• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.1-13
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• 2013

Objectives : This study was performed to choose more effective neuro-protective acupuncture point and to verify the effect of acupuncture in promoting neurogenesis and angiogenesis as a result of its neuro-vasculo-regenerative effect in middle cerebral artery occlusion model in rats. Methods : By TTc staining we chose the most effective acupuncture point with neuro-protection. We randomly divided into four groups: Such as (1) sham group(with sham-operation), (2) sham+acupuncture group(with sham-operation), (3) middle cerebral artery occlusion group, (4) MCAO+AT group. Acupuncture procedure was performed for four days. Total RNA was extracted using TRIzol reagent, according to the manufacturer's instructions, and was purified using an RNAeasy mini kit. Immuno-histochemistry was performed using primary antibody mouse anti-BrdU, NeuN, Dcx, and VEGF. Results : We found that $ST_{36}$ had the more neuroprotective effect than $LI_{11}$ and $SP_3$. The microarray analysis revealed that 54 genes were more expressed neurogenesis pathway in MCAO+AT group compared with MCAO group(fold changes greater than or equal to twofold change). 11 genes were more expressed angiogenesis pathway. And 7 genes were more expressed VEGF pathway. Immuno-histochemistry revealed that cell proliferation, cell migration and cell maturation were increased. Conclusions : This study demonstrated that acupuncture on $ST_{36}$ had neuro-protective and neuro-restorative effect in ischemic brain injuries. And its mechanism might be related to promote neurogenesis and angiogenesis. These results suggest that acupuncture have potential benefits for the treatment of ischemic stroke.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.3 s.63
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• pp.146-161
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• 2005

Objectives : This study investigated neuroprotective effects of Polygoni Multiflori Radix on cerebral ischemia of hyperlipidemic rats. Methods : Effects of Polygoni Multiflori Radix were evaluated with changes of infarct size after He focal cerebral ischemia induced by the middle cerebral artery occlusion, changes of pyramidal neurons and expressions of Bax and Bcl-2 apoptosis regulating factors after global cerebral ischemia, and changes of serum lipid revels after cerebral ischemia. Results & Conclusions : Results obtained were as follows; 1. Polygoni Multiflori Radix did net reduce the focal cerebral infarct size induced by the middle cerebral artery occlusion under both hyperlipidemic and normal-lipid conditions. 2. Polygoni Multiflori Radix significantly reduced the increase of neuronal cell death in CAl region of hippocampus induced by the global cerebral ischemia under both hyperlipidemic and normal-lipid conditions. 3. Polygoni Multiflori Radix significantly reduced the increase of Bax expression in the CAl region of the hippocampus induced by global cerebral ischemia under both hyperlipidemic and normal-lipid conditions. 4. Polygoni Multiflori Radix significantly increased Bc1-2 expression in the CA1 region of the hippocampus after global cerebral ischemia under normal-lipid condition, but was not effective on that under hyperlipidemic condition. 5. Polygoni Multiflori Radix was not effective on serum total-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and triglyceride levels under normal-lipid conditions, irrespective of focal cerebral infarct or global cerebral ischemia. 6. Polygoni Multiflori Radix significantly reduced the increase of serum total-cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and increased serum LDL-cholesterol level under hyperlipidemic conditions, irrespective of foc31 cerebral infarct or global cerebral ischemia.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.62-69
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• 2014

Background: Neuromodulation therapy has been used to an adjunctive treatment promoting motor recovery in stroke patients. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on neurobehavioral recovery and evoked potentials in rats with middle cerebral artery occlusion. Methods: Seventy Sprague-Daley rats were induced permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) stroke model and successful stroke rats (n=56) assigned to the rTMS (n=28) and sham (n=28) group. The 10 Hz, high frequency rTMS gave on ipsilesional forepaw motor cortex during 2 weeks in rTMS group. The somatosensory evoked potential (SSEP) and motor evoked potential (MEP) were used to evaluate the electrophysiological changes. Behavioral function of the stroke rat was evaluated by the Rota rod and Garcia test. Results: Forty rats ($N_{rTMS}=20;\;N_{sham}=20$) completed all experimental course. The rTMS group showed better performance than sham group in Rota rod test and Garcia test at day 11 (p<0.05) but not day 18 (p>0.05). The amplitude of MEP and SSEP in rTMS group was larger than sham group at day 18 (p<0.05). Conclusions: These data confirm that the high frequency rTMS on ipsilesional cerebral motor cortex can help the early recovery of motor performance in permanent middle cerebral artery stroke model and it may simultaneously associate with changes in neurophysiological activity in brain.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.65 no.6
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• pp.816-824
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• 2022

