ABSTRACT
Developments in diagnosis and therapeutic techniques have reduced mortality of a majority of acute life-threatening diseases with the exception of some infectious diseases. In contrast to the acute diseases, it is still dif†- cult to treat and control chronic degenerative disease, which is characterized by progressive deterioration of structure and function of affected tissues or organs. Cancer, atherosclerosis, diabetes, chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, in¨ammatory bowel disease, prostatitis, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and rheumatoid arthritis, among others, can be classi†ed as degenerative diseases. These are caused by normal aging, genetics, lifestyle such as eating habits and exercise, and so on.
