ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To explain the current situation of the study on Chinese herb nephropathy (CHN), clarify the concept of CHN and investigate the pathogenesis, also suggest the measures for the prevention and treatment of CHN.DATA SOURCES: Articles about kidney impairment induced by Chinese herbal medicine containing aristolochic acid (AA) published in English between January 1994 and April 2006 were searched in Pubmed database by using the keywords of "kidney impairment induced by Chinese herbal medicine containing aristolochic acid (AA), nephropathy induced by aristolochic acid (AA), Chinese herb nephropathy (CHN)". Other articles were collected by the specific name of journals and title of papers by retrieving VIP database.STUDY SELECTION: The original articles were checked primarily, those about kidney impairment induced by Chinese herbal medicine containing AA were selected, those obviously irrelevant ones were excluded, and the full-texts of the involved articles were searched manually.DATA EXTRACTION: Totally 86 articles were collected, 20 of them were involved, and the other 66 repetitive studies or reviews were excluded:DATA SYNTHESIS: At present, kidney impairment induced by Chinese herbal medicine has not attracted enough attentions in Chinese, and effective monitoring system should be established. The diagnosis and pathogenesis of nephropathy induced by AA are still unclear, and the prevention is the main treatment. Therefore, we should realize its harmfulness, and reinforce its basic and clinical researches.CONCLUSION: The main damage in kidney caused by AA focuses on the renal tubulointerstitial matrix. Renal glomerulus is rarely involved in the toxic process. Clinical manifestations also reflect the impairment of renal tubules and interstitium such as interstitial fibrosis. A more effective diagnosis monitoring and screening system should be set up in order to mesh the patients at the early stage. A more stringent method for classification of the species in fourstamen stephania root family will be established to avoid confusion and error. More valid therapeutic channels should investigate for its remedy.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of Shenshuning Recipe (SSNR) on gene expression of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) in renal tissues in rats with glomerulosclerosis. METHODS: Glomerulosclerosis was induced in 42 rats by unilateral nephrectomy and intravenous injection of doxorubicin. Then these 42 rats were randomly divided into three groups: untreated group, SSNR-treated group and benazepril-treated group. Another eight rats were included into sham-operation group. The rats in the SSNR-treated group and the benazepril-treated group were fed SSNR or benazepril respectively for 8 weeks. The levels of 24 h urine protein (Upr), serum creatinine (Cr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) of rats in each group were examined. The renal morphological changes were observed under microscope, and the diameter of glomerular capillary, mesangial matrix and glomerulosclerosis index were analyzed by image analysis software. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method was used to detect the gene expression of HGF in the renal tissues. RESULTS: The levels of 24 h Upr, serum Cr and BUN in the untreated group were remarkably increased than those in the sham-operation group (P<0.01). The pathological morphological changes in the untreated group showed that the glomerulosclerosis was diffused around the renal tissue and the capillaries were shrunk. The expression level of mesangial matrix was up-regulated and the glomerulosclerosis index was 3.32+/-0.35. The expression level of HGF mRNA in the untreated group was obviously lower than that in the sham-operation group (P<0.05). The levels of 24 h Upr, serum Cr and BUN in the SSNR-treated group and the benazepril-treated group were remarkably decreased as compared with those in the untreated group, while the expression levels of HGF mRNA were both obviously higher than that in the untreated group (P<0.01). The pathological morphological changes in the SSNR-treated group and the benazepril-treated group were both alleviated. There was no significant difference in therapeutic effect between the SSNR-treated group and the benazepril-treated group. CONCLUSION: Shenshuning Recipe can up-regulate the expression of HGF mRNA, decrease the mesangial matrix, and improve the renal function, so that it may retard the development of glomerulosclerosis.
ABSTRACT
There are many reversible factors in chronic renal failure,mainly including multifarious infections,insufficient effective blood volume,hypertension,heart failure,urinary obstruction,nephrotoxicity drugs and so on.Traditional Chinese medicine can exert the predominances of whole adjustment and treatment based on syndrome differentiation.After taking traditional Chinese medicine in time,many patients' renal function can recover in some extent.