Prevention of Stroke with An-Gong-Niu-Huang Wan (AGNHW)
From left to right: Dr Stephen SZE Cho Wing（施祖榮博士）; Prof. Ken YUNG Kin-Lam（翁建霖教授）; Dr Shiqing Zhang（張世卿博士）
A study conducted by a research team at Hong Kong Baptist University revealed that prophylactic administration of An-Gong-Niu-Huang Wan (AGNHW), a classic prescription in traditional Chinese medicine, reduced the level of brain damage in rats with ischemic stroke. The study brings hope that AGNHW can effectively prevent stroke in humans.
Cerebral stroke, also known as stroke, is an acute cerebrovascular disease caused by a sudden rupture or blockage of blood vessels in the brain that prevents blood flow to the brain, thereby resulting in brain tissue damage. Strokes are divided mainly into ischemic strokes and hemorrhagic strokes. The incidence of ischemic strokes, accounting for 60% to 70% of all strokes, is higher than that of hemorrhagic stroke. Strokes are the leading cause of death and disability in China, and the second leading cause of death in worldwide. Strokes are characterized by high mortality and high disability rates. Because of the unavailability of effective treatments, prevention is paramount.
As such, researching whether pre-treatment with AGNHW, a multi-herbal formula recorded in the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China can prevent stroke, is crucial. The research team of Prof. Ken YUNG Kin-Lam and Dr Stephen SZE Cho Wing in the Department of Biology and Golden Meditech Centre for NeuroRegeneration Sciences at Hong Kong Baptist University recently conducted an investigation to evaluate reduction in the level of brain damage in rats after preventive administration of AGNHW by gavage.
The results of the study disclosed that the neurological function score, cerebral infarct size, neuronal apoptosis and cerebral oxidative stress status were significantly improved in rats following gavage of AGNHW compared with control rats which did not receive this treatment. The research findings were published in the widely- read academic journal Frontiers in Pharmacology [1].
浸大研究發安宮牛黃丸現能有效預防中風
香港浸會大學團隊研究發現，傳統經典中醫複方安宮牛黃丸預防性給藥可以明顯的改善缺血性腦卒中大鼠的腦損傷水平，證明安宮牛黃丸可以有效預防腦卒中的發生，為預防腦卒中的發生帶來希望。
「腦卒中」（cerebral stroke）又稱「中風」，是由於腦部血管突然破裂或血管阻塞導致血液不能流入大腦而引起腦組織損傷的一種急性腦血管疾病，包括缺血性和出血性卒中。缺血性卒中的發病率高於出血性卒中，佔腦卒中總數的60%至70%。研究發現腦卒中是導致中國患者死亡或致殘的首要原因，並且是造成全球患者死亡的第二大原因。腦卒中具有死亡率高和致殘率高的特點。腦卒中尚缺乏特效治療藥物，由於一直缺乏有效的治療手段，目前認為預防是最好的措施。
安宮牛黃丸作為傳統經典中醫複方，用於臨床治療腦卒中多年效果明顯，但目前還缺乏安宮牛黃丸是否可以預防腦卒中的研究。香港浸會大學生物系及金衛醫療神經再生研究中心的翁建霖教授及施祖榮博士團隊，利用大鼠預防性灌胃給藥安宮牛黃丸後進行缺血性腦卒中模型的建立，評價大鼠腦損傷水平。
研究結果顯示，與未接收安宮牛黃丸給藥的大鼠相比，收藥安宮牛黃丸預防性給藥的大鼠進行缺血性腦卒中造模後的神經功能評分、腦梗死面積、神經元凋亡及腦氧化應激狀態均得到顯著的改善。相關研究成果已在學術期刊《Frontiers in Pharmacology》發表[1]。
Reference:
[1] Zhang, S., Jiang, X., Wang, Y., Lin, K., Zhang, Z., Zhang, Z., Zhu, P., Ng, M. L., Qu, S., Sze, S., & Yung, K. (2021). Protective Effect of An-Gong-Niu-Huang Wan Pre-treatment Against Experimental Cerebral Ischemia Injury via Regulating GSK-3β/HO-1 Pathway. Frontiers in pharmacology, 12, 640297. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2021.640297
