A Review: Pharmacological and herbal remedies in The Management of Neurodegenerative disorder (Alzheimer’s)

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive, neurodegenerative disorder and has become a great health problem particularly among the elderly people, generally occurs after the age of 55 years and increase in incidence with advancing age, affecting nearly 25 million people worldwide. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) was first identified by the German psychiatrist, Alois Alzheimer, in 1907. People with this disease may exhibit symptoms of short-term memory loss, diminished motor skills, inefficient coordination and impaired intellectual capabilities. The cause of AD is not exactly known, but is thought to include both genetic and environmental factors (multifactorial). There is no known cure for Alzheimer’s disease, since it is not possible to reverse the death of brain cells but the symptoms can be managed by some pharmacological agents and herbal remedies. The herbal remedies are becoming more popular in the recent years and providing very promising benefits to the patients suffering from AD. Several clinical trials using herbal mixtures are also going on and will hopefully show positive results for treating AD in the future. This paper reviews the Pathophysiology of AD along with the synthetic drugs and herbal medicines which are used for the Management of AD.