Systems Medicine as a Strategy to Deal with Alzheimer’s Disease

Abstract

The traits of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) include amyloid plaques made of Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42, and neurofibrillary tangles by the hyperphosphorylation of tau protein. AD is a complex disorder that is heterogenous in genetical, neuropathological, and clinical contexts. Current available therapeutics are unable to cure AD. Systems medicine is a strategy by viewing the body as a whole system, taking into account each individual’s unique health profile, provide treatment and associated nursing care clinically for the patient, aiming for precision. Since the onset of AD can lead towards cognitive impairment, it is vital to intervene and diagnose early and prevent further progressive loss of neurons. Moreover, as the individual’s brain functions are impaired due to neurodegeneration in AD, it is essential to reconstruct the neurons or brain cells to enable normal brain functions. Although there are different subtypes of AD due to varied pathological lesions, in the majority cases of AD, neurodegeneration and severe brain atrophy develop at the chronic stage. Novel approaches including RNA based gene therapy, stem cell based technology, bioprinting technology, synthetic biology for brain tissue reconstruction are researched in recent decades in the hope to decrease neuroinflammation and restore normal brain function in individuals of AD. Systems medicine include the prevention of disease, diagnosis and treatment by viewing the individual’s body as a whole system, along with systems medicine based nursing as a strategy against AD that should be researched further.