About this Research Topic

Background

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an irreversible and progressive neurodegenerative disease and dementia affects over 30 million people worldwide with new cases developing every three seconds (2018 World Alzheimer Report). Amyloid toxicity observed in AD is exacerbated by oxidative stress and subsequent damage. There are no current effective prevention or treatment strategy available to reverse or slow down disease progression once symptoms present. Currently, multi-target strategies are used against AD, such as β-amyloid peptide aggregation inhibitors, γ and β-secretase inhibitors and modulators, anti-amyloid immunotherapy, tau hyperphosphorylation inhibitors like JNK3, CDK5, GSK3β, and Fyn kinase, tau aggregation inhibitors, microtubules stabilizing agents, selective targeted anti-tau immunotherapy, AChE inhibitors, 5-HT6 receptor antagonists, anti-diabetic agents capable of metabolic regulation and Cdk5 inhibitors. However, these approaches have had limited success in attenuating AD progression and brain degeneration. As a traditional alternative medicine, Ayurvedic therapeutics, have been well tolerated in the treatment of AD and have provided a promising alternative. Ayurvedic therapeutics, such as antioxidants or anti-inflammatory, and anti-amyloidogenic agents, have shown superior bio-accessibility, bioavailability, lower toxicity, and better tolerability as compared to many synthetic compounds. Therefore, the use of Ayurvedic therapeutics could provide a safe and effective alternative that needs to be explored.

One interesting example is Ayurveda Rasayana’s therapeutics, techniques used to lengthen or rejuvenate life, and in this context are shown to be essential for the management of mental and cognitive disorders. Rasayana is a traditional Ayurvedic therapy that focuses on enhancing oxygenation to promote neurogenesis by neurovascular coupling. Ayurvedic Rasayana extracts can enhance cerebral blood flow, increase cognitive abilities, and decrease oxidative stress. Furthermore, synergistic neuroprotective, neurotrophic and nootropic effects of such extracts and formulations can improve cognitive and cholinergic functions. Potent immunomodulatory effects can antagonize degeneration and inflammation: Ayurvedic nootropic extracts and formulations such as those from Ginkgo biloba, Curcuma longa, Withania somnifera, and Angelica sinensis reroute APP metabolism towards the α-secretase pathway, restricting the formation and stabilization of Aβ fibrils. This collection welcomes research on further Ayurveda therapeutics for the treatment of AD.

The aim of this Research Topic is to build a resource of research outlining the current understanding and future developments in the prevention and treatment of AD and associated neurodegeneration using traditional alternative medicines.

This Research Topic invites researchers to contribute articles that highlight the therapeutic potential of traditional alternative medicines in AD treatment aiming to contribute to the field leading to highly innovative approaches to the treatment of AD. We encourage submissions focussing on the use of Ayurvedic medicine, among other traditional medicines, with antioxidant and neuroprotective effects in AD. We welcome research using highly innovative approaches to determine the therapeutic benefits and molecular mechanisms of these extracts and isolated metabolites, and we will not consider contributions that are based solely on simple antioxidant or chemical assays with insufficient IC50 levels. We welcome studies on isolated metabolites and extracts that have the potential to facilitate progress in the field. Submissions including original research, reviews, mini-reviews, systematic reviews, methods, hypothesis and theory, perspectives, clinical trials, data reports, general commentaries, and opinions will be considered.

We welcome submissions looking at traditional and emerging alternative medicines including Indian, Thai, American, African, European and Traditional Chinese medicine as well as new nutraceuticals and bioextracts with clinical relevant effects in AD.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
● Polyphenolic compound screening of extracts and isolated metabolites and experimental analysis of their biomolecular effects and therapeutic potential
● Experimental and clinical analysis of the neuroprotective activity of extracts and isolated metabolites against AD
● Reports and reviews on the antioxidant properties of extracts and isolated metabolites against AD with a focus on potential clinical relevance
● Analysis of the molecular mechanisms and potential mediators of the protective actions against amyloid beta toxicity and/or tau toxicity
●Advances and development in the discovery of new cognition enhancers from extracts and isolated metabolite–derived agents.

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.

Keywords: Antioxidant; Neuroprotective; Herbal Compounds; Ayurvedic; Alzheimer's disease;

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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