A Current Understanding of Alzheimer’s Disease and the Prospects of Phytopharmacological Intervention as a Management Strategy

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease is a mental disorder that accounts for 60-70% of dementia. Its specific causes have not been determined to date. It is understood as neurodegenerative diseases which progressively gets worse over time. It is characterized by short term memory loss, language disorientation, mood disorders, lack of motivation and self-care, and as well as behavioral challenges. Management’s strategies of AD are limited and are not effective. Common therapeutic mechanisms target the inhibition of acetyl cholinesterase and N-methyl D aspartate (NMDA). Post mortem evaluation and Magnetic resonance imaging techniques have demonstrated similarities between Multiple Sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease in pathogenesis of the disease through neurodegeneration and inflammation. Similarly, findings using Echo-Color Doppler technique and MRI along other techniques have demonstrated a strong association of development of Chronic CerebroSpinal Venous Insufficiency (CCSVI) with MS resulting from vascular damage of jugular veins leading to changes in the hemodynamics in the brain. Due to the similarity in mechanism of pathogenesis promoting neurodegeneration; it is possible that Alzheimer’s disease is also associated with chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency. Little is known on alternative management of Alzheimer’s disease using plant herbal extracts. Using these new findings in MS and its relation to AD; it is possible that it can serve as a new therapeutic target to management of MS and therefore AD. This study is therefore a review of the current understanding of Alzheimer’s diseases, diagnosis, management strategies and the prospects of phytopharmacological studies in offering alternative solution to management of Alzheimer’s disease. *Corresponding author: Kelvin Kisaka Juma, Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya, P.O. Box 43844-00100, Tel: 254728898233; E-mail: juma.kelvin85@gmail.com Received July 04, 2015; Accepted July 28, 2015; Published July 31, 2015 Citation: Juma KK (2015) A Current Understanding of Alzheimer’s Disease and the Prospects of Phytopharmacological Intervention as a Management Strategy. J Neurol Disord 3: 244. doi:10.4172/2329-6895.1000244 Copyright: © 2015 Juma KK. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. AD has common c