Parkinson’s disease is a common neurodegenerative disease in the elderly, which is pathologically characterized by selective loss of dopaminergic neurons.
Compound preparations of Chinese medicines that can tonify the kidney have been reported to significantly improve symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. However, the mechanism of action remains unclear.
To investigate whether Chinese medicines that tonify the kidney can protect in vitro cultures of dopaminergic neurons, a recent study published in Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 8, No. 30, 2013) showed that Chinese medicines used for tonifying the kidney, such as Herba Epimedii and Herba Cistanches, can protect nerve cells by regulating the expression of apoptosis-related factors and neurotrophic factors.
Article: ” How do Chinese medicines that tonify the kidney inhibit dopaminergic neuron apoptosis? ” by Shaogang Lin1, Shuifen Ye2, Jinmu Huang1, Yun Tian3, Yihui Xu2, Mengqi Wu2, Jingxia Wang2, Songying Wu4, Jing Cai2 (1 Hospital of Putian University, Putian 351100, Fujian Province, China; 2 Academy of Integrative Medicine, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou 350122, Fujian Province, China; 3 College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang Province, China; 4 The Second People’s Hospital of Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou 350003, Fujian Province, China)
Lin SG, Ye SF, Huang JM, Tian Y, Xu YH, Wu MQ, Wang JX, Wu SY, Cai J. How do Chinese medicines that tonify the kidney inhibit dopaminergic neuron apoptosis? Neural Regen Res. 2013;8(30):2820-2826.