Blood-activating, depression-relieving formula alleviates post-stroke depression: mechanistic insights from network pharmacology and microglial validation - Takeaways - MDSpire

Blood-activating, depression-relieving formula alleviates post-stroke depression: mechanistic insights from network pharmacology and microglial validation

  • By

  • Na Zhao

  • Lumi Zhang

  • Wei Li

  • Yiru Wang

  • Zhengyu Zhu

  • Zhimin Wu

  • July 2, 2026

  • 0 min

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  • 1

    Post-stroke depression (PSD) is a common and debilitating condition that complicates recovery and reduces quality of life for patients.

  • 2

    The Blood-Activating, Depression-Relieving (BADR) herbal formula was evaluated for its effects on PSD-related molecular hubs and microglial phenotypes.

  • 3

    Network analysis identified key molecular hubs such as EGFR, AKT1, and STAT3, which are relevant for cellular validation in the context of PSD.

  • 4

    In BV2 microglia, BADR reduced LPS-induced inflammatory cytokines and apoptosis, showing effects comparable to dexamethasone.

  • 5

    The study provides a mechanistic rationale for further investigation of BADR as a multi-target therapeutic approach for PSD.

Original Source(s)

Blood-activating, depression-relieving formula alleviates post-stroke depression: mechanistic insights from network pharmacology and microglial validation

  • by Na Zhao, Lumi Zhang, Wei Li, Yiru Wang, Zhengyu Zhu, Zhimin Wu

  • July 2, 2026

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