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The relationship between cerebrovascular disease and an insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism in the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene is still being debated. The frequency of the DD genotype of the ACE gene was significantly higher in subjects with than those without cerebral infarction in Japan. The aim of the present study was to assess the relationship between ACE gene polymorphism and the development of cerebral infarction in a population from Korea. We examined its possible role as a risk factor in patients with cerebral infarction. The association between ACE gene polymorphism and cerebral infarction was examined in 106 patients with cerebral infarction and 498 controls without cerebral infarction. Frequencies of the genotypes and alleles of the ACE gene were investigated. The ACE genotype was analyzed by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The frequency of D allele was 37.7% in patients and 39.1% in controls (chi2 = 0.128, p = 0.720). The frequencies of the genotypes of the ACE gene were II: 39.6%, ID: 45.3%, and DD: 15.1% in patients, and II: 37.1%, ID: 47.6%, and DD: 15.3% in controls (chi2 = 0.127, p = 0.721). There was no significant difference in the frequency of the DD genotype of the ACE gene, and we did not find any association between ACE polymorphism and cerebral infarction. These results indicate that ACE polymorphism is not a risk factor for the development of cerebral infarction in a Korean population.

Exposure to environmental stresses and toxins is linked to the pathogenesis of neuropsychiatric disorders. Astrocytes, the most abundant glial-cell type in the brain, are considered to have physiological and pathological roles in neuronal activities. We have investigated whether peppermint oil inhibits heat shock-induced apoptosis of astrocytes. We found that peppermint oil inhibits the heat shock-induced apoptosis in both human astrocyte CCF-STTG1 cells and rat astrocytes. Pretreatment of the cells with peppermint oil inhibited the heat shock-induced DNA fragmentation and condensation of nuclear chromatin. Peppermint oil also inhibited the caspase-3 activation and poly-ADP-ribose polymerase fragmentation in CCF-STTG1 cells. These results suggest that peppermint oil may modulate the apoptosis of astrocytes via the activation of the caspase-3.