Joined: 12/12/2011
Posts: 5174
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"The SaiLuoTong (SLT) capsule is a modern compound Chinese medicine that is manufactured by Shineway Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd (Shijiazhuang, China). It consists of active ingredients quantified in milligrams (for details, see eTable 1 in Supplementary 2) and derived from Ginkgo biloba, ginsenosides, and saffron in a 5:5:1 proportion per capsule, based on preclinical studies. Ginkgo biloba has antiinflammatory properties [7] and stimulates hippocampal neurogenesis [8]. Ginsenoside Rg1 inhibits oxidative stress-induced neuronal apoptosis [9], protects against neurodegeneration in cultured hippocampal neurons [10], and improves memory function in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and estrogen-deficient rat models [11], [12]. Saffron has the capacity to scavenge oxygen free radicals [13], improve learning and memory in animal models of chronic stress [14], and alleviate neuronal injury in vitro and in vivo [15]. It also moderately inhibits acetylcholinesterase, which is the main effect of donepezil in AD [16], and a clinical trial showed that saffron has similar cognitive-enhancing effects to donepezil in patients with AD [16]. All of these functions of Ginkgo biloba, ginsenosides, and saffron in SLT are related to potential mechanisms that could help treat VaD."
"Therefore, we hypothesized that SLT may have therapeutic efficacy in patients with mild-to-moderate VaD and designed the present clinical trial to test this."
"Our findings suggest that SLT improved cognition and daily functioning in Chinese patients with mild-to-moderate VaD. The scores on the VaDAS-cog and ADCS-CGIC in the active groups were significantly superior at week 26 compared to those of the control group. At week 52, the benefits seen over the first 26 weeks in groups A and B were reproduced in the second 26 weeks in control groups C (C1 and C2) after using SLT. These results indicate that SLT can improve functioning in multiple domains, such as memory, orientation, language and executive function. The changes from baseline in the active groups were significant at weeks 26 and 52 for scores on the MMSE, CDR, ADCS-ADLs, CLOX, and C-EXIT25, indicating that SLT significantly enhanced global cognitive function, particularly executive function and ADLs. Taken together, most of the primary and secondary outcomes were consistent in supporting the potential efficacy of SLT for VaD, particularly in confirming efficacy in the control subjects, who were switched to an active dose during the second 26 weeks. The results were reproduced in the second cohort within the same trial under the same conditions, which lends added credence to the findings."
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