Objective : Emergency superficial temporal artery to middle cerebral artery (STA-MCA) anastomosis in patients with large vessel occlusion who fails mechanical thrombectomy or does not become an indication due to over the time window can be done as an alternative for blood flow restoration. The authors planned this study to quantitatively measure the degree of improvement in cerebral perfusion flow using perfusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after bypass surgery and to find out what factors are related to the outcome of the bypass surgery. Methods : For a total of 107 patients who underwent emergent STA-MCA bypass surgery with large vessel occlusion, the National Institute of Health stroke scale (NIHSS), modified Rankin score (mRS), infarction volume, and hypoperfusion area volume was calculated, the duration between symptom onset and reperfusion time, occlusion site and infarction type were analyzed. After emergency STA-MCA bypass, hypoperfusion area volume at post-operative 7 days was calculated and analyzed compared with pre-operative hypoperfusion area volume. The factors affecting the improvement of mRS were analyzed. The clinical status of patients who underwent emergency bypass was investigated by mRS and NIHSS before and after surgery, and changes in infarct volume, extent, degree of collateral circulation, and hypoperfusion area volume were measured using MRI and digital subtraction angiography (DSA). Results : The preoperative infarction volume was median 10 mL and the hypoperfusion area volume was median 101 mL. NIHSS was a median of 8 points, and the last normal to operation time was a median of 60.7 hours. STA patency was fair in 97.1% of patients at 6 months follow-up DSA and recanalization of the occluded vessel was confirmed at 26.5% of patients. Infarction volume significantly influenced the improvement of mRS (p=0.010) but preoperative hypoperfusion volume was not significantly influenced (p=0.192), and the infarction type showed marginal significance (p=0.0508). Preoperative NIHSS, initial mRS, occlusion vessel type, and last normal to operation time did not influence the improvement of mRS (p=0.272, 0.941, 0.354, and 0.391). Conclusion : In a patient who had an acute cerebral infarction due to large vessel occlusion with large ischemic penumbra but was unable to perform mechanical thrombectomy, STA-MCA bypass could be performed. By using time-to-peak images of perfusion MRI, it is possible to quickly and easily confirm that the brain tissue at risk is preserved and that the ischemic penumbra is recovered to a normal blood flow state.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.167-179
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• 2000

Objective : We studied to clarify the effective time zone of mild hypothermic neural protection during ischemia and/or reperfusion after middle cerebral artery occlusion. Methods : In a reversible cerebral infarct model which maintained reperfusion of blood flow after middle cerebral artery occlusion for two hours, the size of cerebral infarction, cerebral edema and the extent of neurological deficit were observed and analyzed for comparison between the control and the experimental groups under hypothermia($33.5^{\circ}C$). The temporalis muscle temperature was reduced to $33.5^{\circ}C$ by surface cooling for two hours during middle cerebral artery occlusion for study group I. The following groups applied hypothermia for two-hour periods after reperfusion : group II(0-2 hours), group III(2-4 hours), and group IV(4-6 hours). They were rewarmed to $36.5^{\circ}C$ until sacrified at 2, 4, 6, 12, and 24 hours after reperfusion. Control group was maintained at normothermia without hypothermia. Results : In the experimental groups with hypothermia, the average value of the size of cerebral infarction($mean{\pm}SD$) was $1.97{\pm}1.65%$, which was a remarkable reduction over that of the control, $4.93{\pm}3.79%$. In the control, a progressive increase was shown in the size of infarction from point of reperfusion to 6 hours after reperfusion without further changes in size afterward. Intra-ischemic hypothermia(group I) prevented ischemic injury but did not prevent reperfusion injury. Group II examplified the most neural protective effect in comparison to the control group and group IV(p<0.05). The cortex was more vulnerable to reperfusion injury than the subcortex. Mild hypothermia showed more neural protective effects on the cortex than subcortex. Conclusion : The most appropriate time zone for application of mild hypothermia was defined to be within four hours following reperfusion.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.319-328
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• 2024

Lysophosphatidic acid receptor 1 (LPA₁) plays a critical role in brain injury following a transient brain ischemic stroke. However, its role in permanent brain ischemic stroke remains unknown. To address this, we investigated whether LPA₁ could contribute to brain injury of mice challenged by permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO). A selective LPA₁ antagonist (AM152) was used as a pharmacological tool for this investigation. When AM152 was given to pMCAO-challenged mice one hour after occlusion, pMCAO-induced brain damage such as brain infarction, functional neurological deficits, apoptosis, and blood-brain barrier disruption was significantly attenuated. Histological analyses demonstrated that AM152 administration attenuated microglial activation and proliferation in injured brain after pMCAO challenge. AM152 administration also attenuated abnormal neuroinflammatory responses by decreasing expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines while increasing expression levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines in the injured brain. As underlying effector pathways, NF-κB, MAPKs (ERK1/2, p38, and JNKs), and PI3K/Akt were found to be involved in LPA₁-dependent pathogenesis. Collectively, these results demonstrate that LPA₁ can contribute to brain injury by permanent ischemic stroke, along with relevant pathogenic events in an injured brain.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.246-253
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• 2005

