Chapter 4. Alzheimer’s Disease: Causes and Possible Alternative Herbal Treatment

Alzheimer is a chronic-generative neurological syndrome which affects mainly the central nervous system, however late experimental, epidemiological and clinical data had shown that the illness also affects nerve endings beyond the brain and cerebellum. The current panorama of the fight against Alzheimer’s disease, although it has made great advances in terms of its early diagnosis, has been halted due to the complex of its physiopathology, so that although there is not yet a cure for this condition, if it has been possible to establish and develop therapies focused on decreasing its progression and its impact on the quality of life of patients. However, the current allopathic therapy available, in addition to being expensive and of little access, also brings a diversity of adverse side effects due to the interaction between medications and the prolonged term of these treatments. The study of medicinal plants still today, offers possible pharmacological agents for treatments of chronic degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, in the search for new therapies with greater therapeutic effect and lower toxic effects than conventional therapies. However, the greatest limitation that still exists is to transpose the results obtained in the pre-clinical phase into the clinical phase, which implies time and investment funds, which is why bio-directed studies and semi-synthesis changes in the chemical structure of metabolites are viable tools that allow us to facilitate research and production. It was also concluded that those natural compounds that have amphipathic characteristics and a small molecular weight are the most viable candidates as anti-Alzheimer agents, such as modified alkaloids and flavonoids, which exert a therapeutic multi-effect at various levels of the disease, mainly in the inhibition of key enzymes like acetyl and butyrylcholine esterase.