A comprehensive review of the two most commonly studied traditional Chinese medicines for treating Alzheimer's disease
Year: 2026
Type: review
Abstract: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disorder primarily characterized by progressive cognitive decline. Its pathological hallmarks include senile plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, chronic neuroinflammation, and widespread neuronal loss. Beyond aging, several major hypotheses have been proposed to explain AD pathology, including amyloid cascade hypothesis, tau hyperphosphorylation hypothesis, mitochondrial dysfunction hypothesis, neuroinflammation hypothesis, and microbiota-gut-brain axis hypothesis. These mechanisms often interact with one another, further complicating the disease process. While genetic factors contribute significantly to AD susceptibility, other modifiable risk factors-such as traumatic brain injury, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, hypertension, and obesity-also play critical roles. Despite decades of intensive research, current drug development for AD remains largely inadequate. Traditional Chinese medicine, with its multi-component and multi-target approach, holds promise as a potential therapeutic strategy for this multifactorial disease. Comparing the biomedical hypothesis with traditional Chinese medicine theory, both frameworks recognize the multifactorial, systemic, and progressive nature of dementia. However, their theories are complementary, with concepts such as "Phlegm and dampness" in traditional Chinese medicine aligning well with amyloid plaques and lipid/protein aggregates. "Qi and essence deficiency" correspond to mitochondrial and metabolic dysfunction. This article reviews recent progress in the therapeutic mechanisms of Huanglian Jiedu Decoction and Liuwei Dihuang Decoction in AD, aiming to provide a reference for future research on AD and the development of traditional Chinese medicine treatment. Future traditional Chinese medicine studies should integrate syndrome-based therapeutic principles with modern systems biology approaches to establish mechanism-based, personalized, and clinically translatable strategies for AD management.
Author: Young-Ji Shiao
Language: English
Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7213638126