Pathogenesis and Treatment of Vascular Dementia Based on Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine： A Review / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

Vascular dementia （VaD） is a common disease that affects the health of the elderly. Due to the aging of the social population， the incidence of VaD is increasing year by year. There have been no officially approved treatments for this disease， mainly because its pathogenesis is complex， and the mechanism of action of effective drugs is not yet clear， which hinders drug research for the treatment of VaD. Therefore， by reviewing the available literature related to VaD， this study sorted out the pathogenesis of VaD from traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） and western medicine， and concluded that in TCM， VaD was characterized by the deficiency of the spleen and kidney （deficiency） and combination of phlegm and blood stasis （excess）， while in western medicine， the pathogenesis of VaD is mainly inflammatory response， oxidative stress， abnormal expression of related proteins， and dysfunction of signaling pathways. On this basis， this study also summarized the research on the mechanism of action of commonly used single Chinese herbal medicine and Chinese herbal medicine compound， western medicine， and the combination of Chinese herbal medicine and western medicine in the treatment of VaD in recent years. The commonly used single Chinese herbal medicine Ginkgo Folium and Chinese herbal medicine compound Dihuang Yinzi have the multi-component and multi-target characteristics and few adverse reactions in the treatment of VaD， while the commonly used western medicines such as donepezil and memantine have the characteristics of the clear target and quick onset. The combination of Chinese herbal medicine and western medicines can achieve a better effect. This study summarized the research on the pathogenesis and treatment of VaD， aiming to link the pathogenesis of VaD with the mechanism of effective drug therapy， and provide an important reference for future drug development for the treatment of VaD.