Application of Complementary and Alternative Medicine on Neurodegenerative Disorders: Current Status and Future Prospects
1School of Chinese Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
2Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong
3Department of Pharmacognosy, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
Application of Complementary and Alternative Medicine on Neurodegenerative Disorders: Current Status and Future Prospects
Description
Neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and depression are prevalent and devastating illnesses. The World Health Organization estimates that, by 2040, neurodegenerative diseases will surpass cancer as the principal cause of death in industrialized countries. Neurodegenerative disorders are characterized by progressive loss of neurons in sensory, motor, and cognitive systems. Despite various advances in the understanding of the diseases, pharmacological treatment by conventional medicine has not obtained satisfactory results. However, recent studies suggest that complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is potential candidate for the preventative treatment of the disorders.
Therefore, we invite investigators to contribute original research articles as well as review articles that provide solid evidence to support the application of CAM in prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. We are particularly interested in articles reporting randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial or revealing the action mechanism of CAM by using cellular or animal models. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
- Clinical trial of CAM on prophylactic and/or therapeutic treatments of neurodegenerative disorders
- Recent application of CAM in prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative disorders by using cellular or animal models
- Advances in revealing acting targets of CAM in treating neurodegenerative disorders
- Advances in identifying active ingredients of medicinal herbs against neurodegenerative disorders
- Synergistic acting mechanism among chemical ingredients of medicine herbs
- Optimization of multiherb prescription in treating neurodegenerative disorders
- Current and prospective strategies of CAM for combating neurodegenerative disorders
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