Neurodegenerative diseases benefits

Each neurotrophic factor influences the growth and development of a specific group of neuronal types, with some cells being sensitive to several such factors. Many sustain specific neuronal populations whose death underlines various neurodegenerative diseases. This raises the possibility that these regulatory molecules may be of benefit in treating such diseases. Results from early clinical trials have been at best mixed, but many remain optimistic that neurotrophic factors may provide future effective treatments for some currently incurable neurodegenerative conditions. 

Two neurodegenerative diseases will be considered in greater detail here, Alzheimer s disease and Parkinson s disease, due to the pertinence of herbal medications to their treatment. Also discussed in some detail are vascular dementia and normal aging. Other degenerative conditions may benefit from herbal medications, but have not received the amount of attention in research that the above conditions have. Of particular interest to many degenerative conditions are herbal medications with demonstrated antioxidant and neuroprotective effects. 

Lamotrigine is another glutamate release inhibitor that has been studied in neurodegenerative diseases. In ALS, 300mg of lamotrigine per day had no effect when compared to placebo in a small number of patients (Ryberg et al, 2003). Lamotrigine also failed to show symptomatic benefit in patients with PD (Shinotoh et al., 1997), but neither study had adequate power to truly assess efficacy. 

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