About this Research Topic

Background

Neurodegenerative diseases and ischemic stroke represent significant global health challenges, with conditions like Alzheimer's disease (AD) and stroke imposing a heavy burden on patients and their families. Despite the approval of several drugs and antibodies for AD, their ability to halt disease progression remains uncertain. Stroke, the second leading cause of death worldwide, presents a similar challenge, as many patients do not qualify for existing treatments like thrombolysis and endovascular thrombectomy, and even among those treated, full neurological recovery is rare. Additionally, vertigo, often with unknown etiology, complicates management efforts. The limitations of current therapies underscore the urgent need for novel treatments. Traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine (TCIM) offers a promising avenue, with numerous herbal recipes from systems like Traditional Chinese Medicine and Indian medicine showing potential in managing these conditions. While some scientific studies and animal research have demonstrated promising results, the precise bioactive compounds responsible for these effects remain unidentified, suggesting that new therapeutic targets and compounds need to be explored.

Right now, no single bioactive compound has been identified to mimic the therapeutic effect of the entire herbal recipe on ischemic stroke. This raises the concern that the known targets we have been testing may not be fully responsible for the pathogenesis of the above conditions. New targets, such as signal pathways involved in the contraction, dilation, or even death of pericytes in the brain, might be key players as well. Further research is needed to screen more potent bioactive compounds or to discover new targets and corresponding therapeutics. There are assumptions that a single bioactive compound is unable to take the therapeutic effect, instead, it is the combination of multiple ingredients in the herbal recipe that restores the neurological functions of the patients.

This Research Topic aims to collect original research, reviews, and meta-analyses to demonstrate the therapeutic effects of traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine on neurodegenerative diseases, stroke, and vertigo, and to unravel their underlying mechanisms. The goal aligns with the World Health Organization's strategic plan for future development, seeking to validate and expand the understanding of TCIM's role in managing these complex conditions. By exploring the synergistic effects of multiple ingredients in herbal recipes, this research aims to identify new therapeutic targets and develop effective treatments that restore neurological functions.

To gather further insights into the therapeutic potential of traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

- Clinical studies assessing the efficacy of TCIM, including herbal recipes, plant derivatives, and other natural products, in managing neurodegenerative diseases, stroke, and vertigo.
- Basic original research on the underlying mechanisms of TCIM in managing these conditions.
- Systematic reviews or meta-analyses on the efficacy of specific recipes or individual bioactive compounds and their mechanisms.
- In vitro and in vivo studies contributing to the understanding of TCIM's mechanisms in managing neurodegenerative diseases, stroke, and vertigo.

Please note: All the manuscripts submitted to the collection will need to fully comply with the Four Pillars of Best Practice in Ethnopharmacology (you can freely download the full version here). Please self-assess your MS using the ConPhyMP tool, and follow the standards established in the ConPhyMP statement Front. Pharmacol. 13:953205. Please note the traditional context including the primary background and modern uses with supporting references must be included in the manuscript introduction. Purely in silico approaches using complex mixtures (extracts) are generally not considered.You need to check your MS using ‘https://ga-online.org/best-practice’ and include a PDF in your resubmissions with the relevant tables of the tool filled (1 and 2a)(cf : Front. Pharmacol. 13:953205: https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2022.953205).

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Clinical Trial
• Data Report
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Clinical Trial
• Data Report
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: neurodegenerative diseases, stroke, dementia, vertigo, herbs

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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