The endogenous neurotransmitter, noradrenaline, exerts anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects in vivo and in vitro. Reduced noradrenaline levels results in increased inflammation and neuronal damage. The primary source of noradrenaline in the central nervous system is tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)‑positive neurons, located in the locus coeruleus (LC). TH is the rate‑limiting enzyme for norad...

Aripiprazole, a dopamine D(2) receptor partial agonist, is used to treat schizophrenia. Although aripiprazole has been reported to protect non-dopaminergic neurons, its effect on dopaminergic neurons has yet to be investigated. In the present study, we examined whether aripiprazole protected dopaminergic neurons against glutamate-induced cytotoxicity in rat mesencephalic cultures. Pretreatment ...

Cerebral ischemic insult, mainly induced by cardiovascular disease, is one of the most severe neurological diseases in clinical. There's mounting evidence showing that delta opioid agonist [D-Ala2, D-Leu5] enkephalin (DADLE) has a tissue-protective effect. However, whether this property is effective to prevent neuronal death induced by forebrain ischemia is not clear. This study was aimed to in...

In vitro studies have well established the neuroprotective action of the noble gas argon. However, only limited data from in vivo models are available, and particularly whether postexcitotoxic or postischemic argon can provide neuroprotection in vivo still remains to be demonstrated. Here, we investigated the possible neuroprotective effect of postexcitotoxic-postischemic argon both ex vivo in ...

Vanadium is widely distributed in the environment and exhibits various biological and physiological effects in the human body. We previously documented the neuroprotective effect of sodium orthovanadate (SOV) against in rodents i.v. injected with 2 ml/kg 50 mM SOV just after the induction of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO; 0 min post-MCAO). To evaluate its potential clinical use, we det...

Among the family of steroidal molecules, only estrogens have the capability of preventing neuronal cell death caused by increased oxidative burden. Employing neuronal cell lines, brain membrane, and low density lipoprotein oxidation assays, we show that the antioxidant and neuroprotective effects of estrogens are dependent not on their genomic properties as hormones but rather on their basic ch...

As a kind of α2 adrenergic receptor agonists, dexmedetomidine generates sedation, anti-anxiety and anesthesia effects by hyperpolarizing noradrenergic nerve cells in locus coeruleus. This study was designed to investigate the neuroprotective of dexmedetomidine attenuates isoflurane-induced cognitive impairment, and the possible underlying mechanism in aging rat. Firstly, we used isoflurane-indu...

Estrogen is an active neuroprotectant and is presently investigated as a potential therapy against Alzheimer's disease for women. To determine if male hormones could also be neuroprotective, we investigated the effect of testosterone, methyltestosterone, and epitestosterone at physiological concentrations on primary cultures of human neurons induced to undergo apoptosis by serum deprivation. Se...

Background. Lipoic acid (LA), which has significant antioxidant properties, may also function as a potent neuroprotectant. The synthetic compounds INV-155, INV-157, INV-159, and INV-161 are physiochemical combinations of lipoic acid and captopril. We sought to determine if these compounds have neuroprotective potential following middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in rats. Methods. Male Spr...

PURPOSE To evaluate the neuroprotective effect of intravitreal injections of neurotrophic factors secreting mesenchymal stem cells (NTF-SCs) on the survival of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in rat eyes after optic nerve transection (ONT). METHODS Rat and human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were induced to secrete high levels of NTF. The neuroprotective effect from intravit...