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BACKGROUND: Depression and coronary heart disease (CHD) often occur together in clinical practice. As a traditional Chinese medicine, Kai-Xin-San (KXS) has been widely used for the treatment of emotion-related disorders. In the present study, we aimed to explore whether KXS had both antidepressive effects and cardioprotective functions in a rat model of myocardial ischemia (MI) with depression. METHODS: A total of 50 SD rats were randomly assigned into five groups as follows: normal control (control group), celiac injection of isopropyl adrenaline (ISO) (MI group), depression (depression group), MI+ depression (model group) and MI+ depression treated with intragastric administration of 370 mg/kg KXS (KXS group). MI was induced by subcutaneous injection of 85 mg/kg ISO. Depression was developed by a 7-week chronic mild stress (CMS) challenge. Behavioral test was conducted before and during the experiment. Echocardiography and biochemical analysis were carried out after 7 weeks of CMS challenge. RESULTS: After 7 weeks of experiment, depression-like behaviors were observed in all the groups except for control and KXS groups, and KXS treatment dramatically increased open-field test scores and sucrose consumption (P < 0.01 vs. model group). Echocardiography and biochemical analysis showed that KXS treatment could improve levels of ejection fraction (EF) and fractional shortening (FS), which were reduced by depression and ISO challenge. Meanwhile, KXS treatment significantly decreased the levels of creation kinase MB (CK-MB) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), which were increased in the model group. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX), catalase (CAT) were increased, while the malondialdehyde (MDA) activity was significantly decreased in the KXS group. Moreover, KXS treatment reduced the levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in myocardial tissue compared with the model group. CONCLUSIONS: KXS had antidepressant-like activity and offered cardioprotective effects against ISO-induced myocardial infarction with depression.
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With the growth of number of Chinese patent medicines and clinical use, the rational use of Chinese medicine is becoming more and more serious. Due to the complexity of Chinese medicine theory and the uncertainty of clinical application, the prescription review of Chinese patent medicine always relied on experience in their respective, leading to the uncontrolled of clinical rational use. According to the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory and characteristics of the unique clinical therapeutics, based on the practice experience and expertise comments, our paper formed the expert consensus on the prescription review of Chinese traditional patent medicine for promoting the rational use of drugs in Beijing. The objective, methods and key points of prescription review of Chinese patent medicine, were included in this expert consensus, in order to regulate the behavior of prescription and promote rational drug use.
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The theory of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) deems that kidney essence is the material basis of formation, development and function of the brain and it maintains human being's psychomotility and behavior. Moreover, kidney essence is the material basis of emotional activity. The emotion theory in TCM deems that kidney stores will and responds to fear. The so called will in this theory refers to memory which includes three basic steps such as memorization, storage and recollection. Meanwhile, Western medicine considers stress as a kind of information that forms memory trace in central nervous system. Combining the TCM theory with the modern psychological theory on stress, and from the points of views of the emotion regulation, the formation, consolidation, extraction and extinction of fear memory, and the plasticity of amygdala-hippocampus-prefrontal cortex nervous pathway, as well as the results of pharmacological studies of prescriptions and herbs for invigorating the kidney, the authors explained in this article the pathological mechanisms of kidney deficiency due to attack of fear, and revealed the material basis, the action modes, and the neurobiological mechanisms of the kidney in controlling and regulating emotional activity.
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Methods and thoughts of the further research on central neurobiological mechanisms of Gan in taking charge of dispersion and regulating emotion are discussed. By applying the holistic approach and homeostasis theory, combined with modern psychological stress theory, the authors put forward their hypothesis of study. They offered that the TCM theory of "Gan takes charge of dispersion and could regulate emotion" is affirmatively to have certain mechanisms of central neurobiology. So, cut-in from the point of psychological stress reaction, adopting the research thoughts of "prescription-syndrome-therapeutic effectiveness--essence of Zang-Fu function", a model of chronic psychological stress reaction (CPSR) for imitating the process of comprehensive pathologic change due to Gan fails to take charge of dispersion and leads to emotional disorder was established. It is considered based on analysis of materials obtained from previous studies, that the central neurobiologic mechanism of so called dispersion, which Gan in charge of, is related to the regulation of hypothalamus-pitutary-adrenal gland axis. Concretely, the function of Gan in TCM may be, in the gross, related with the changes of multiple neurotransmitters and their synthetase produced in the process of CPSR (emotional disorder) regulation, such as neuropeptides, hormones, cyclic necleotide system and Fos protein expression, showing the characteristics of multiple links, multiple levels and multiple targets, with the effects involve several brain regions including various clusters of nuclei in hypothalamus, hippocampus and amygdala, etc.
