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Chinese Medicine
Published in: Chinese Medicine 1/2011

Open Access 01-12-2011 | Review

Drug discovery from Chinese medicine against neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's and vascular dementia

Authors: Yuen-Shan Ho, Kwok-Fai So, Raymond Chuen-Chung Chang

Published in: Chinese Medicine | Issue 1/2011

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Abstract

Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia are two major diseases associated with dementia, which is common among the elderly. While the etiology of dementia is multi-factorial and complex, neurodegeneration may be the major cause of these two diseases. Effective drugs for treating dementia are still to be discovered. Current western pharmacological approaches against neurodegeneration in dementia develop symptom-relieving and disease-modifying drugs. Current integrative and holistic approaches of Chinese medicine to discovering drugs for neurodegeneration in dementia include (1) single molecules from the herbs, (2) standardized extracts from a single herb, and (3) herbal formula with definite composition. This article not only reviews the concept of dementia in western medicine and Chinese medicine but also evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of these approaches.
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Metadata
Title
Drug discovery from Chinese medicine against neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's and vascular dementia
Authors
Yuen-Shan Ho
Kwok-Fai So
Raymond Chuen-Chung Chang
Publication date
01-12-2011
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Chinese Medicine / Issue 1/2011
Electronic ISSN: 1749-8546
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1749-8546-6-15

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