Traditional Chinese medicine in Alzheimer's disease: From the perspective of GSK-3β and Tau hyperphosphorylation

Introduction: Alzheimer's disease (AD) accounts for the majority of dementia cases, characterized by a gradual decline in memory and cognitive functions. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has a long history of treating AD and has proposed a series of causes, pathogenesis and treatment methods, and has extremely rich experience in the treatment of AD. TCM believes that deficiency of the spleen, which is the main organ for the body to absorb nutrients, is one of the important causes of AD. Which coincides with the theory that AD is type 3 diabetes in recent years. Therefore, effectively regulating the common targets of AD and diabetes is a potential strategy for treating spleen deficiency type AD. Method: By conducting an in-depth search in PubMed and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), using the keywords '' Traditional Chinese Medicine'', ''Alzheimer's Disease'', ''GSK-3β'', ''Tau Protein'' and ''Tau Hyperphosphorylation''. Ultimately, 92 papers were included for review. Result: Glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK-3β) plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of AD, and numerous in vitro and in vivo experiments have demonstrated that Chinese medicine monomers and compounds can inhibit its activity, reducing the hyperphosphorylation of Tau. Discussion: TCM can affect the activity of GSK-3β through various pathways, thereby reducing the hyperphosphorylation of Tau protein and improving the cognitive function of AD. These studies highlight the potential of TCM in treating AD, but further basic and clinical research is still required to validate their safety and efficacy. It is expected that our review will yield novel insights and a scientific foundation for investigating the underlying mechanisms of AD and developing novel anti-AD therapeutics.