[Is an animal a person? And are scientists always rational animals?].

An accumulation of scientific observations now challenges the idea that there is a huge difference between human beings and other animal species. There is no longer any need to assume that man possesses something special. Yet many scientists refuse to admit that this is so.

The extract of Ginkgo biloba EGb 761 reactivates a juvenile profile in the skeletal muscle of sarcopenic rats by transcriptional reprogramming.

Background: Sarcopenia is a major public health problem in industrialized nations, placing an increasing burden on public healthcare systems because the loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength that characterizes this affection increases the dependence and the risk of injury caused by sudden falls in elderly people. Albeit exercise and caloric restriction improve sarcopenia-associated decline of the muscular performances, a more suitable and focused pharmacological treatment is still lacking.

Methodology/principal Findings: In order to evaluate such a possible treatment, we investigated the effects of EGb 761, a Ginkgo biloba extract used in chronic age-dependent neurological disorders, on the function of the soleus muscle in aged rats.

Ginkgo biloba extract neuroprotective action is dependent on heme oxygenase 1 in ischemic reperfusion brain injury.

Background And Purpose: Ginkgo biloba extracts are now prescribed in several countries for their reported health benefits, particularly for medicinal properties in the brain. The standardized Ginkgo extract, EGb761, has been reported to protect neurons against oxidative stress, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood.

Methods: To characterize the oral consumption of EGb761 in transient ischemia, we performed the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) filament model in wild-type and heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) knockouts.