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A series of [1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-a]pyridinylpyridines were synthesized and characterized. Their antiproliferative activities in vitro were evaluated by MTT against three human cancer cell lines including HCT-116, U-87 MG and MCF-7 cell lines. The SAR of target compounds was preliminarily discussed. The compounds 1c and 2d with potent antiproliferative activities were tested for their effects on the AKT and p-AKT 473 . The anticancer effect of 1c was evaluated in mice bearing sarcoma S-180 model. The results suggest that the title compounds are potent anticancer agents.

Chinese herbal medicines possess the therapeutic potential for mood disorders. This double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and side effects of the herbal medicine called Free and Easy Wanderer Plus (FEWP) as an adjunct to carbamazepine (CBZ) in patients with bipolar disorders. One hundred and twenty-four bipolar depressed and 111 manic patients were randomized to treatment with CBZ alone, CBZ plus FEWP, or equivalent placebo for 12 weeks. CBZ was initiated at 300mg/day and FEWP was given at a fixed dose of 36g/day. Efficacy measures included the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale , Young Mania Rating Scale, Bech-Rafaelsen Mania Scale, and Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S). CBZ monotherapy produced significantly greater improvement on manic measures at week 2 through endpoint and CGI-S of depression at endpoint compared to placebo. CBZ monotherapy also yielded significantly higher clinical response rates than placebo on bipolar depression (63.8% vs. 34.8%, p=0.044) and mania (87.8% vs. 57.1%, p=0.012). Compared to CBZ monotherapy, adjunctive FEWP with CBZ resulted in significantly better outcomes on the three measures of depression at week 4 and week 8 and significantly greater clinical response rate in depressed subjects (84.8% vs. 63.8%, p=0.032), but failed to produce significantly greater improvement on manic measures and the response rate in manic subjects. There was a lesser incidence of dizziness and fatigue in the combination therapy compared to CBZ monotherapy. These results suggest that adjunctive FEWP has additive beneficial effects in bipolar patients, particularly for those in depressive phase.

Effective components, ligustilide and butylidenephthalide, from Ligusticum Chuanxiong (Ligusticum wallichii Franchat, Umbelliferae) were screened and identified by using a cell membrane chromatography (CMC) and a gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The components showed the effects of inhibiting vasoconstriction in vitro on rat abdominal aorta segments. The screening procedure was performed in a rat artery CMC column (50 mm x 2.0 mm I.D.) with a sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) as mobile phase at 37 degrees C. The identification was accomplished by a DB-5MS 30 m capillary column (0.25 mm I.D., 0.25 microm film thickness) with helium as carrier gas operating under program control temperature and electron impact ionization mass spectrometer in a scan mode. Results demonstrated that ligustilide and butylidenephthalide can act on rat artery cell membrane similar to verapamil in CMC system. They significantly inhibited the vasoconstrictions induced by norepinephrine bitartrate (NE) and calcium chloride (CaCl2). The relaxing effect of ligustilide on the NE- and CaCl2-induced constrictions is more potent than that of butylidenephthalide. Ligustilide and butylidenephthalide seem to be the two main effective components of Ligusticum Chuanxiong as a traditional Chinese medicine for treating blood vessel diseases.

Excess aluminum (Al) exposure impairs neurocognitive function in humans and animals. Epidemiologic studies have shown a potential link between chronic Al exposure and Alzheimer's disease. In the present study, we sought to evaluate the protective effects of the herbal medicine Dipsacus asper extract against the cognitive impairment and overexpression of hippocampal beta-amyloid protein (Abeta) induced by chronic Al exposure in rats. Vitamin E (VE) was used as a positive control. Following exposure to 0.3% aluminum chloride (AlCl(3)) solution for 90 days in their drinking water, animals displayed a striking decrease (>80%) in step-through latency in the passive avoidance task and a significant increase (123%) in the number of Abeta immunoreactive cells in the hippocampus compared to controls. Al-exposed animals were then randomly assigned to receive vehicle, Dipsacus asper extract (4 g/kg), or VE (40 mg/kg) treatment up to 5 months. Both Dipsacus asper extract and VE significantly ameliorated animal's performance impairment in the passive avoidance task and suppressed the overexpression of hippocampal Abeta immunoreactivity. The effects of Dipsacus asper extract, but not VE, increased with time of treatment. The present results suggest that Dipsacus asper extract may possess therapeutic effects against Alzheimer's disease.