitarget tacrinenatural products hybrids for AD therapy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1116
Author(s):  
Shadab Md ◽  
Nabil A. Alhakamy ◽  
Mohamed A. Alfaleh ◽  
Obaid Afzal ◽  
Abdulmalik S. A. Altamimi ◽  
...  

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder accountable for dementia and cognitive dysfunction. The etiology of AD is complex and multifactorial in origin. The formation and deposition of amyloid-beta (Aβ), hyperphosphorylated tau protein, neuroinflammation, persistent oxidative stress, and alteration in signaling pathways have been extensively explored among the various etiological hallmarks. However, more recently, the immunogenic regulation of AD has been identified, and macroglial activation is considered a limiting factor in its etiological cascade. Macroglial activation causes neuroinflammation via modulation of the NLRP3/NF-kB/p38 MAPKs pathway and is also involved in tau pathology via modulation of the GSK-3β/p38 MAPK pathways. Additionally, microglial activation contributes to the discrete release of neurotransmitters and an altered neuronal synaptic plasticity. Therefore, activated microglial cells appear to be an emerging target for managing and treating AD. This review article discussed the pathology of microglial activation in AD and the role of various nanocarrier-based anti-Alzeihmenr’s therapeutic approaches that can either reverse or inhibit this activation. Thus, as a targeted drug delivery system, nanocarrier approaches could emerge as a novel means to overcome existing AD therapy limitations.


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 1309
Author(s):  
Xin Chen ◽  
Joshua Drew ◽  
Wren Berney ◽  
Wei Lei

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the number one neurovegetative disease, but its treatment options are relatively few and ineffective. In efforts to discover new strategies for AD therapy, natural products have aroused interest in the research community and in the pharmaceutical industry for their neuroprotective activity, targeting different pathological mechanisms associated with AD. A wide variety of natural products from different origins have been evaluated preclinically and clinically for their neuroprotective mechanisms in preventing and attenuating the multifactorial pathologies of AD. This review mainly focuses on the possible neuroprotective mechanisms from natural products that may be beneficial in AD treatment and the natural product mixtures or extracts from different sources that have demonstrated neuroprotective activity in preclinical and/or clinical studies. It is believed that natural product mixtures or extracts containing multiple bioactive compounds that can work additively or synergistically to exhibit multiple neuroprotective mechanisms might be an effective approach in AD drug discovery.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mayuri Shukla ◽  
Areechun Sotthibundhu ◽  
Piyarat Govitrapong

The revelation of adult brain exhibiting neurogenesis has established that the brain possesses great plasticity and that neurons could be spawned in the neurogenic zones where hippocampal adult neurogenesis attributes to learning and memory processes. With strong implications in brain functional homeostasis, aging and cognition, various aspects of adult neurogenesis reveal exuberant mechanistic associations thereby further aiding in facilitating the therapeutic approaches regarding the development of neurodegenerative processes in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Impaired neurogenesis has been significantly evident in AD with compromised hippocampal function and cognitive deficits. Melatonin the pineal indolamine augments neurogenesis and has been linked to AD development as its levels are compromised with disease progression. Here, in this review, we discuss and appraise the mechanisms via which melatonin regulates neurogenesis in pathophysiological conditions which would unravel the molecular basis in such conditions and its role in endogenous brain repair. Also, its components as key regulators of neural stem and progenitor cell proliferation and differentiation in the embryonic and adult brain would aid in accentuating the therapeutic implications of this indoleamine in line of prevention and treatment of AD.   


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reyaz Hassan Mir ◽  
Abdul Jalil Shah ◽  
Roohi Mohi-ud-din ◽  
Faheem Hyder Potoo ◽  
Mohd. Akbar Dar ◽  
...  

: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative brain disorder characterized by memory impairment, dementia, oxidative stress in elderly people. Currently, only a few drugs are available in the market with various adverse effects. So to develop new drugs with protective action against the disease, research is turning to the identification of plant products as a remedy. Natural compounds with anti-inflammatory activity could be good candidates for developing effective therapeutic strategies. Phytochemicals including Curcumin, Resveratrol, Quercetin, Huperzine-A, Rosmarinic acid, genistein, obovatol, and Oxyresvertarol were reported molecules for the treatment of AD. Several alkaloids such as galantamine, oridonin, glaucocalyxin B, tetrandrine, berberine, anatabine have been shown anti-inflammatory effects in AD models in vitro as well as in-vivo. In conclusion, natural products from plants represent interesting candidates for the treatment of AD. This review highlights the potential of specific compounds from natural products along with their synthetic derivatives to counteract AD in the CNS.


Author(s):  
Zeba Firdaus ◽  
Tryambak Deo Singh

: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an age-associated nervous system disorder and a leading cause of dementia worldwide. Clinically it is described by cognitive impairment, and pathophysiologically by deposition of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain and neurodegeneration. This article reviews the pathophysiology, course of neuronal degeneration, and the various possible hypothesis of AD progression. These hypotheses include amyloid cascade, tau hyperphosphorylation, cholinergic disruption, metal dysregulation, vascular dysfunction, oxidative stress, and neuroinflammation. There is an exponential increase in the occurrence of the AD in recent few years that indicate an urgent need to develop some effective treatment. Currently, only 2 classes of drugs are available for AD treatment namely acetylcholinesterase inhibitor and NMDA receptor antagonist. Since AD is a complex neurological disorder and these drugs use a single target approach, alternatives are needed due to limited effectiveness and unpleasant side-effects of these drugs. Currently, plants have been used for drug development research especially because of their multiple sites of action and fewer side effects. Uses of some herbs and phytoconstituents for the management of neuronal disorders like AD have been documented in this article. Phytochemical screening of these plants shows the presence of many beneficial constituents like flavonoids, triterpenes, alkaloids, sterols, polyphenols, and tannins. These compounds show a wide array of pharmacological activities such as anti-amyloidogenic, anticholinesterase, and antioxidant. This article summarizes the present understanding of AD progression and gathers biochemical evidence from various works on natural products that can be useful in the management of this disease.


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