Publications by authors named "Yunkwon Nam"

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease accompanied by irreversible cognitive impairment. A deleterious feedback loop between oxidative stress and neuroinflammation in early AD exacerbates AD-related pathology. Platycodon grandiflorum root extract (PGE) has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in several organs.

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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder associated with behavioral and cognitive impairments. Unfortunately, the drugs the Food and Drug Administration currently approved for AD have shown low effectiveness in delaying the progression of the disease. The focus has shifted to non-pharmacological interventions (NPIs) because of the challenges associated with pharmacological treatments for AD.

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Background: Traditional Oriental Medicines (TOMs) formulated using a variety of medicinal plants have a low risk of side effects. In previous studies, five TOMs, namely Dangguijakyaksan, Hwanglyeonhaedoktang, Ukgansan, Palmijihwanghwan, and Jowiseungchungtang have been commonly used to treat patients with Alzheimer's disease. However, only a few studies have investigated the effects of these five TOMs on tau pathology.

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Tau is a microtubule-associated protein that plays a critical role in the stabilization and modulation of neuronal axons. Tau pathology is stronger associated with cognitive decline in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) than amyloid beta (Aβ) pathology. Hence, tau targeting is a promising approach for the treatment of AD.

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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the presence of two critical pathogenic factors: amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau. Aβ and tau become neurotoxic aggregates via self-assembly, and these aggregates contribute to the pathogenesis of AD. Therefore, there has been growing interest in therapeutic strategies that simultaneously target Aβ and tau aggregates.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Alzheimer's disease (AD) is caused by harmful protein aggregates like amyloid beta (Aβ) and tau, and despite efforts, no effective drugs to inhibit these have been developed yet.
  • - Researchers screened 162 natural small molecules used in neurological treatments and found that genipin and pyrogallol can reduce the aggregation of Aβ and tau, as well as combat neurotoxicity in lab tests.
  • - The study also showed that these compounds help alleviate AD symptoms in mouse models, and molecular simulations provide insight into how they interact with the harmful proteins, highlighting their potential for AD therapy.
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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by cognitive decline. Several recent studies demonstrated that impaired adult neurogenesis could contribute to AD-related cognitive impairment. Adult subventricular zone (SVZ) neurogenesis, which occurs in the lateral ventricles, plays a crucial role in structural plasticity and neural circuit maintenance.

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Nakai (AK) leaf reportedly ameliorates health problems, such as diabetes. However, the effects of AK on cognitive dysfunction or memory impairment remain unclear. This study investigated whether AK leaf extract could attenuate cognitive impairment.

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Background: The most common type of dementia, Alzheimer's disease (AD), is marked by the formation of extracellular amyloid beta (Aβ) plaques. The impairments of axons and synapses appear in the process of Aβ plaques formation, and this damage could cause neurodegeneration. We previously reported that non-saponin fraction with rich polysaccharide (NFP) from Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) showed neuroprotective effects in AD.

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Amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition and Aβ-induced neurodegeneration appear in the retina and retinorecipient areas in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although these Aβ-related changes in the retina cause damage to the visual functions, no studies have yet revealed the alterations in the visual pathways of AD. Therefore, we investigated the alterations of visual circuits in the AD mouse model using anterograde tracer cholera toxin β subunits (CTβ).

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A prominent characteristic of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the deposition of both amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide and tau protein in the brain. Aβ and tau not only induce toxicity through self-aggregation but also induce more potent toxicity through the synergistic action of Aβ and tau. In particular, neurotoxic aggregates of Aβ and tau directly affect several AD pathologies including neuroinflammation and cognitive decline.

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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that is characterized by irreversible cognitive declines. Senile plaques formed by amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides and neurofibrillary tangles, consisting of hyperphosphorylated tau protein accumulation, are prominent neuropathological features of AD. Impairment of adult neurogenesis is also a well-known pathology in AD.

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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease accompanied by cognitive and behavioral symptoms. These AD-related manifestations result from the alteration of neural circuitry by aggregated forms of amyloid-β (Aβ) and hyperphosphorylated tau, which are neurotoxic. From a neuroscience perspective, identifying neural circuits that integrate various inputs and outputs to determine behaviors can provide insight into the principles of behavior.

