Effects of Dangguisusan, a prescription of Korean medicine on controlled cortical impact-induced traumatic brain injury mouse model.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Dangguisusan (DGSS) is a widely used prescription for the treatment of traumatic injury in Korean medicine.

AIM OF THE STUDY: To demonstrate the effects of DGSS on a mouse model of traumatic brain injury (TBI) for providing scientific evidence in clinical use.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: TBI was induced in a mouse model using the controlled cortical impact method. Water extract of DGSS (50, 150, and 450 mg/kg) was administered twice a day for 8 d. Histological analyses were performed 8 d after TBI. Moreover, beam-walking, grip-strength, and novel object recognition (NOR) tests were conducted to evaluate the effects on motor function, muscle strength, and cognitive memory function, respectively.

RESULT: DGSS inhibited body weight loss, hippocampal damage, and neuronal loss in the thalamic region. Furthermore, it reduced transverse time and foot faults in the beam-walking test at 3 d and increased the muscle strength in the grip-strength test at 3 and 8 d. It also improved the recognition index (%) in the NOR test. However, DGSS did not show protective effects against total damage.

CONCLUSIONS: DGSS might improve sensory-motor and cognitive functions after TBI with partial protective effects against brain damage. The present findings provide a scientific basis for the clinical use of DGSS in TBI.