Polyphenols as Potential Therapeutic Drugs in Neurodegeneration

Abstract

Several therapeutic approaches have been suggested so far for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, but to date, there are no approved therapies. The available ones are only symptomatic; they are employed to mitigate the disease manifestations and to improve the patient life quality. These diseases are characterized by the accumulation and aggregation of misfolded proteins in the nervous system, with different specific hallmarks. The onset mechanisms are not completely elucidated. Some promising approaches are focused on the inhibition of the amyloid aggregation of the proteins involved in the etiopathology of the disease, such as Aβ peptide, Tau, and α-synuclein, or on the increase of their clearance in order to avoid their aberrant accumulation. Here, we summarize traditional and new therapeutic approaches proposed for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases and the recent technologies for brain delivery.