title: Effects of resveratrol on apoptosis in a rat model of vascular dementia.
abstract: Resveratrol is a natural polyphenol widely present in plants, particularly in the skin of red grapes and in wine. It possesses a wide range of biological effects and exhibits neuroprotective effects in numerous diseases. However, data evaluating the effects of resveratrol in vascular dementia (VaD) are lacking. In the present study, the permanent, bilateral common carotid artery occlusion rat model was used to study the effects of resveratrol on VaD. The Morris water maze was used to test the spatial learning and memory performance of the rats. The expression levels of Bax, Bcl-2, cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) in the hippocampus were measured. The results showed that resveratrol inhibited memory impairment in the VaD rat model, and attenuated the increases in the expression levels of Bax, cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved PARP and the reductions in the expression levels of Bcl-2 that were induced by VaD. These results provide a novel insight into the neuroprotective effects of resveratrol and its possible therapeutic role in VaD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan 450002, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Kun
authors.initials: ZK
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450002, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xing-Rong
authors.initials: XR
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450002, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yan-Jie
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450002, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yan-Ru
authors.initials: YR
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan 450002, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jie-Wen
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450002, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Bo-Ai
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Zhang
keywords: apoptosis; caspase-3; poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase; resveratrol; vascular dementia