title: Neuroprotective effect of the traditional Chinese herbal formula Tongxinluo: a PET imaging study in rats.
abstract: Tongxinluo has been widely used in China for the treatment of acute stroke and for neuroprotection. However, there are few positron emission tomography (PET) studies on the neuroprotective effect of Tongxinluo on cerebral ischemia/reperfusion in small animals. In the present study, Tongxinluo superfine powder suspension or its vehicle was administered intragastrically to rats for 5 successive days before middle cerebral artery occlusion. (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) small animal PET imaging showed that at 1 and 2 weeks after cerebral ischemia/reperfusion, glucose metabolism in the ischemic area was greater in rats that had received Tongxinluo than in those that had received the vehicle. Nissl staining showed that 2 weeks after cerebral ischemia/reperfusion, there was less neuronal loss in the prefrontal cortex in Tongxinluo-treated rats than in controls. In addition, Tongxinluo-treated animals showed better neurologic function and lower cerebral infarct volume than rats that received the vehicle. These findings suggest that Tongxinluo exhibits neuroprotective effects in cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury and demonstrates that (18)F-FDG small animal PET imaging is a useful tool with which to study the molecular pharmacology of traditional Chinese medicine.
authors.affiliation: Encephalopathy Center, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Haoxuan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Lihua
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Encephalopathy Center, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Lixin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Encephalopathy Center, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Jingbo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Encephalopathy Center, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Encephalopathy Center, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Enli
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Encephalopathy Center, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Yefeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cai
keywords: NSFC grant; Tongxinluo capsule; cerebral ischemia/reperfusion; middle cerebral artery occlusion; nerve regeneration; neural regeneration; neuroprotection; positron emission tomography