Title:Dementia Etiologies and Remedies in Traditional Persian Medicine; A Review of Medicinal Plants and Phytochemistry
Volume: 19
Issue: 5
Author(s): Laila Shirbeigi, Behnam Dalfardi, Zohreh Abolhassanzadeh and Fatemeh Nejatbakhsh*
Affiliation:
- Department of Iranian Traditional Medicine, School of Traditional Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran,Iran
Keywords:
Alzheimer's disease, dementia, traditional persian medicine, medicinal plants, neuropsychiatry, history of medicine.
Abstract: Background: Dementia is a chronic neurodegenerative disease causing progressive and gradual impairment
of different brain's cognitive functions. The prevalence of dementia is about 3 to 7% in different parts of the
world.
Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the etiologies of dementia according to the Traditional Persian
Medicine scientists' viewpoint and introduce their recommended herbal remedies for this disease.
Method: The authors explored six main Traditional Persian Medicine textbooks for the disease of dementia, its etiologies
and related recommended herbal treatments. Two main keywords of “Lisarghes” and “Nesyan” were
searched for this purpose. Medical databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Science Direct were
searched for related articles published between 1966 and 2016 to review the pharmacological components and active
ingredients of suggested herbal medicines.
Results: According to the Traditional Persian Medicine, dementia is resulted from brain dystemperament, a condition
caused by cold and moist or cold and dry tempers. To treat this disease, Traditional Persian scientists recommended
various herbal remedies. Current studies have demonstrated that some of these medicinal plants have beneficial
effects for the aforementioned disease, including acetyl cholinesterase inhibitory function, neuroprotective
effects, and memory enhancing role.
Conclusion: The Traditional Persian Medicine literature suggested different herbal remedies for treating dementia.
Modern studies support the usefulness of some of these medicines. However, the effect of a large number of these
remedies has remained unexamined, a matter which needs to be investigated in future researches.
