Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research on Dementia

The global impact of dementia is an increasing area of concern and, according to the Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) World Alzheimer Report 2021, up to 90% of dementia patients in low- and middle-income countries are not diagnosed [1]. Approximately 57.4 million people all over the world are affected by dementia, and this number is expected to triple to 152.8 by 2050, with a female-to-male ratio of 1.67 [1]. In this regard, among the most common forms of dementia, 60–80% are caused by Alzheimer’s disease (AD) [2]. Although AD accounts for almost two-thirds of all cases, the incidence of other mixed forms of dementia (such as frontotemporal, Lewy body, etc.) is rising worldwide, making Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) a public health priority [3]. There is little doubt that AD is a multifactorial disease, which involves diverse pathogenic mechanisms and will probably require combinatorial therapies. Although many pathological hallmarks have been widely described, such as accumulation of amyloid-beta (Aβ) aggregates and tau-containing neurofibrillary tangles, the mechanism underlying proteotoxicity and its role in combination with other factors at different disease stages [4,5] requires further clarification. In fact, much more research is needed regarding a better definition of the dementia pathophysiology and to better understand the mechanism of action of natural products in disorders of neuronal pathways [6,7].