Neurodegenerative disorders and diseases (NDDs) that are either chronically acquired or triggered by a singular detrimental event are a rapidly growing cause of disability and/or death. In recent times, there have been major advancements in our understanding of various neurodegenerative disease states that have revealed common pathologic features or mechanisms. The many mechanistic parallels discovered between various neurodegenerative diseases suggest that a single therapeutic approach may be used to treat multiple disease conditions. Of late, natural compounds and supplemental substances have become an increasingly attractive option to treat NDDs because there is growing evidence that these nutritional constituents have potential adjunctive therapeutic effects (be it protective or restorative) on various neurodegenerative diseases. Here we review relevant experimental and clinical data on supplemental substances (i.e., curcuminoids, rosmarinic acid, resveratrol, acetyl-l-carnitine, and ω-3 (n–3) polyunsaturated fatty acids) that have demonstrated encouraging therapeutic effects on chronic diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and neurodegeneration resulting from acute adverse events, such as traumatic brain injury.
Abbreviations
AD
Alzheimer's disease
ALC
acetyl-l-carnitine
Aβ
β-amyloid
MCI
mild cognitive impairment
NDDs
neurodegenerative diseases and disorders
RA
rosmarinic acid
RCT
randomized placebo-controlled trial
TBI
traumatic brain injury
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No funds were received for this review.
Author disclosures: G. E. Bigford and G. Del Rossi, no conflicts of interest.