Phytochemicals in Alzheimer disease: The development of clinical trials

Polyphenolics and other phytochemicals may have a role in the prevention or treatment of Alzheimer disease. Targets of therapy in Alzheimer disease include neurotransmitter deficits, beta amyloid neurotoxicity, oxidative damage, and inflammation, to name a few. Challenges to the development of phytochemical and other neuroprotectant therapy in Alzheimer disease include the inability to measure pathology in living patients and the challenge of detecting modification of an indolent disease course. These challenges are partially surmounted by the use of animal models and of biomarkers of disease. This review describes currently available animal models and biomarkers and surveys clinical trials of phytochemical therapies that. are recently completed or currently under way. Both animal studies and clinical trials of Ginkgo biloba are described, as well as a trial of Uncaria tomentosa that has not been previously reported.