title: Morinda citrifolia L. (noni) and memantine attenuate periventricular tissue injury of the fourth ventricle in hydrocephalic rabbits.
abstract: This study was designed to evaluate the neuroprotective effects of Morinda citrifolia L. (Rubiaceae), commonly known as noni, and memantine (a N-methy-D-aspartate receptor inhibitor) on hydrocephalus-induced neurodegenerative disorders. Kaolin was injected into the cistern magna of male adult New Zealand rabbits to establish a hydrocephalus animal model. Memantine (20 mg/kg, intraperitoneally; memantine-treated group) or noni (5 mL/kg, intragastrically; noni-treated group) was administered daily for 2 weeks. Microtubule-associated protein-2 and caspase-3 immunohistochemistry were performed to detect neuronal degeneration and apoptosis in the periventricular tissue of the fourth ventricle of rabbits. Microtubule-associated protein-2 staining density was significantly decreased in the hydrocephalic group, while the staining density was significantly increased in the memantine- and noni-treated groups, especially in the noni-treated group. Noni treatment decreased the number of caspase-3-positive cells in rabbits with hydrocephalus, while memantine had no effect. These findings suggest that noni exhibits more obvious inhibitory effects on hydrocephalus-induced neurodegenerative disorders than memantine in periventricular tissue of the fourth ventricle.
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Embriyology, Faculty of Medicine, Ordu University, Ordu, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sibel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Köktürk
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Embriyology, Faculty of Medicine, Kocaeli University, Kocaeli, Turkey.
authors.forename: Süreyya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ceylan
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, Kocaeli University, Kocaeli, Turkey.
authors.forename: Volkan
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Etus
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, Kocaeli University, Kocaeli, Turkey.
authors.forename: Nezih
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yasa
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, Kocaeli University, Kocaeli, Turkey.
authors.forename: Savaş
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ceylan
keywords: Morinda citrifolia L. (noni); apoptosis; caspase-3; fourth ventricle; grants-supported paper; hydrocephalus; memantine; microtubule-associated protein-2; neural regeneration; neurodegenerative disease; neuroregeneration; periventricular tissue; photographs-containing paper; traditional Chinese medicine