HEPAD, a novel therapeutic approach of Parkinsons disease

Joint Event on 4^th International Conference on Epilepsy & Treatment & 4^th World Congress on Parkinsons & Huntington Disease

August 29-30, 2018 | Zurich, Switzerland

Byung-Jun Park, Dong Hee Kim and Jeong June Choi

Daejeon University, South Korea

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Neurol Disord

Abstract :

Parkinsonâ??s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder involving abnormal body movements. The degenerative loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra leads to the onset of PD symptoms, including slow movement, tremor, stiffness, and abnormal posture. Because L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA) treatment is very effective for symptom inhibition, it is the most widely prescribed treatment of patients with PD. However, long-term L-DOPA treatment is not recommended because of its serious side effects, including dyskinesia. Moreover, L-DOPA does not prevent the progression of PD. Therefore, a novel therapeutic approach is greatly needed for PD. Hepad, a herbal medicine, consists of six Korean medicinal herbs that were selected based on Korean medicine theory. The treatment of patients with PD using Hepad has been clinically effective. In addition, Hepad treatment reduces the required doses of conventional PD drugs, and some patients were able to terminate conventional PD treatments without additional symptom manifestation. A preclinical study has reported that Hepad prevents neuronal cell death by suppressing the production of reactive oxygen species. These neuroprotective effects of Hepad have also been observed in animal experiments. Hepad treatment in a PD animal model increased dopaminergic neuron number and dopamine levels in the substantia nigra to similar or higher levels than those in L-DOPA-treated animals. Considering the complexity of PD, a multi-targeted approach with multiple compounds would be more effective than singlecompound treatment. Taken together, these results suggest that Hepad, a mixed Korean herbal medicine, would be an effective treatment for patients with PD.

Biography :

Byung-Jun Park completed his PhD and Korean Doctor in Medicine Degree at the College of Korean Medicine, Daejeon University, Daejeon, South Korea. He has opened a Young Jin Korean Medicine Clinic, and his clinical speciality has been the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and movement disorders since 1995. He has published multiple papers on Parkinson’s disease in reputable journals and is a Member of the Movement Disorder Society. He was listed in the Marquis Who’s Who in the World in 2017–2018.

E-mail: bjp120@hanmail.net