Braintone has a therapeutic effect on ischemic brain damage

Main Category: Stroke
Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience
Article Date: 19 Aug 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Braintone has a therapeutic effect on ischemic brain damage

Recently, the importance of the neurovascular unit, which is comprised of neurons, endothelial cells and astrocytes, has received great attention in the field of stroke, because stroke affects not only neurons, but also astrocytes and microvessels.

Within the neurovascular unit, endothelial cells are critical for maintaining normal hemodynamic and metabolic homeostasis. Vascular damage during ischemia often leads to the disruption of the blood-brain barrier and dysregulation of vascular tonus, eventually causing substantial cell death.

The Chinese herbs Rhodiolase, Notoginseng, Folium Ginkgo and Rhizoma Chuanxiong have been used for stroke ancillary treatment in China for years. Braintone contains four major active ingredients: Radix Rhodiolase Essence (a major constituent of Rhodiola rosea L.), Radix Notoginseng Essence, Folium Ginkgo Essence and Rhizoma Chuanxiong.

A recent study published in the Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 8, No. 19, 2013) combined novel in vivo and in vitro experiments to show that Braintone dose-dependently increased the expression of hypoxia inducible factor 1a, heme oxygenase-1 and vascular endothelial growth factor in the ischemic cortex of rats with middle cerebral artery occlusion. Braintone-containing serum increased levels of hypoxia-inducible factor 1a mRNA and protein, and elevated vascular endothelial growth factor mRNA and heme oxygenase-1 protein expression in a dose-dependent manner in human umbilical vein endothelial cells after glucose-oxygen deprivation.

Collectively, these experimental findings suggest that Braintone has neuroprotective effects on ischemia-induced brain damage via the up-regulation of hypoxia-inducible factor 1a, heme oxygenase-1 and vascular endothelial growth factor expression in vascular endothelial cells.

Article: " Evidence for a therapeutic effect of Braintone on ischemic brain damage " by Yuanyuan Qin1, 2, Yu Luo1, Weiwei Gu1, Lei Yang1, Xikun Shen2, Zhenlun Gu1, Huiling Zhang1, Xiumei Gao3 (1 Department of Pharmacology and Laboratory of Cerebrovascular Pharmacology, College of Pharmaceutical Science, Suzhou Institute of Chinese Meteria Medica, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, Jiangsu Province, China; 2 Department of Pharmacy, Suzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Suzhou 215009, Jiangsu Province, China; 3 Department of Anesthesiology, Daxing Hospital, Capital University of Medical Sciences, Beijing 102600, China)

Qin YY, Luo Y, Gu WW, Yang L, Shen XK, Gu ZL, Zhang HL, Gao XM. Evidence for a therapeutic effect of Braintone on ischemic brain damage. Neural Regen Res. 2013;8(19):1743-1755. oi:10.3969/j.issn.1673-5374.2013.19.002

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
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Simple ultrasound could prevent post-op kidney damage

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Academic Journal
Main Category: Urology / Nephrology
Also Included In: Preventive Medicine
Article Date: 05 Aug 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Simple ultrasound could prevent post-op kidney damage

Acute kidney injury, in which the kidneys suddenly stop working properly, is a potentially severe condition that often follows major surgery and causes serious complications for patients. Now for the first time, researchers show that treatment with ultrasound beforehand can help prevent the problem in mice.

The protection from acute kidney injury (AKI) comes from the anti-inflammatory effects of this simple, drug-free, non-invasive treatment, the scientists believe.

Mark Okusa and Joseph Gigliotti of the University of Virginia and colleagues report their findings in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Dr. Mark Okusa told the press:

"Our studies using non-invasive ultrasound now provide us with an active treatment that appears to be simple, effective, and nontoxic for the prevention of acute kidney injury.

"To our knowledge this has never been described for the prevention of tissue or organ injury."

Acute kidney injury is becoming an increasingly common complication in patients who have major surgery. It occurs because sometimes during major surgery the normal blood flow to the kidneys is disrupted. Once AKI sets in, it is very difficult to treat.

Acute kidney injury not only affects quality of life for patients, but also increases healthcare costs, and raises the risk of death following major surgery, note the authors.

A study published in 2008, showed that risk of death persists in heart patients with AKI even after discharge from hospital.

For their study, the researchers exposed anesthetized mice to ultrasound 24 hours before disrupting the blood supply to their kidneys.

They used the same kind of device that clinicians use to take regular ultrasound images.

Once blood flow was restored, they found that the health of the animals' kidneys had been preserved.

Another group of mice that received a sham treatment did not show preserved kidney health: their kidneys showed significant injury.

On further analysis, the researchers found that the ultrasound seemed to have stimulated the spleen to produce an anti-inflammatory response that protected the kidneys.

The researchers believe that the mechanisms that cause the acute kidney injury may also be responsible for similar damage to lung, heart and liver and that this type of treatment could prevent injury in other organs too.

Experts suggest the study offers numerous and promising possibilities because there are many procedures that carry a high risk of AKI.

In an editorial in the same issue of the journal, Alain Le Moine of Erasme Hospital in Belgium, and colleagues, note that:

"In searching for novel approaches to prevent and even cure AKI, we believe that splenic ultrasound stimulation has a bright future ahead."

Progress is also being made in predicting which post-operative patients are at higher risk for acute kidney injury. Current methods - such as measuring serum creatinine and urine output - may not show changes for several days, allowing time for serious kidney damage to have happened already.

