Molecular imaging in traditional Chinese medicine therapy for neurological diseases.
With the speeding tendency of aging society, human neurological disorders have posed an ever increasing threat to public health care. Human neurological diseases include ischemic brain injury, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and spinal cord injury, which are induced by impairment or specific degeneration of different types of neurons in central nervous system. Currently, there are no more effective treatments against these diseases. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is focused on, which can provide new strategies for the therapy in neurological disorders. TCM, including Chinese herb medicine, acupuncture, and other nonmedication therapies, has its unique therapies in treating neurological diseases. In order to improve the treatment of these disorders by optimizing strategies using TCM and evaluate the therapeutic effects, we have summarized molecular imaging, a new promising technology, to assess noninvasively disease specific in cellular and molecular levels of living models in vivo, that was applied in TCM therapy for neurological diseases. In this review, we mainly focus on applying diverse molecular imaging methodologies in different TCM therapies and monitoring neurological disease, and unveiling the mysteries of TCM.
Department of Nuclear Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 88 Jiefang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310009, China ; Zhejiang University Medical PET Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310009, China ; Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310009, China ; Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Imaging of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310009, China ; Institute of Cardiocerbrovascular Diseases, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, China.
Zefeng
Z
Wang
Haitong
H
Wan
Jinhui
J
Li
Hong
H
Zhang
Mei
M
Tian
D015670:Acupuncture Therapy / Q000379:methods; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional / Q000379:methods*; D057054:Molecular Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal