ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To research the mechanism of TX0201 abstracted from heart-regulating formula in the treatment of rat with Alzheimer's disease (AD).</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The rat models of AD were induced by A beta(1-40) injected into the bilateral amygdale. All rats were divided into five groups at random, namely control group, model group, heart-regulating formula group, TX0201 group and aricept group. The rats were intragastrically treated with different solution respectively for 20 days. The effect of TX0201 on spatial learning and memory ability of these rat models was investigated with the method of Morris water maze. By using the method of RT-PCR, the expression of apoptosis associated genes (such as Bcl-2 and Bax) in cerebral cortex and hippocampus of rats were examined.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Heart-regulating formula, TX0201 and aricept could significantly improve the spatial learning and memory ability of rats. Heart-regulating formula could comprehensively redress the abnormal expression of Bax mRNA and Bcl-2 mRNA in cerebral cortex and hippocampus. TX0201 could rectify the abnormal expression of Bax mRNA in cerebral cortex and hippocampus. Aricept could regulate the abnormal expression of Bax mRNA in cerebral cortex.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>TX0201 could ameliorate the learning and memory ability of these model rats by alleviating neuron apoptosis by means of regulating the abnormal expression of Bax mRNA in brain.</p>