Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder hallmarked with intracellular neurofibrillary tangles and extracellular amyloid ß (Aß) plaques. AD is the most common cause of dementia and may contribute to 60-70% of the cases. Current clinical therapies, such as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and NMDA receptor antagonists, are employed for symptomatic therapy and unfortunately insufficient for improving cognitive function in patients with more severe impairments. Neurite outgrowth-induced construction of neural circuits and networks is responsible for memory generalization, consolidation, and retrieval. Neurite atrophy and synaptic loss initiate and accelerate neuronal apoptosis, leading to neuro-network disruption and memory deficits. Therefore, targeting neurite outgrowth and neuronal protection probably be a new strategy for the treatment of AD.
Traditional natural medicines, as promising sources of lead compounds for the intervention of AD, have been used clinically for thousands of years. However, the key compounds and their pharmacological mechanism of some traditional medicines that are used for memory improvement in the prevention and treatment of AD remain unclear. It is necessary to utilize modern biological means, such as microfluidics, LC-MS/MS, enzyme catalysis, luciferase reporter gene system bound with bioassay-guided tracing, to identify bioactive compounds. On the flip side, it will be interesting to find the new indication for the treatment of AD in natural medicines against their traditional application, and high-throughput drug screening, computer-assisted drug discovery techniques will be helpful. Target identification methods, such as Lip-MS, DARTS, affinity chromatography, proteomics, and multi-omics, are useful tools for targets discovery and mechanism clarification. Taken together, it is urgent to perform drug discovery, targets identification, and unravel their mechanism against AD.
This Research Topic aims to investigate the discovery, efficacy, and safety of natural products for Alzheimer’s disease, as well as the pharmacological effects of their bioactive components and possible mechanisms. We hope to collect Original Research and Reviews on basic, preclinical, clinical, and translational research, including:
• Novel drug discovery methods and targets identification techniques for AD treatment.
• Clinical evidence and possible mechanisms of natural products and their derived compounds.
• Individual compounds from natural products, marine microorganisms, and formulations that regulate the neurite outgrowth and exert neuroprotective effects in AD, especially in animal models.
• Construction of the experimental model based on neurite outgrowth and neuroprotection for evaluating the effects of natural products and high-throughput screening of active compounds.
Please note: The actions of biological extracts of unknown chemical composition (e.g. un-purified and unvalidated) or unknown concentration are not under this research topic.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder hallmarked with intracellular neurofibrillary tangles and extracellular amyloid ß (Aß) plaques. AD is the most common cause of dementia and may contribute to 60-70% of the cases. Current clinical therapies, such as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and NMDA receptor antagonists, are employed for symptomatic therapy and unfortunately insufficient for improving cognitive function in patients with more severe impairments. Neurite outgrowth-induced construction of neural circuits and networks is responsible for memory generalization, consolidation, and retrieval. Neurite atrophy and synaptic loss initiate and accelerate neuronal apoptosis, leading to neuro-network disruption and memory deficits. Therefore, targeting neurite outgrowth and neuronal protection probably be a new strategy for the treatment of AD.
Traditional natural medicines, as promising sources of lead compounds for the intervention of AD, have been used clinically for thousands of years. However, the key compounds and their pharmacological mechanism of some traditional medicines that are used for memory improvement in the prevention and treatment of AD remain unclear. It is necessary to utilize modern biological means, such as microfluidics, LC-MS/MS, enzyme catalysis, luciferase reporter gene system bound with bioassay-guided tracing, to identify bioactive compounds. On the flip side, it will be interesting to find the new indication for the treatment of AD in natural medicines against their traditional application, and high-throughput drug screening, computer-assisted drug discovery techniques will be helpful. Target identification methods, such as Lip-MS, DARTS, affinity chromatography, proteomics, and multi-omics, are useful tools for targets discovery and mechanism clarification. Taken together, it is urgent to perform drug discovery, targets identification, and unravel their mechanism against AD.
This Research Topic aims to investigate the discovery, efficacy, and safety of natural products for Alzheimer’s disease, as well as the pharmacological effects of their bioactive components and possible mechanisms. We hope to collect Original Research and Reviews on basic, preclinical, clinical, and translational research, including:
• Novel drug discovery methods and targets identification techniques for AD treatment.
• Clinical evidence and possible mechanisms of natural products and their derived compounds.
• Individual compounds from natural products, marine microorganisms, and formulations that regulate the neurite outgrowth and exert neuroprotective effects in AD, especially in animal models.
• Construction of the experimental model based on neurite outgrowth and neuroprotection for evaluating the effects of natural products and high-throughput screening of active compounds.
Please note: The actions of biological extracts of unknown chemical composition (e.g. un-purified and unvalidated) or unknown concentration are not under this research topic.