Cerebrovascular and neurodegenerative diseases affect millions of people worldwide and represent a high risk for human health. As the population ages, the prevalence is increasing. Brain stroke and Alzheimer´s disease are among the most common. Both are connected with the brain. Brain stroke is an acute condition, which causes ischemia of the brain. Alzheimer´s disease is a chronic neurodegenerative disease of which the most common sight is dementia. Nowadays, with the help of studies scientists want to develop new and more effective drugs for their treatment, but the brain blood barrier represent a great challenge due to special features of the anatomical structure and selective permeability.
The purpose of the master´s thesis was to determine the effect of liphophilic and hydrophilic fraction of silver fir (Abies alba) branch extract on the responsiveness of human brain arteries. We predicted that both fractions, liphophilic as well as hydrophilic will relax brain arteries. We also predicted that the mechanism of relaxation is connected with endothelial nitric oxide synthase.
We measured the isometric force of contraction of the vascular rings and determined the response according to four different protocols. We determined if fractions cause relaxation or contraction of vascular rings (protocol 1), working mechanism (protocol 2), effect of fraction on histamine (protocol 3) and effect on vascular rings after incubation with researched fraction (protocol 4).
The results are presented in the form of graphs. We compared the responses of isolated vascular rings on lipophilic and hydrophilic fraction among themselves. And we discovered that lipophilic fraction has a relaxing effect on isolated vascular rings. But hydrophilic fraction caused contraction of vascular rings. We also discovered that working mechanism of lipophilic fraction is not typically connected with NOS system. The relaxing effect of the lipophilic fraction on the human brain arteries could mean a potential for silver fir branch extract to be used in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.
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