• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.12 no.10
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• pp.4411-4417
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• 2011

Degenerative brain diseases including Alzheimer's diseases, Parkinson's diseases increase in frequency with age. They are amongst the most costly and devastating diseases to patients and their families. Therefore developing therapies for degenerative brain diseases is of the highest priority. Recently therapeutics for these diseases have undergone scrutiny by many clinical trials according to the advances of cellular and molecular neurobiology. This review is focused on studies investigating the current therapeutic strategies already undergone different stage of clinical trials and recent R&D trend by nations through patent analysis on treatments for degegerative brain diseases.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.430-438
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• 1999

This study was designed to investigate the effects of sea tangle (Laminaria japonica) extract and fucoidan components on chronic degenerative diseases. Sprague-Dawley(SD) male rats (210$\pm$5g) were fed experimental diets: Dasi-Ex group: dasima extract powder of 4.0% added to control diet; Fuco-I, II and III groups: fucoidan powder of 1, 2 and 3% added to Dasi-Ex group for 45 days. Triglyceride (TG) levels in serum were significantly lower (10~15%) in Fuco-I, II and III groups compared with control group. Total cholesterol levels were significantly decreased (7~10% and 15~ 35%) in brain mitochondria and microsomes of Fuco-II and III group compared with control group. LDL-cholesterol levels were remarkably decreased (20~30%) in Dasi-Ex and Fuco-I, II, III groups, but HDL-cholesterol levels were significantly increased (10~12%) in Fuco-II and III groups only compared with control group. The ratios of HDL/total cholesterol resulted in a marked increase (3 5~55%) in Dasi-Ex and Fuco-I, II, III groups, but atherogenic indices were remakably decreased (40~50%) in Dasi-Ex and Fuco-I, II, III groups compared with control group. Membrane fluidities were remarkably increased (45~70% and 38~42%, respectively) in brain mitochondria and microsomes of Fuco-II and III groups compared with control group. Administrations of fucoidan added to dasima effectively decreased TG, total and LDL-cholesterol, and atherogenic index, while also effectively increased HDL-cholesterol, HDL/total cholesterol ratio, and membrane fluidity, suggesting chronic degenerative diseases were very effectively prevented by the administration of fucoidan component.

• BMB Reports
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.20-29
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• 2022

Stem cell-based therapy is a promising approach for treating a variety of disorders, including acute brain insults and neurodegenerative diseases. Stem cells such as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) secrete extracellular vesicles (EVs), circular membrane fragments (30 nm-1 ㎛) that are shed from the cell surface, carrying several therapeutic molecules such as proteins and microRNAs. Because EV-based therapy is superior to cell therapy in terms of scalable production, biodistribution, and safety profiles, it can be used to treat brain diseases as an alternative to stem cell therapy. This review presents evidences evaluating the role of stem cell-derived EVs in stroke, traumatic brain injury, and degenerative brain diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson' disease. In addition, stem cell-derived EVs have better profiles in biocompatibility, immunogenicity, and safety than those of small chemical and macromolecules. The advantages and disadvantages of EVs compared with other strategies are discussed. Even though EVs obtained from native stem cells have potential in the treatment of brain diseases, the successful clinical application is limited by the short half-life, limited targeting, rapid clearance after application, and insufficient payload. We discuss the strategies to enhance the efficacy of EV therapeutics. Finally, EV therapies have yet to be approved by the regulatory authorities. Major issues are discussed together with relevant advances in the clinical application of EV therapeutics.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.178-184
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• 1996

Aloe(Aloe vera LINNE) has been used as a home medicine for the past several thousand in the world, and has been studied on various chronic degenerative diseases such as atherosclerosis, myocardiac infarction and hypertension. SMAP8, learning and memory impairment animal mode, were fed basic or experimental diets with 1.0% of freeze dried(FD)-Aloe powder for 8 months. This study was designed to investigate the effects of Aloe on body weight gain, grading score of senescence(GSS), triglyceride, total and LDL-cholesterol levels, and atherogenic index in serum of SAMP8, and also designed to investigate the effects of Aloe on cholesterol accumultions in mitochondria and microsome fractions of SAMP8 brain. Body weight gain was consistently lower in aloe group than in control group, but no significantly differences between them. Grading score of senescence resulted ina marked decreases pf 20% in 1.0% Aloe group compared with control group. Administrations of 1.0% aloe resulted ina marked decreases in 15% and 20% of triglyceride and cholesterol levels, respectively, and also significantly decreased in 15% of LDL-cholesterol levels and atherogenic index in serum of SAMP8 compared with control group. Cholesterol accumulations were significantly inhibited in 20% and 10% of mitochondria and microsome fractions of SAMP8 brain, respectively, by administration of 1.0% Aloe. These results suggest that administration of Aloe mau not only effectively inhibit chronic degenerative diseases in serum of SAMP8, but may also improve learning and memory impairments of SAMP8 brain.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2024

Fresh ginseng is prone to spoilage due to its high moisture content. For long-term storage, most fresh ginsengs are dried to white ginseng (WG) or steamed for hours at high temperature/pressure and dried to form Korean Red ginseng (KRG). They are further processed for ginseng products when subjected to hot water extraction/concentration under pressure. These WG or KRG preparation processes affect ginsenoside compositions and also other ginseng components, probably during treatments like steaming and drying, to form diverse bioactive phospholipids. It is known that ginseng contains high amounts of gintonin lysophosphatidic acids (LPAs). LPAs are simple lipid-derived growth factors in animals and humans and act as exogenous ligands of six GTP-binding-protein coupled LPA receptor subtypes. LPAs play diverse roles ranging from brain development to hair growth in animals and humans. LPA-mediated signaling pathways involve various GTP-binding proteins to regulate downstream pathways like [Ca²⁺]_i transient induction. Recent studies have shown that gintonin exhibits anti-Alzheimer's disease and antiarthritis effects in vitro and in vivo mediated by gintonin LPAs, the active ingredients of gintonin, a ginseng-derived neurotrophin. However, little is known about how gintonin LPAs are formed in high amounts in ginseng compared to other herbs. This review introduces atypical or non-enzymatic pathways under the conversion of ginseng phospholipids into gintonin LPAs during steaming and extraction/concentration processes, which exert beneficial effects against degenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease and arthritis in animals and humans via LPA receptors.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.1881-1891
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• 2004

