Function and mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine in the prevention and treatment of Parkinson's disease

摘要

Parkinson's disease (PD) was first dis-covered 200 years ago. The current gold standard of clinical treatment is still mainly levodopa replacement therapy. Traditional Chinese medicine is the foundation of traditional medicine in China. Chinese herbs and acu-puncture both exhibit remarkable efficacy in the treatment of PD. Clinical studies on the treatment of PD using Chi-nese herbs have confirmed that the combined use of Chi-nese herbs and the levodopa formulation can significantly increase the treatment effect and reduce toxic side effects. Basic studies further confirmed that various Chinese herbs and their monomeric substances can protect dopa-minergic neurons in PD models. The major mechanisms include anti-inflammation, anti-oxidant, anti-apoptosis, neuroprotection, mitochondrial function protection, and regulation of gut microbiota. The function of acupuncture in the treatment of PD has also gradually received exten-sive attention in China and other countries. Acupuncture not only has peculiar advantages in the improvement of symptoms of PD patients, but also can attenuate adverse drug reactions, delay disease progression, and increase the quality of life of patients. Basic studies further confirmed that acupuncture can improve many motor symptoms in animal models of PD and has cumulative effects and fol-low-up effects. The major mechanisms include dopamin-ergic neuron protection functions, anti-inflammation and anti-oxidant effects, and the regulation of related neuro-transmitters and neural circuits. The clinical application of acupuncture and Chinese herbs still requires strict ran-domized, double-blind, controlled design, multi-centre and large-sample size evidence-based clinical studies and follow-up observations of long-term efficacy to support the effect. In addition, the multi-target and multi-pathway therapeutic mechanisms need further studies.