Current Neurovascular Research - Volume 2, Issue 5, 2005

Although it was initially Antoine Lavoisier who determined that oxygen is the only gas in air that sustains pulmonary respiration to prevent death and that almost 200 years later Barcroft introduced the terms "anoxic", "anemic", "histotoxic", and "stagnant" to designate the various forms of anoxia, our comprehension of human anoxic brain injury is far from complete. The term cerebral anoxia indicates any form of inadequa Read More

The present study examines the hypothesis that aging defined by the 50% survival age compromises neuroprotection afforded by ischemic preconditioning (IPC). Sixty-four male F344 rats aged 4- and 24-months, respectively, were subjected to IPC, (3-min ischemia) or sham-surgery followed by 10-min (full) ischemia or sham-surgery 2 days later. There were 4 groups at each age: sham-surgery-sham-surgery (SS), pr Read More

The mechanism(s) of central nervous system complication associated with neurodegenerative disorders such as diabetes is unknown. Previous studies demonstrated that carbonyl stress induced by methylglyoxal (MG) mediates differential apoptosis of rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells in the naïve or differentiated transition states. Since chronic hyperglycemia is central to diabetic complications, and poorly differentiated c Read More

No longer considered exclusive for the function of the hematopoietic system, erythropoietin (EPO) is now considered as a viable agent to address central nervous system injury in a variety of cellular systems that involve neuronal, vascular, and inflammatory cells. Yet, it remains unclear whether the protective capacity of EPO may be effective for chronic neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) that Read More

The Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) has been used extensively as a model of forebrain ischemia. Its unique susceptibility to ischemia was suggested to be due to an incomplete circle of Willis. The relative ease to which ischemia can be induced combined with highly reproducible delayed CA1 cell death following a 5 min occlusion made the model popular in neuroprotection studies. Presently, this assumption was t Read More

The neurovascular unit is composed of a microvascular endothelium, neuron, and glial cell elements that are in physical proximity to the endothelium. The vascular system provides oxygen, glucose, and hormones for brain cells and guides the cells to appropriately respond to the local environment. Conversely, the brain cells, especially glial cells, can regulate the function of blood vessels in response to local requiremen Read More

Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) share a common molecular morphology with other G protein- linked receptors, but there expression throughout the mammalian nervous system places these receptors as essential mediators not only for the initial development of an organism, but also for the vital determination of a cell's fate during many disorders in the nervous system that include amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Pa Read More

Coenzyme Q (ubiquinone, 2-methyl-5,6-dimethoxy-1,4-benzoquinone), soluble natural fat quinine, is crucial to optimal biological function. The coenzyme Q molecule has amphipathic (biphasic) properties due to the hydrophilic benzoquinone ring and the lipophilic poly isoprenoid side-chain. The nomenclature of coenzyme Q-n is based on the amount of isoprenoid units attached to 6-position on the benzoquinone ring. It was Read More