Table 1 Summary of the pathophysiology, disease indicators, current treatment strategies and drugs used in neurodegenerative tauopathies
From: Chinese nutraceuticals and physical activity; their role in neurodegenerative tauopathies
Tauopathies | Patophysiology | Disease indicator | Current treatment strategies | Drugs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Alzehimer’s diseases | Characterized by a defined pattern of tangles from the trans-entorhinal cortex → entorhinal cortex → CA1 region of hippocampus and finally to the frontal, temporal, and parietal cortices, thus leading to neuronal loss and atrophy which induces inflammation and amyloid plaques deposition [125] | Formation of senile plaques (SP) [126] | Amyloid-β-peptide vaccination Secretase inhibitors Anti-inflammatory agents Cholesterol reducing drugs [127] | Donepezil Galantamine Memantine Rivastigmine [128] |
Progressive supranuclear palsy | Characterized by development of NFT in astrocytes with the diffusion of plaques and lewy bodies in the brainstem cell nuclei & cerebral cortex. However, in long standing cases, the purkinje cells of the cerebellum are affected leading to the dilation of the third & fourth ventricles [129, 130] | Gait difficulty and falls Dystonia and personality change Non-specific dizziness Palilalia Compulsive spitting [131] | Drug therapy Electroconvulsive therapy [PSP] | Levodopa Dopamine agonists Pergolide Physostigmine Zolpidem Benztropine [PSP] |
Corticobasal degenration | Characterized by asymmetric frontoparietal cortical atrophy and asymmetric hyperexcitability of the motor cortex, thus leads to the progression of astrocytic plaques | Ataxic gait Myoclonus Dystonia Dysphagia Dysarthria | Imaging techniques such as computerized tonography scanning (CTS) & Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Clinical testing and work up (Electroencephalogram; EEG) | Baclofen Botulinum toxin Clonazepam Benzodiazepines |
Argyrophilic disease | At the anterior entorhinal cortex, there is mild involvement of the cortical and basolateral nuclei of the amygdala. There is also mild involvement of mammary bodies, nucleus accubens and rare grains in the mid brain, thus leading to impaired UPS function. [132] | Episodic memory loss Cognitive decline and dementia Behavioral abnormalities | Anti-phosphorylation strategies Anti-aggregation strategies | Rhodamines Thiacarbocyanines N-phenylalanimes Anthraquinones Levodopa |