Daejowhan-gamibang(DJG) is used to prevention and treatment of cerebrovascular disease, heart disease, dementia, hyperlipdemia circulatory disturbance. Korean traditional herbal prescriptions and herb medicines in neuronal cells, which have been used for the treatment of stroke and brain diseases in Korean traditional medicine were screened to study the antioxidant effects and its mechanism. Daejowhan-gamibang water extract(DJGWE) was tested on their antioxidant activity using radical scavenging effects against ABTS. It showed significant antioxidant capacities at 50㎍ concentration. The antioxidant activity of DJGWE was determined in the different concentration (10㎍, 50 ㎍, and 100㎍). At the same time, the antiperoxidation effects was determined. Lipid peroxidation in brain homogenates induced by NADPH and ADP-Fe/sup 2+/ was significantly inhibited by DJGWE in vitro. DJGWE showed a potent antioxidant and antiperoxidative activity, further investigation, in vitro and in vivo, will be needed for the confirm of possibility as an antioxidant therapeutic agents and their optimal treatment of brain diseases in human. In searching the mechanism of antioxidant effects of DJGWE, it showed the inhibition of activity of JNK, p38, ERK and caspase 3 induced by hypoxia. So, DJGWE should be surveyed for the use of the potential therapeutic prescription for stroke and brain degenerative diseases such as pakinson's disease, dementia.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.12-20
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• 1999

In order to understand the pathogenesis and progression of some synaptic loss related neuropsychiatric diseases, We attempted to develop a computer model in this study. We made a simple autoassociative memory network remembering numbers, transformed it into a disease model by pruning synapses, and measured its memory performance as a function of synaptic deletion. Decline in performance was measured as amount of synaptic loss increases and its mode of decline is sudden or gradual according to the mode of synaptic pruning. The developed computer model demonstrated how synaptic loss could cause memory impairment through a series of computer simulations, and suggested a new way of research in neuropsychiatry.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.153-161
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• 2013

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are the major components of brain and retina, and are the essential fatty acids with important physiologically active functions. Thus, PUFAs should be provided to children, and are very important in the brain growth and development for fetuses, newborn infants, and children. Omega-3 fatty acids decrease coronary artery disease and improve blood flow. PUFAs have been known to have anti-inflammatory action and improved the chronic inflammation such as auto-immune diseases or degenerative neurologic diseases. PUFAs are used for metabolic syndrome related with obesity or diabetes. However, there are several considerations related with intake of PUFAs. Obsession with the intake of unsaturated fatty acids could bring about the shortage of essential fatty acids that are crucial for our body, weaken the immune system, and increase the risk of heart disease, arrhythmia, and stroke. In this review, we discuss types, physiologic mechanism of action of PUFAs, intake of PUFAs for children, recommended intake of PUFAs, and considerations for the intake of PUFAs.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.11-17
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• 2019

Drosophila melanogaster (fruits fly) is a representative model system widely used in biological studies because its brain function and basic cellular processes are similar to human beings. The whole head of the fly is often used to obtain the key function in brain-related diseases like degenerative brain diseases; however the biomolecular distribution of the head may be slightly different from that of a brain. Herein, lipid profiles of the head and dissected brain samples of Drosophila were studied using electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). According to the sample types, the detection of phospholipid ions was suppressed by triacylglycerol (TAG), or the specific phospholipid signals that are absent in the mass spectrum were measured. The lipid distribution was found to be different in the wild-type and the microRNA-14 deficiency model ($miR-14{\Delta}^1$) with abnormal lipid metabolism. A few phospholipids were also profiled by comparison of the head and the brain in two fly model systems. The mass spectra showed that the phospholipid distributions in the $miR-14{\Delta}^1$ model and the wild-type were different, and principal component analysis revealed a correlation between some phospholipids (phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylinositol (PI), and phosphatidylserine (PS)) in $miR-14{\Delta}^1$. The overall results suggested that brain-related lipids should be profiled using fly samples after dissection for more accurate analysis.

• BMB Reports
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.87-93
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• 2002

Neural cell survival is an essential concern in the aging brain and many diseases of the central nervous system. Neural transplantation of the stem cells are already applied to clinical trials for many degenerative neurological diseases, including Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, and strokes. A critical problem of the neural transplantation is how to reduce their apoptosis and improve cell survival. Neurotrophic factors generally contribute as extrinsic cues to promote cell survival of specific neurons in the developing mammalian brains, but the survival factor for neural stem cell is poorly defined. To understand the mechanism controlling stem cell death and improve cell survival of the transplanted stem cells, we investigated the effect of plausible neurotrophic factors on stem cell survival. The neural stem cell, HiB5, when treated with PDGF prior to transplantation, survived better than cells without PDGF. The resulting survival rate was two fold for four weeks and up to three fold for twelve weeks. When transplanted into dorsal hippocampus, they migrated along hippocampal alveus and integrated into pyramidal cell layers and dentate granule cell layers in an inside out sequence, which is perhaps the endogenous pathway that is similar to that in embryonic neurogenesis. Promotion of the long term-survival and differentiation of the transplanted neural precursors by PDGF may facilitate regeneration in the aging adult brain and probably in the injury sites of the brain.