Ramassamy Charles, Longpré Fanny, Christen Yves
Institut National de la recherche scientifique, Institut Armand-Frappier, Pointe-Claire, Québec, Canada.
Curr Alzheimer Res. 2007 Jul;4(3):253-62. doi: 10.2174/156720507781077304.
For centuries, extracts from the leaves of the Ginkgo biloba tree have been used as Chinese herbal medicine to treat a variety of health disorders. The standardized Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761 was marketed in France and Germany 30 years ago for various vascular and cerebral deficits and is now classified as a food supplement in the United States. EGb 761 is currently the focus of phase-III clinical trials, GEM and GuidAge studies, to evaluate its efficacy on the prevention of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in subjects over 70 years old. This review summarizes recent advancements in our understanding of the potential role of EGb 761 in the prevention of AD. Besides its well-known free radical scavenging properties, the ability of EGb 761 to protect neurons probably also involves other intracellular pathways. We will point out potential targets of EGb 761 in the amyloid cascade such as its antiamyloidogenic properties or the regulation of gene expression. Moreover we will discuss the complexity of the cellular and molecular mechanisms of EGb 761 and the significance of the synergic effect of different constituents of EGb 761.
几个世纪以来，银杏叶提取物一直被用作中药来治疗各种健康问题。标准化银杏叶提取物EGb 761于30年前在法国和德国上市，用于治疗各种血管和脑部缺陷，目前在美国被归类为食品补充剂。EGb 761目前是III期临床试验GEM和GuidAge研究的重点，以评估其对70岁以上人群预防阿尔茨海默病（AD）的疗效。这篇综述总结了我们对EGb 761在预防AD中潜在作用的最新认识进展。除了其众所周知的自由基清除特性外，EGb 761保护神经元的能力可能还涉及其他细胞内途径。我们将指出EGb 761在淀粉样蛋白级联反应中的潜在靶点，如其抗淀粉样蛋白生成特性或基因表达的调节。此外，我们将讨论EGb 761细胞和分子机制的复杂性以及EGb 761不同成分协同作用的意义。