But in an international study published earlier this year, researchers found two biomarkers that spot AKI risk sooner.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today Visit our urology / nephrology section for the latest news on this subject. "Ultrasound prevents renal ischemia-reperfusion injury by stimulating the splenic cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway," Gigliotti JC, Huang L, Ye H et al, JASN, published online ahead of print, 1 August 2013; DOI: 10.1681/ASN.2013010084; Abstract/summary. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

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Broken heart: Can grief damage your heart?

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Your grandfather passes away and your grandmother begins complaining of chest pain. Is there a connection? Some people, especially women age 50 and older, sustain heart injury after hearing bad news. It's known as broken heart syndrome. While people who have broken heart syndrome usually recover, play it safe. If a loved one complains of chest pain after a traumatic event, encourage him or her to seek emergency medical care.

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Stem cell discovery: Astrocytes could repair stroke brain damage

Featured Article
Academic Journal
Main Category: Stroke
Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience;  Stem Cell Research
Article Date: 29 Jul 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Stem cell discovery: Astrocytes could repair stroke brain damage

Stem cell researchers have discovered that astrocytes may prove useful against stroke and other brain disorders.

Astrocytes - neural cells that form the blood-brain barrier and so control what can and cannot enter the brain from the blood supply - have previously been overlooked in this area of stroke research.

A collaborative study published in Nature Communications suggests that astrocytes can do far more than simply support nerve cells (neurons).

Wenbin Deng, senior author of the study and associate professor of biochemistry and molecular medicine at UC Davis in California, told Medical News Today:

"This exciting research uncovers the brain-protective powers of stem cell-derived astrocytes.

Astrocytes may help to limit the spread of damage after an ischemic brain stroke in patients, and may also help to regenerate and repair damaged brain cells.

Both of these actions may lead to better functional recovery in patients."

Dr. Wenbin Deng added that astrocyte-centered therapy "could also be used for many other nervous system disorders." He said the following could be included in a list of potential targets for therapy:

Stem cell research has focused until now on developing stroke treatments using therapeutic neurons to stimulate electrical impulses in the brain, and restore tissue that has been damaged by oxygen deprivation. Dr. Wenbin Deng said astrocytes had often been considered just "housekeeping" cells that merely support nerve cells.

An astrocyte - more useful than previously thought. Courtesy Dr. Peng Jiang

"But they're actually much more sophisticated," Dr. Wenbin Deng explained. "They are critical to several brain functions and are believed to protect neurons from injury and death. They are not excitable cells like neurons and are easier to harness. We wanted to explore their potential in treating neurological disorders, beginning with stroke."

The UC Davis team faced an immediate challenge, however - there was little existing understanding on which specific types of astrocyte might have therapeutic potential in brain disorders. Also, the principal reason astrocytes had not been investigated in this context was the difficulty in producing them to the purity levels needed for stem cell therapies.

The UC Davis team decided to use a transcription factor protein called Olig2 to differentiate human embryonic stem cells into astrocytes. This approach generated a previously undiscovered type of astrocyte called Olig2PC-Astros - it was almost 100% pure.

"In this study, we report a surprising twist of fate," Dr. Wenbin Deng told MNT. He added:

"Our novel findings are that highly purified Olig2+ progenitors can give rise to astrocytes and that these astrocytes derived from highly purified Olig2+ progenitors are different from the astrocytes described in any previous work."

In short, the team's quest for a sufficiently pure astrocyte had, by serendipity, also led them to isolate a previously unknown astrocyte with particularly therapeutic properties.

Researchers used three groups of rats with ischemic brain injuries to compare the effects of Olig2PC-Astros, another type of astrocyte called NPC-Astros, and no treatment. The animals were placed in a water maze to assess their learning and memory.

Two weeks after transplantation, the rats receiving Olig2PC-Astros navigated the maze significantly quicker than the other groups. This group also exhibited higher levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein associated with nerve growth and resilience.

Cell cultures were also used to measure what protection the astrocytes could provide to neurons against the oxidative stress that contributes to brain injury following stroke.

When exposed to hydrogen peroxide, both types of astrocytes provided some protection but the Olig2PC-Astros showed greater antioxidant effects. Further investigation indicated higher levels of the protein Nrf2, which increases antioxidant activity in mouse neurons.

Additionally, the Olig2PC-Astros cells remained in brain areas where they were transplanted, did not differentiate into neurons or other cell types and formed no tumors.

Jan Nolta, director of the UC Davis Institute for Regenerative Cures, commented: "Dr. Deng's team has shown that this new method for deriving astrocytes from embryonic stem cells creates a cell population that is more pure and functionally superior to the standard method for astrocyte derivation."

Jan Nolta added:

"The functional improvement seen in the brain injury models is impressive, as are the higher levels of BDNF.

I will be excited to see this work extended to other brain disease models such as Huntington's disease and others, where it is known that BDNF has a positive effect."

Written by Nick Valentine

Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today Visit our stroke section for the latest news on this subject. "hESC-derived Olig2+ progenitors generate a subtype of astroglia with protective effects against ischaemic brain injury," Nature Communications, 23 July 2013. Full text Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

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Valentine, Nick. "Stem cell discovery: Astrocytes could repair stroke brain damage." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 29 Jul. 2013. Web.
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