Cimicifuga foetida, an Asian Cimicifuga species, has been employed as a cooling and detoxification agent in traditional Chinese medicine since ancient times. For this herb, two cycloartane triterpene glycosides isolated from the rhizomes have demonstrated cytotoxicity on rat tumor and human cancer cell lines. Since human Hsp27 is increased in various human cancers and exhibits cytoprotective ac...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Heat shock proteins (HSPs) have been regarded as cytoprotectants that protect brain cells during the progression of neurodegenerative diseases and from damage resulting from cerebral ischemia. In this study, we assessed the association between plasma HSP 70/27 levels and cognitive decline. METHODS Among participants in the community-based cohort study of dementia called th...

One of the obstacles in irradiation therapy is cytoresistance, acquired by activation of self-defense systems, such as antioxidant or molecular chaperone systems, to cope with stress. We investigated whether irradiation preconditioning (IP) rendered resistance of the kidney against subsequent ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) and attempted to elucidate any such protective mechanisms. Mice were irradia...

Objective(s): Several researchers have reported the relationship between infertility in male and varicocele for so many years but the implication of varicocele in female patients is remains elusive. Here, we aim to examine the effects of unilateral varicose ovarian vein on antioxidant capacity and oocyte quality of rat ovary after the experimental creation of varicocele in female rats. Material...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) is a genetically heterogeneous group of neurodegenerative disorders that are characterized by progressive spasticity and weakness of the lower limbs. Mutations in the spastin gene (SPAST) are the most common causes of HSP, accounting for 40-67% of autosomal dominant HSP (AD-HSP) and 12-18% of sporadic cases. Mutations in the atlastin-1 ...

Objective: Protection of the myocardium against ischemia/reperfusion injury is a major challenge in cardiac surgery and cardiology. A cardioprotective role of heat shock proteins (Hsp), in particular Hsp 70, against ischemia has been demonstrated. A prerequisite for clinical exploitation of high Hsp 70 levels in the heart during ischemia is the determination of the efficacy and the kinetics of ...