Apomorphine (APO), a potent D1/D2 dopamine receptor agonist, is currently used as an antiparkinsonian drug. We have shown previously that APO stimulates synthesis and release of multiple trophic factors, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), in both mesencephalic and striatal neurons, thereby effectively preventing dopaminergic ...

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is up-regulated in response to oxidative stress and catalyzes the degradation of pro-oxidant heme to carbon monoxide (CO), iron, and bilirubin. Intense HO-1 immunostaining in the Parkinsonian brain is demonstrated, indicating that HO-1 may be involved in the pathogenesis of Parkinsonism. We here locally injected adenovirus containing human HO-1 gene (Ad-HO-1) into rat su...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Neuroprotective effects of electric stimulation have been recently shown in ischemic stroke, but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. METHODS Adult Wistar rats weighing 200 to 250 g received occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery for 90 minutes. At 1 hour after reperfusion, electrodes were implanted to rats on the right frontal epidural space. Elec...

Neurotransmitters and neurotrophic factors are signaling molecules that play a crucial role in cell proliferation, differentiation, survival and functions of neurons. It is believed that caloric restriction could help the health of the nervous system by affecting the synthesis of neurotrophins and neurotransmitter and oxygen radical metabolism. The objective was to investigate the plasma levels...

objective(s): the present study aims to study the alteration of glutamatergic transmission in the dorsal horn neurons and the effect of gabapentin on oxaliplatin-induced neuropathic pain in rats. materials and methods: oxaliplatin (5 mg/kg) or saline was administered to adult male sprague-dawley rats.  gabapentin (60 mg/kg, ip) or vehicle was injected daily. mechanical allodynia was assessed us...

Rotenone is a pesticide that is widely used to kill insects and nuisance fish in lakes. Its used as Parkinson’s Disease (PD) model inducer. The mechanism of toxicity of rotenone is primarily mediated by its potential as mitochondrial complex I inhibition. Centella asiatica (CA) is known as neurotonic, but how its potential protection in Parkinsonism is still unclear. In this study, we examined ...

Neurodegeneration is one of the primary etiologies in the onset of Parkinson's disease. In the quest for a new antiparkinsonism treatment the potential benefits of puerarin from the roots of Pueraria lobata have been recognized. Thus, we examined whether puerarin is capable to protect dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra against 6-hydroxydopamine induced neuronal cell death. Our data sh...

Neurotrophin 4 (NT-4) belongs to the family of neurotrophic factors, and it interacts with the tyrosine kinase B (trkB) receptor. NT-4 has neuroprotective effects following cerebral ischemia. Its role might be similar to brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), because both interact with trkB. Exercise also improves neural function by increasing neurotrophic factors. However, expression profil...

The pursuit of targeting multiple pathways in the ischemic cascade of cerebral stroke is a promising treatment option. We examined the regenerative potential of conditioned medium derived from rat and human apoptotic mononuclear cells (MNC), rMNC (apo sec) and hMNC (apo sec), in experimental stroke. We performed middle cerebral artery occlusion on Wistar rats and administered apoptotic MNC-secr...