Olfactory ensheathing cells (OEC) have been successfully used to stimulate the growth of injured fibers and to promote functional recovery within the injured adult CNS. These cells exhibit functional properties, which are known to be involved in axonal elongation. OEC express high level of growth factors including NGF, GDNF, BDNF and NT-3, which are known to play an important role in nerve rege...

Olfactory ensheathing cells (OEC) have been successfully used to stimulate the growth of injured fibers and to promote functional recovery within the injured adult CNS. These cells exhibit functional properties, which are known to be involved in axonal elongation. OEC express high level of growth factors including NGF, GDNF, BDNF and NT-3, which are known to play an important role in nerve rege...

Organotypic cultures from the ventral mesencephalon (VM) are widely used to model Parkinson's disease (PD). In this method, neurotoxic compounds have traditionally been applied to the media to induce a uniform dopaminergic (DAergic) cell death in the tissue slices, regardless of the variation existing among slices. This study demonstrates a refinement of the toxic induction technique. We show t...

Oxidative stress is thought to contribute to dopaminergic cell death in Parkinson's disease (PD). The neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), which is easily oxidized to reactive oxygen species (ROS), appears to induce neuronal death by a free radical-mediated mechanism, whereas the involvement of free radicals in N-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+) toxicity is less clear. Using free radical-sens...

Parkinson disease is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders and is characterized by the selective loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. Although a decrease in proteasome activity has been found in patients with sporadic Parkinson disease, the relationship between the ubiquitin-proteasome system and dopaminergic neuronal death remains to be elucidated. Here, we review...

Background & Aims: The purpose of this research was to study the protective effect of pretreatment with a voluntary exercise on hippocampal level of cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor (CDNF) after damage induced by intraventricular injection of 6–hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) in rats. Methods: In this experimental study, 24 Wistar rats were randomly divided into 4 groups of healthy control, healt...

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease characterized by a significant loss of dopaminergic neurons within the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) and a subsequent loss of dopamine (DA) within the striatum. Despite advances in the development of pharmacological therapies that are effective at alleviating the symptoms of PD, the search for therapeutic treatments that ha...

This study evaluates the potential neuroprotective properties of amburoside A, a glucoside isolated from Amburana cearensis, on rat mesencephalic cell cultures exposure to the neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). The parameters determined were cell viability by the 3[4,5-dimethylthiazole-2-il]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) method, nitric oxide (NO) and free radical formation by the me...

Oxidative stress is an important cause of cellular toxicity in the central nervous system and contributes to the pathology associated with neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson's disease. As such, elucidation of cellular mechanisms that enhance neuronal resistance to oxidative stress may provide new avenues for therapy. In this study we employed a simple two-state cellular model to id...

BACKGROUND The present study investigates the effects of ginsenosides Rh1 and Rg2 against 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), a neurotoxin on SH-SY5Y cells and PC-12 cells. The effects of these two ginsenosides on neuronal differentiation are also examined. METHODS LDH assay was used to measure cell viability after exposure to 6-OHDA and ginsenosides. Neuronal differentiation was evaluated by changes...