Traditional Oriental Medicines and Alzheimer's Disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD), which is the most major cause of dementia, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects cognitive functions. Even though the prevalence of AD is continuously increasing, few drugs including cholinesterase inhibitors and N-methyl D-aspartate-receptor antagonists were approved to treat AD. Because the clinical trials of AD drugs with single targets, such as ß-amyloid and tau, have failed, the development of multi-target drugs that ameliorate many of the symptoms of AD is needed. Thus, recent studies have investigated the effects and underlying mechanisms of herbal formulae consisting of various herb combinations used to treat AD. This review discusses the results of clinical and nonclinical studies of the therapeutic efficacy in AD and underlying mechanisms of the herbal formulae of traditional Oriental medicines and bioactive compounds of medicinal plants.

Ghrelin in Alzheimer's disease: Pathologic roles and therapeutic implications.

Ghrelin, which has many important physiological roles, such as stimulating food intake, regulating energy homeostasis, and releasing insulin, has recently been studied for its roles in a diverse range of neurological disorders. Despite the several functions of ghrelin in the central nervous system, whether it works as a therapeutic agent for neurological dysfunction has been unclear. Altered levels and various roles of ghrelin have been reported in Alzheimer's disease (AD), which is characterized by the accumulation of misfolded proteins resulting in synaptic loss and cognitive decline. Interestingly, treatment with ghrelin or with the agonist of ghrelin receptor showed attenuation in several cases of AD-related pathology. These findings suggest the potential therapeutic implications of ghrelin in the pathogenesis of AD. In the present review, we summarized the roles of ghrelin in AD pathogenesis, amyloid beta (Aß) homeostasis, tau hyperphosphorylation, neuroinflammation, mitochondrial deficit, synaptic dysfunction and cognitive impairment. The findings from this review suggest that ghrelin has a novel therapeutic potential for AD treatment. Thus, rigorously designed studies are needed to establish an effective AD-modifying strategy.