Chinese medicine Nao-Shuan-Tong attenuates cerebral ischemic injury by inhibiting apoptosis in a rat model of stroke.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Nao-Shuan-Tong (NST) in capsule form is a compound prescription formulated according to the meridian theory of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and is approved by the State Food and Drug Administration of China for the treatment of ischemic stroke.

Objectives: To test the neuroprotective effects of the Chinese medicine Nao-Shuang-Tong on cerebral ischemia in rats and to explore the underlying mechanisms.

Materials And Methods: 115 Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: sham, ischemia-reperfusion (I/R), and I/R plus NST 0.

[COX plays a pivotal role in the progressive neuronal loss in neurodegenerative diseases].

Cyclooxygenase (COX) is the major target of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Since its discovery in the early 1990s, COX has been identified as a major player in inflammatory reactions. "neuroinflammation" is triggered and sustained by activation of resident cells, particularly microglia.

Triptolide protects against 1-methyl-4-phenyl pyridinium-induced dopaminergic neurotoxicity in rats: implication for immunosuppressive therapy in Parkinson's disease.

Objective: Neuroinflammation with microglial activation has been implicated to have a strong association with the progressive dopaminergic neuronal loss in Parkinson's disease (PD). The present study was undertaken to evaluate the activation profile of microglia in 1-methyl-4-phenyl pyridinium (MPP+)-induced hemiparkinsonian rats. Triptolide, a potent immunosuppressant and microglia inhibitor, was then examined for its efficacy in protecting dopaminergic neurons from injury and ameliorating behavioral disabilities induced by MPP+.

[Clinical trial on treatment of Parkinson's disease of Gan-Shen yin deficiency type by recipe for nourishing Gan-Shen].

Objective: To observe the curative effect of the recipe for nourishing Gan-Shen on Parkinson's disease (PD) of Gan-Shen yin deficiency type.

Methods: One hundred and twenty-one PD patients were ran-domly assigned by blocking design to the control group and the treated group in the ratio of 1:1. All were treated according to the international medication guiding principle for PD treatment, but the treated group was ad-ministered with the recipe for nourishing Gan-Shen additionally.