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Non-pharmacological intervention, which includes a broad range of approaches, may be an alternative treatment for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Multimodal non-pharmacological intervention alleviates cognitive dysfunction and the impairment of activities of daily living (ADL) in AD patients. However, it is still unclear which combination of non-pharmacological interventions is preferred.

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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most serious age-related neurodegenerative disease and causes destructive and irreversible cognitive decline. Failures in the development of therapeutics targeting amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau, principal proteins inducing pathology in AD, suggest a paradigm shift towards the development of new therapeutic targets. The gram-negative bacteria and lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are attractive new targets for AD treatment.

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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an irreversible neurodegenerative brain disorder with aggregation of amyloid-beta (Aβ) and tau as the pathological hallmarks. AD is the most common form of dementia and is characterized by a progressive decline of cognition. The failure of pharmacological approaches to treat AD has resulted in an increased focus on non-pharmacological interventions that can mitigate cognitive decline and delay disease progression in patients with AD.

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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease characterized by irreversible cognitive dysfunction. Amyloid beta (Aβ) peptide is an important pathological factor that triggers the progression of AD through accumulation and aggregation, which leads to AD-related pathologies that consequently affect cognitive functions. Interestingly, several studies have reported that root extract (PGE), besides exhibiting other bioactive effects, displays neuroprotective, anti-neuroinflammatory, and cognitive-enhancing effects.

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Biological aging provokes morbidity and several functional declines, causing older adults more susceptible to a variety of diseases than younger adults. In particular, aging is a major risk factor contributing to non-communicable diseases, such as neurodegenerative disorders. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an aging-related neurodegenerative disease that is characterized by cognitive deficits and the formation of amyloid plaques formed by the accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides.

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Although the major causative factors of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are the accumulation of amyloid β and hyperphosphorylated tau, AD can also be caused by metabolic dysfunction. The major clinical symptom of AD is cognitive dysfunction. However, AD is also accompanied by various secondary symptoms such as depression, sleep-wake disturbances, and abnormal eating behaviors.

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Tau, a microtubule-associated protein expressed in mature neurons, interacts with tubulin to promote the assembly and stabilization of microtubules. However, abnormally hyperphosphorylated tau dissociates from microtubules and self-aggregates. Tau aggregates, including paired helical filaments and neurofibrillary tangles, promote neuronal dysfunction and death and are the defining neuropathological feature of tauopathies.

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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia. AD involves major pathologies such as amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain. During the progression of AD, microglia can be polarized from anti-inflammatory M2 to pro-inflammatory M1 phenotype.

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Patients with dementia suffer from psychological symptoms such as depression, agitation, and aggression. One purpose of dementia intervention is to manage patients' inappropriate behaviors and psychological symptoms while taking into consideration their quality of life (QOL). Animal-assisted intervention (AAI) and pet-robot intervention (PRI) are effective intervention strategies for older people with cognitive impairment and dementia.

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It has been reported that damage to the mitochondria affects the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and that mitochondrial dysfunction is improved by omega-3. However, no animal or cell model studies have confirmed whether omega-3 inhibits AD pathology related to mitochondria deficits. In this study, we aimed to (1) identify mitigating effects of endogenous omega-3 on mitochondrial deficits and AD pathology induced by amyloid beta (Aβ) in fat-1 mice, a transgenic omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs)-producing animal; (2) identify if docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) improves mitochondrial deficits induced by Aβ in HT22 cells; and (3) verify improvement effects of DHA administration on mitochondrial deficits and AD pathology in B6SJL-Tg(APPSwFlLon,PSEN1*M146L*L286V)6799Vas/Mmjax (5XFAD), a transgenic Aβ-overexpressing model.

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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia. The neuropathological features of AD include amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition and hyperphosphorylated tau accumulation. Although several clinical trials have been conducted to identify a cure for AD, no effective drug or treatment has been identified thus far.

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