This study was designed to investigate the neuroprotective effects of Guh-Poong-Chung-Sim-Hwan(GCH) on ischemia induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion(MCAO) in Sprague-Dawley rats. The effects of GCH administration on the size of the brain infarct and the functional status of the rats after ischemia were examined, as well as the expression of COX-2 in acute phase. The recovery of motor functions for 7 days and the brain infarct were examined to find out the delayed effects of daily GCH-administration as well. In conclusion, we found that GCH reduced both functional deficits and brain damage in the MCAO rat model of stroke. In addition, high doses of GCH reduced COX-2 expression in the penumbra. It is well known that herbal medication including GCH is very safe for humans. Accordingly, our results support the clinical use of this GKM for the treatment of stroke and offer the possibility that a potent neuroprotective agent could be developed from Korean herbal medicines.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Embryo Transfer Conference
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• 2002.11a
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• pp.111-111
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• 2002

Stroke occurs when local thrombosis, embolic particle or the rupture of blood vessele interrupts the blood floe to the brain. $\beta$-estradiol 17-valerate has been reported to exert neuroprotective effects when administered before an ischemic insult. Recently, the pathophysiology of cerebral ischemia has been studied extensively in rat with various methods. In the present study, we investigates whether $\beta$-estrodiol 17-valerate can protect against brain injury. RNA sample were extracted from the hippocampus of female rat, reverse-transcription in the presence of [$\alpha$32p] dATP. Differential gene express-ion profiles were revealed (Bone morphogenetic protein type 1A receptor, Protein disulphide isomerase, Leukemia inhibitor factor receptor, cytochrome bc- 1 complex-x core P, thiol-specific antioxidant protein). RT-PCR was used to validate the relative expression pattern obtained by the cDNA array. The precise relationship between the early expression of recovery genes and stroke is a matter of luther investigation. This Study was supported by the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation(KOSEF) through the Biohealth Products Research Center(BPRC), Inje University, Korea.

• The Journal of the Society of Stroke on Korean Medicine
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2006

Objectives : Yanggyuksanhwa-tang is a prescription used for cerebral infarction clinically. Methods : According to previous research data, the effect of Yanggyuksanhwa-tang on cerebral infarction, we induced cerebral infarction by middle cerebral artery occlusion(MCAO) in rats, and the rats were administered Yanggyuksanhwa-tang. Results: Infarct area, infarct volume were measured, and the level of elements such as c-Fos, Bax and caspase-3 in penumbra of infarct were expressed by immunohistochemical staining. Conclusion : Yanggyuksanhwa-tang showed neuroprotective effect through preventing neuronal cell apoptosis.

• Laboraroty Animal Research
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.195-202
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• 2018

Hyperglycemia is one of the major risk factors for stroke. Hyperglycemia can lead to a more extensive infarct volume, aggravate neuronal damage after cerebral ischemia. ${\alpha}$-Synuclein is especially abundant in neuronal tissue, where it underlies the etiopathology of several neurodegenerative diseases. This study investigated whether hyperglycemic conditions regulate the expression of ${\alpha}$-synuclein in middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO)-induced cerebral ischemic injury. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with streptozotocin (40 mg/kg) via intraperitoneal injection to induce hyperglycemic conditions. MCAO were performed four weeks after streptozotocin injection to induce focal cerebral ischemia, and cerebral cortex tissues were obtained 24 hours after MCAO. We confirmed that MCAO induced neurological functional deficits and cerebral infarction, and these changes were more extensive in diabetic animals compared to non-diabetic animals. Moreover, we identified a decrease in ${\alpha}$-synuclein after MCAO injury. Diabetic animals showed a more serious decrease in ${\alpha}$-synuclein than non-diabetic animals. Western blot and reverse-transcription PCR analyses confirmed more extensive decreases in ${\alpha}$-synuclein expression in MCAO-injured animals with diabetic condition than these of non-diabetic animals. It is accepted that ${\alpha}$-synuclein modulates neuronal cell death and exerts a neuroprotective effect. Thus, the results of this study suggest that hyperglycemic conditions cause more serious brain damage in ischemic brain injuries by decreasing ${\alpha}$-synuclein expression.