Letter to the Editor
How to Implement Traditional Chinese Medicine in Alzheimer Disease Prevention in Occidental Countries?

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Importance of Alzheimer Disease Prevention

Dementia is a clinical syndrome caused by neurodegeneration including Alzheimer disease (AD). It has been estimated that dementia accounts for 11.2% of disability years in people older than 60 years, which is the individual and societal heavy burden for the whole world.1, 2 AD is the most common type of dementia among older people, in which patients suffer from loss of higher cognitive functioning, memory impairment, language deterioration, depression, and other debilitating conditions caused

What Is Traditional Chinese Medicine?

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a broad range of medical practices sharing common concepts that have been developed in China based on ancient Chinese philosophy and prevalent for more than 3000 years. The Yin and Yang theory, the five-phase theory (Wu Xing: fire, wood, water, earth, and metal), the meridian system theory, and the Viscera-State theory (manifestation of Zang-viscera: the five Zang include the heart, liver, spleen, lung, and kidney; the six viscera include the gallbladder,

Role of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Alzheimer Disease Treatment

TCM has a long history of preventing and treating cognitive decline. More than 2000 years ago, there were remarks of dementia and forgetfulness in the oldest medical book in Huangdi Neijing and in Sheng Nong Ben Cao Jing. With thousands of years of medical practice, TCM has accumulated rich theories and a great deal of valuable experience in the prevention and treatment of AD. According to TCM, “the brain is sea of marrow and kidney stores essence to generate marrow.” It further explains that

Some Suggestions to Implement Traditional Chinese Medicine in Alzheimer Disease Prevention in Occidental Countries

However, compared with Conventional Western Medicine, the theory of TCM is complicated and not easily accepted by Westerners. It is important to incorporate some key principles with the comprehensive understanding of TCM and clarify difficult but important concepts and principles by using modern scientific techniques and theories. It is also necessary to strengthen the cooperation between the multidisciplinary and crossover study and carry out more in-depth studies to document the process of

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  • Longan (Dimocarpus longan Lour.) Aril ameliorates cognitive impairment in AD mice induced by combination of D-gal/AlCl<inf>3</inf> and an irregular diet via RAS/MEK/ERK signaling pathway

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    There is no definitive cure for AD, although the researches on this disease are advancing rapidly (Jarrell et al., 2018; Kumar et al., 2020). Nowadays, the drugs widely used such as donepezil and huperzine A could only improve symptoms in patients with mild-to-moderate AD transiently (Rafii et al., 2011; Perez et al., 2015), but they are hardly capable of preventing, halting, or even reversing the progression of AD (Fougère and Li, 2016). Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has a long history of preventing and treating cognitive impairment (Liu et al., 2014).

  • Shenqi Yizhi granules protect hippocampus of AD transgenic mice by modulating on multiple pathological processes

    2020, Journal of Ethnopharmacology
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    More than 2000 years ago, there were remarks of dementia and forgetfulness in the oldest medical book in Huangdi Neijing (The yellow emperor's Canon) and in Sheng Nong Ben Cao Jing (Shen Nong's Herbal Classic). With thousands of years of medical practice, TCM has accumulated rich theories and a great deal of valuable experience in the prevention and treatment of AD (Cheung et al., 2015; Fougere and Li, 2016; Li et al., 2016; Qiu, 2007). CHM has been a valuable source of medicines for centuries and research has burgeoned in recent years to understand the scientific basis for their use.

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