Neuroprotection: at what cost, at what time, at what price?

Table 1.

3-N-Butylphthalide

Authors Title Citation Core tip / conclusive remarks

Zhou H, Li S, Huang C, Chen Y, Wang L, Lin J, Lv Y.  A Preliminary Finding: N-butyl-phthalide Plays a Neuroprotective Role by Blocking the TLR4/HMGB1 Pathway and Improves Mild Cognitive Impairment Induced by Acute Cerebral Infarction. J Integr Neurosci. 2024 Aug 21; 23(8):158. NBP plays a neuroprotective role by inhibiting the TLR4/HMGB1 pathway and ameliorating ACI-induced MCI.
Cui Y, Hu Z, Wang L, Zhu B, Deng L, Zhang H, Wang X. DL-3-n-Butylphthalide Ameliorates Post-stroke Emotional Disorders by Suppressing Neuroinflammation and PANoptosis. Neurochem Res. 2024 Aug; 49(8):2215-2227. NBP inhibited the toll-like receptor 4/nuclear factor kappa B signaling pathway, decreased the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, and interleukin-6, and M1-type microglia markers (CD68, inducible nitric oxide synthase), and reduced the expression of PANoptosis-related molecules including caspase-1, caspase-3, caspase-8, gasdermin D, and mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein in the hippocampus of the MACO rats.
Ge M, Jin L, Cui C, Han Y, Li H, Gao X, Li G, Yu H, Zhang B. Dl-3-n-butylphthalide improves stroke outcomes after focal ischemic stroke in mouse model by inhibiting the pyroptosis-regulated cell death and ameliorating neuroinflammation. Eur J Pharmacol. 2024 Jul 5; 974:176593. NBP treatment significantly attenuates ischemic brain damage and promotes recovery of neurological function in the early and recovery phases after IS, probably by negatively regulating the pyroptosis cell death of neuronal cells and inhibiting toxic neuroinflammation in the central nervous system.
Zhu T, Dong S, Qin N, Liu R, Shi L, Wan Q. Dl-3-n-butylphthalide attenuates cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in mice through AMPK-mediated mitochondrial fusion. Front Pharmacol. 2024 Feb 22; 15:1357953. NBP has the ability to modulate mitochondrial homeostasis by activating AMPK, leading to the mitigation of cerebral I/R injury. Importantly, our study presents novel evidence that the administration of NBP can effectively decrease infarct volume and enhance neurological functions by facilitating AMPK-mediated mitochondrial fusion in in vivo models of ischemic stroke.
Jiang Z, Wei J, Liang J, Huang W, Ouyang F, Chen C, Li P, Cao S, Cai Y, Li J, Huang B, Zeng J, Chen Y. Dl-3-n-Butylphthalide Alleviates Secondary Brain Damage and Improves Working Memory After Stroke in Cynomolgus Monkeys. Stroke. 2024 Mar; 55(3):725-734. NBP improves working memory by alleviating remote secondary neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation in the ipsilateral dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and thalamus after MCAO in cynomolgus monkeys.