Depression is a common but severe mood disorder with a very high prevalence across the general population. Depression is of global concern and poses a threat to human physical and mental health. Ferulic acid (FA) is a natural active ingredient that has antioxidative, anti‐inflammatory, and free radical scavenging properties. Furthermore, studies have shown that FA can exert antidepressant effects through a variety of mechanisms. The aim of the review was to comprehensively elucidate the mechanisms in FA that alleviate depression using animal models. The in vivo (animal) studies on the mechanism of FA treatment of depression were searched in PubMed, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Baidu academic, and Wan fang databases. Thereafter, the literature conclusions were summarized accordingly. Ferulic acid was found to significantly improve the depressive‐like behaviors of animal models, suggesting that FA is a potential natural product in the treatment of depression. The mechanisms are achieved by enhancing monoamine oxidase A (MOA) activity, inhibiting microglia activation and inflammatory factor release, anti‐oxidative stress, promoting hippocampal nerve regeneration, increasing brain‐derived neurotrophic factor secretion, regulating gut microbiome, and activating protein kinase B/collapsin response mediator protein 2 (AKT/CRMP2) signaling pathway. Ferulic acid produces significant antidepressant effects in animal depression models through various mechanisms, suggesting its potential value as a treatment of depression. However, clinical research trials involving FA are required further to provide a solid foundation for its clinical application.
Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most common diseases in the elderly, with a high incidence of dementia. The pathogenesis of AD is complex, and there is no unified conclusion and effective treatment in clinic. In recent years, with the development of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), researchers put forward the idea of prevention and treatment of AD based on TCM according to the characteristics of multi-target of TCM. Ferulic acid (FA), also known as 3-methoxy-4-hydroxycinnamic acid, is an active ingredient in TCM that inhibits β-amyloid (Aβ) aggregation and has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. FA derivatives have been reported to have low toxicity, high biological activity, and high blood-brain barrier permeability. However, the multi-target of FA in the treatment of AD have not been systematically elucidated. Objectives: In this systematic review we aimed to comprehensively assess the neuroprotective effects of FA and its derivatives on in vitro and in vivo AD models. Methods: We searched PubMed, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Baidu Academic, and Wanfang databases for relevant pre-clinical studies until November 2021. Results: We identified studies that evaluated the efficacy of FA and its derivatives using relevant keywords. 864 studies were included, of which 129 were found in PubMed, 111 in CNKI, 454 in Baidu Academic, and 170 in Wanfang. Due to duplication between databases, and after applying the exclusion and inclusion criteria, 43 articles were selected. Thereafter, the abstracts of the 43 articles were reviewed. Finally, 21 articles were included in this review, including 11 in vivo, 5 in vitro, 5 in vivo and in vitro studies. Conclusion: Previous studies have shown that FA or its derivatives have multiple therapeutic effects on AD models, and can improve the symptoms of AD and resistance of AD cell models. FA and its derivatives have anti-Aβ aggregation, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and other effects and are potential drugs for the multi-targeted treatment of AD. The result of our study showed that FA and its derivatives have significant therapeutic effects on animal and cell models of AD, suggesting that they may be potential therapeutic drugs for patients with AD.
Hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives (HCDs) are polyphenols that are abundant in cereals, coffee, tea, wine, fruits, vegetables, and other plant-based foods. To aid in the clinical prevention and treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD), we evaluated in vivo investigations of the pharmacological properties of HCDs relevant to PD, and their pharmacokinetic and safety aspects. An extensive search of published journals was conducted using several literature databases, including PubMed, Google Scholar, and the Web of Science. The search terms included “hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives,” “ferulic acid,” “caffeic acid,” “sinapic acid,” “p-coumaric acid,” “Parkinson’s disease,” and combinations of these keywords. As of April 2023, 455 preclinical studies were retrieved, of which 364 were in vivo studies; we included 17 of these articles on the pharmaceutics of HCDs in PD. Available evidence supports the protective effects of HCDs in PD due to their anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, as well as antiapoptotic physiological activities. Studies have identified possible molecular targets and pathways for the protective actions of HCDs in PD. However, the paucity of studies on these compounds in PD, and the risk of toxicity induced with high-dose applications, limits their use. Thus, multifaceted studies of HCDs in vitro and in vivo are needed.
Anti-leucine-rich glioma-inactivated 1 (LGI1) encephalitis is a rare type of non-paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis (LE) mainly characterized by seizures, cognitive disorder, faciobrachial dystonic seizures (FBDS), hyponatremia, insomnia, and autonomic dysfunction. Here, we report the case of an elderly female patient who tested positive for antibodies against LGI1 and was initially thought to have Hashimoto encephalopathy (HE) due to its similar clinical features and the patient's high titers of antithyroid antibody. Interestingly, during the course of the disease, the patient exhibited typical FBDS and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a hyperintense signal evolution from T2/Fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) to T1-weighted image in the bilateral basal ganglia (BG), which have rarely been reported previously.
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