title: Ecstasy-induced caspase expression alters following ginger treatment.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Exposure to 3-4, methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) leads to cell death. Herein, we studied the protective effects of ginger on MDMA- induced apoptosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  15 Sprague dawley male rats were administrated with 0, 10 mg/kg MDMA, or MDMA along with 100mg/kg ginger, IP for 7 days. Brains were removed to study the caspase 3, 8, and 9 expressions in the hippocampus by RT-PCR. Data was analyzed by SPSS 16 software using the one-way ANOVA test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  MDMA treatment resulted in a significant increase in caspase 3, 8, and 9 as compared to the sham group (p < 0.001). Ginger administration however, appeared to significantly decrease the same (p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that ginger consumption may lead to the improvement of MDMA-induced neurotoxicity.
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Behavioral Disorders and Substance Abuse, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran ; Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
authors.forename: Sara Soleimani
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Asl
authors.affiliation: Neurophysiology Research Center, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran ; Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran.
authors.forename: Bagher
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pourheydar
authors.affiliation: Research Institute for Islamic and Complementary Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Fataneh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dabaghian
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Akram
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nezhadi
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Molecular Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Roointan
authors.affiliation: Research Institute for Islamic and Complementary Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran ; Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mehdizadeh
keywords: Apoptosis; Caspase; Ginger; MDMA