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The article presents the findings of a clinical observation and mechanical study on the treatment of senile dementia (SD) with Chinese herbal compound preparation Naohuandan, conducted by Meng Rong-sen, Wei Chang-xiu et al. SD is a degeneration that occurs in mid-old aged persons. The Alzheimer's disease (AD) related contents of the book "Manual for Diagnosis and Statistics for Mental Disorder" were used to diagnose patients with SD. The pathogenesis of AD is related to oxide stress.

Objective: To investigate the effects of AICAR on the activity of transcription factor FOXO1 and expression of ubiquitin ligase MuRF1 in rat cardiomyocytes, and explore the possible role of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in proteolysis pathways., Methods: In vitro cultured neonatal rat cardiac myocytes were treated with AICAR, and Western blotting was used to detect the phosphorylation of FOXO1 and expression of MuRF1 in the cells., Results: AICAR activated AMPK in rat cardiac myocytes. Activated AMPK significantly inhibited the phosphorylation of FOXO1 and increased MuRF1 protein expression., Conclusion: AMPK may regulate proteolysis by activating FOXO1 transcription factor and up-regulating MuRF1 expression.

Objective: To investigate the effects of Naohuandan Recipe on learning and memory abilities of SAM-P/8 mice and its role in anti-oxidation and anti-apoptosis., Methods: Forty SAM-P/8 mice were randomly divided into four groups, which were untreated (normal saline-treated) group, Yinkeluo Tablets (extracts of gingko leaf)-treated group, low-dose Naohuandan Recipe-treated group and high-dose Naohuandan Recipe-treated group. Mice in these groups were given corresponding drugs orally for 105 days. Then the performances of learning and memory of mice were tested by a step-down passive avoidance task and a Y-maze test. The serum levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) were detected. The expression level of bcl-xl mRNA in cerebral cortex and hippocampus of mice was detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)., Results: The performances of learning and memory in the Yinkeluo Tablets-treated group, low- and high-dose Naohuandan Recipe-treated groups were significantly improved as compared with those in the untreated group (P<0.05 or P<0.01), and such performance was the best in the high-dose Naohuandan Recipe-treated group among these four groups (P<0.01). The serum levels of SOD and GSH-Px and the expression of bcl-xl mRNA in cerebral cortex and hippocampus of mice in the Yinkeluo Tablets-treated group, low- and high-dose Naohuandan Recipe-treated groups were also significantly higher than those in the untreated group (P<0.05 or P<0.01), while the serum level of MDA in the untreated group was higher than that in the other three groups (P<0.01)., Conclusion: Naohuandan Recipe can improve learning and memory abilities of SAM-P/8 mice, and this effect may be related to its anti-oxidation efficacy and enhancement of expression level of bcl-xl mRNA.