title: Efficacy of Choto-san on vascular dementia and the protective effect of the hooks and stems of Uncaria sinensis on glutamate-induced neuronal death.
abstract: Two different multicenter studies on the efficacy of Choto-san on patients with vascular dementia, one a well-controlled but non-double blind (60 patients), the other a double-blind controlled study (139 patients), were performed. In the well-controlled study, Choto-san was superior in global improvement rating, utility rating and improvement of subjective symptoms, psychiatric symptoms and disturbance in daily living activities. In the double-blind study, with more objective criteria than the well-controlled study, Choto-san was also superior in global improvement rating, utility rating and improvement of subjective symptoms, psychiatric symptoms and disturbance in daily living activities. These results suggest that Choto-san is effective in the treatment of vascular dementia. Uncaria sinensis (OLIV.) HAVIL. (US) is the main medicinal plant composing Choto-san. Glutamate-induced cell death of cultured cerebellar granule cells was protected by the application of water extract of US in a dose-dependent manner, and concentrations of 10(-5) to 10(-4) g/ml had a significant effect compared to exposure to glutamate only. Further, the increase of 45Ca2+ influx into cells by glutamate was also blocked by the water extract in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that US has a protective effect on glutamate-induced neuronal death in cultured cerebellar granule cells through the inhibition of Ca2+ influx.
authors.affiliation: Department of Kampo Diagnostics, Research Institute of Natural Medicine, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Japan. trad@ms.toyama-mpu.ac.jp
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Itoh
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shimada
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Terasawa
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D016923:Cell Death / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D015140:Dementia, Vascular / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012449:Safety; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D010936:Plant Extracts; C120250:choto-san; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D002118:Calcium