https://aging.hkust.edu.hk/contact-us
黃永厚教授，藥理學博士
boyung@ust.hk aging@ust.hk
理學院院長，講座教授
分子神經科學中心主任
生物科技碩士課程主任
生物科技研究所副所長
衰老科學中心副主任
香港科技大學，九龍清水灣
雖然平均壽命的延長並非壞事，但老齡人口的增長確實給社會，尤其是醫療保健係統帶來了壓力。根據世界衛生組織的數據，全球約有5000萬人患有癡呆症。預計到2050年，全球60歲及以上人口將達到20億，癡呆症病例也將增至1.52億，這意味著全球每三秒鍾就有一人患上癡呆症。阿爾茨海默病（AD）是最常見的癡呆症類型，患者會喪失認知功能和記憶力。由於目前尚無有效治療方法，現代醫學發展甚至被認為遇到了瓶頸。我們能找到治愈方法嗎？答案或許並非如此現代。
每年新增近770萬例阿爾茨海默病病例，迫切需要找到有效的治療方法，但市麵上現有的藥物隻能減緩病情發展並減輕症狀。為了推動這一發展，黃永厚教授開始研究用於治療阿爾茨海默病的傳統中藥複方。傳統中醫藥的曆史可以追溯到幾千年前。中醫的理論體係是通過持續的實踐和嚐試形成的，經驗和草藥複方代代相傳。現代醫學更注重作用機製，而傳統中醫則更注重臨床實踐。多年來，中藥積累了數千種活性草藥複方，已被證明能夠有效安全地治療各種疾病，包括感染、過敏和糖尿病。然而，由於複方的複雜性及其獨特的理念，中藥現代化長期以來一直是科學家們麵臨的挑戰。
黃教授及其團隊致力於從傳統中藥中尋找能夠有效緩解阿爾茨海默病的複方，並對其進行現代化改造，以滿足當代社會發展的需求。養心湯是一種用於治療癲癇、小兒驚風和中風的傳統方劑，其中含有許多常用於治療記憶力減退和焦慮的藥物，他的團隊希望通過動物行為測試尋找科學證據，證明其在治療阿爾茨海默氏症方麵的治療潛力，最終開發出可廣泛應用於臨床、方便患者和普通民眾服用的中成藥。
Traditional Chinese Medicine Could Be the Answer to Alzheimer's
https://aging.hkust.edu.hk/contact-us
Professor Yung Hou Wong, PhD in Pharmacology
boyung@ust.hk aging@ust.hk
Dean of Science, Chair Professor
Director of Molecular Neuroscience Center
Program Director of MSc Program in Biotechnology
Associate Director of Biotechnology Research Institute
Associate Director of Center for Aging Science
Director of Molecular Neuroscience Center
Program Director of MSc Program in Biotechnology
Associate Director of Biotechnology Research Institute
Associate Director of Center for Aging Science
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong
While an increase in average life expectancy is not necessarily a bad thing, an expanding elderly population does put pressure on the society, especially the healthcare system. According to the World Health Organization, around 50 million people in the world are living with dementia. As the number of people aged 60 or above worldwide is projected to reach 2 billion by 2050, the number of dementia cases is set to increase to 152 million which means someone in the world develops dementia every three seconds. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia, in which the patients suffer from loss of cognitive function and memory. With no development of effective treatment in sight, modern medicine development is even said to be running into a bottleneck. Will we ever find a cure? It turns out the answer might not be so modern after all.
With nearly 7.7 million new cases emerging every year, there is an urgent need to find effective treatment but drugs available in the market can only slow down the progress and reduce symptoms. To move the development forward, Prof Yung Hou Wong begins his search of traditional Chinese medicine compound for Alzheimer’s treatment. The history of traditional Chinese medicine can be traced back thousands of years. It has a theoretical system formed through persistent practice and attempt, the experience and herbal compound are then passed down from generation to generation. While modern medicine tends to focus on the mechanism of action, traditional Chinese medicine places more emphasis on clinical practice. With thousands of active herbal compounds accumulated through the years, traditional Chinese herbal remedies have proven to treat various diseases successfully and safely including infections, allergies, and diabetes. However, due to the complexity of compound and the uniqueness of its philosophy, modernization of traditional Chinese medicine has long been a challenge for scientists.
Prof Wong and his team aim to identify compounds in traditional Chinese medicine which can effectively alleviate Alzheimer’s disease and modernize them to meet the demand of contemporary social development. Targeting Yang Xin Tang (養心湯), a traditional formula designed to treat seizures, infantile convulsion and stroke which contains many ingredients that are frequently used to remedy memory loss and anxiety, his team seek to look for scientific evidence to prove its therapeutic potential in treating Alzheimer’s through animal behavioural tests, ultimately develop proprietary Chinese medicine that can be widely used clinically and convenient for patient and general public.
With nearly 7.7 million new cases emerging every year, there is an urgent need to find effective treatment but drugs available in the market can only slow down the progress and reduce symptoms. To move the development forward, Prof Yung Hou Wong begins his search of traditional Chinese medicine compound for Alzheimer’s treatment. The history of traditional Chinese medicine can be traced back thousands of years. It has a theoretical system formed through persistent practice and attempt, the experience and herbal compound are then passed down from generation to generation. While modern medicine tends to focus on the mechanism of action, traditional Chinese medicine places more emphasis on clinical practice. With thousands of active herbal compounds accumulated through the years, traditional Chinese herbal remedies have proven to treat various diseases successfully and safely including infections, allergies, and diabetes. However, due to the complexity of compound and the uniqueness of its philosophy, modernization of traditional Chinese medicine has long been a challenge for scientists.
Prof Wong and his team aim to identify compounds in traditional Chinese medicine which can effectively alleviate Alzheimer’s disease and modernize them to meet the demand of contemporary social development. Targeting Yang Xin Tang (養心湯), a traditional formula designed to treat seizures, infantile convulsion and stroke which contains many ingredients that are frequently used to remedy memory loss and anxiety, his team seek to look for scientific evidence to prove its therapeutic potential in treating Alzheimer’s through animal behavioural tests, ultimately develop proprietary Chinese medicine that can be widely used clinically and convenient for patient and general public.
