Discussion about the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease with Yisui Fuyong Decoction Based on Synaptic Plasticity

For Alzheimer's disease(AD),the earliest symptom is memory loss,which runs throughout the disease.The mutual growth and decline of long-term potentiation(LTP)and long-term depression(LTD)in synaptic plasticity is the basic condition of learning and memory.In the early stage of AD,there is no significant change in synaptic plasticity,so the treatment should mainly focus on warming yang and replenishing qi.In the middle stage of AD,LTP is continuously damaged and reduced,and synaptic plasticity is destroyed,such as weakness of the spleen and stomach,causing stagnation of endogenous retention of phlegm in the brain,so the treatment should focus on enriching yin and tonifying yang,resolving phlegm to remove stagnation.In the late stage of AD,due to excessive deposition of amyloid and other metabolites,neurotoxins are produced and brain atrophy is aggravated,such as depression leading to stasis,phlegm and stasis binding together,long term of stasis turning to heat toxin,which invades the brain,excessive heat damages yin,then both yin and yang are damaged,finally,the brain collateral loses nutrition,so the treatment should focus on replenishing essence and reinforcing marrow,detoxifying and resolving stasis.Yisui Fuyong Decoction can replenish essence and reinforce marrow to nourish yin,warm yang and tonify qi to strengthen yang,combine phlegm resolving,stasis elimination and collateral vessels dredging,realizing the treatment effects in all three stages of synaptic plasticity.