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Humans , Brain , Physiology , Emotions , Liver , Physiology , Medicine, Chinese Traditional , Stress, PsychologicalABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: When one is in a stress state, some amino acids as neurotransmitter in his brain are of important regulating action to his cerebral functions and his psychic behaviors,and some traditional Chinese drugs can regulate the stress state of the body.OBJECTIVE:To observe the content changes of glutamic acid,aspartic acid, γ-aminobutyric acid and taurine in the hypothalamus and hippocampus of rats under repeatedly psychic stress so as to investigate the effects of tiaogan recipe, jianpi recipe, bushen recipe and ginsenoside on them.DESIGN: A randomized grouping and controlled observation trial.SETTING:Department of Basic Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM) of Basic Medical Science College, Guangzhou University of TCM.MATERIALS:The experiment was completed from March 2002 to January 2003 at the Animal Center of Guangzhou University of TCM.Totally60 Wistar rats were randomly divided into 6 groups: normal, model, tiaogan, bushen, jianpi and ginsenoside groups, with 10 in each group. Compositions and doses of tiaogan recipe: radix bupleuri 5 g, fruetus gardeniae 5 g,radix paeoniae alba 15 g,fructus lycii 15 g,fructus aurantii 6 g,radix rehmanniae 18 g, concha haliotidis 30 g. Compositions and doses of shenqi pill: radix rehmanniae 30 g, rhizoma dioscoreae 15 g, fructus corni 15 g,rhizoma alismatis 10 g,poria 10 g,cortex moutan radicis 10 g,ramulus cinnamomi 4 g, radix aconiti praeparata 4 g. Compositions and doses of sijunzi decoction:radix codonopsis pilosulae 20 g,rhizoma atractylodis macrocephalae 15 g, poria 15 g, radix glycyrrhizae preparata 6 g.METHODS:① The traditional Chinese medicines were conventionally decocted; and the tiaogan recipe condensed to the liquid containing1.69 g/mL crude drug, shenqi pill containing 1.76 g/mL crude drug,sijunzi decoction containing 1.01 g/mL crude drug.Ginsenoside was prepared as 7 g/L water solution.The rats in the normal and model groups were by gavage given 2 mL of 9.0 g/L sodium chloride injection.The rats in the tiaogan, bushen, jianpi and ginsenoside groups were respectively by gavage given 2 mL of tiaogan recipe, shenqi pill, sijunzi decoction and ginsenoside solution 1 hour before immobilization stress. ② Except for rats in the normal group, those in the rest groups were all conducted for establishment of psychic stress reaction model.The rats were put into an immobilization tube,their action space was gradually reduced by using a mobile insertion piece,they were regulated to a nervous state without prpduction of intense revolting, which was done once a day, starting with 4 hours immobilization on the first day, and later on increased by 30-60 minutes per day, for consecutive 14 days. ③ The whole brain of the rats in each group was collected by decapitation,OPA high-performance liquid chromatography was used for assays of the contents of glutamic acid, aspartic acid, γaminobutyric acid and taurine in hypothalamus and hippocampus of the rats.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The content changes of glutamic acid,aspartic acid,γ-aminobutyric acid and tanrine in the hypothalamus and hippocampus of rats in each group.RESULTS: Totally 60 rats involved all entered into the result analysis. ①The content changes of glutamic acid in the hypothalamus and hippocampus of rats in each group:Compared with normal group,the contents of glutamic acid in hypothalamus of rats in the tiaogan, jianpi,bushen and ginsenoside groups were markedly decreased [(21.85±8.19), (15.76±1.80),(14.68±7.91), (21.46±5.45), (13.43±7.68) μmoL/g]; compared with model group,the contents in the tiaogan, bushen, jianpi and ginsenoside groups were obviously raised [(11.04±3.65), (11.78±2.17), (18.67±2.98), (20.91 ±3.96),(17.71±1.83) μ moL/g, P ＜ 0.05, P ＜ 0.01, P ＜ 0.01, P ＜ 0.05]. ② The content changes of aspartic acid in the hypothalamus and hippocampus of rats in each group:Compared with model group,the contents of aspartic acid in the hypothalamus in the jianpi and ginsenoside groups were obviously decreased [(8.65±1.18), (5.72±1.32), (4.67±1.88) μmoL/g, P ＜ 0.01,P ＜ 0.01], while the contents in the hippocampus of rats in the jianpi,bushen and ginsenoside groups were markedly raised[(2.58 ±0.87),(3.93±0.49), (4.52±0.98), (3.83±0.41) μmoL/g, P ＜ 0.01, P ＜ 0.01, P ＜ 0.05].③ The content changes of γ-aminobutyric acid in the hypothalamus and hippocampus of rats in each group:Compared with model group,the contents of γ-aminobutyric acid in the hypothalamus of rats in the tiaogan,jianpi,bushen and ginsenoside groups were markedly decreased[(20.92±4.96), (15.87±2.90), (13.84±2.63), (14.94±3.98), (10.94±3.68) μ moL/g,P ＜ 0.05, P ＜ 0.05, P ＜ 0.01, P ＜ 0.01], while the contents in the hypothalamus were obviously raised [(4.12±1.66), (4.18±1.04), (6.67±1.29),(6.11±0.99), (6.37±0.78) μmoL/g, P＜ 0.05, P＜ 0.01, P＜ 0.01, P＜ 0.01].④ The content changes of taurine in the hypothalamus and hippocampus of rats in each group: Compared with model group, the contents of taurine in the hypothalamus of rats in the tiaogan, jianpi, bushen and ginsenoside groups were markedly decreased [(10.24±1.72), (7.82±1.14), (8.00±2.05),(6.42±3.17) μmoL/g, P ＜ 0.05, P ＜ 0.05, P ＜ 0.01], while the contents in the hippocampus in the jianpi and ginsenoside groups were obviously raised [(12.61±3.51), (17.03±2.74), (18.04±2.14) μnoL/g, P＜ 0.01, P＜ 0.01].CONCLUSION:The central acting site of tiaogan recipe may mainly be in the hypothalamus,possibly being related with down-regulating amino acids.While the central acting sites ofjianpi recipe,bushen recipe and ginsenoside may include the hippocampus and hypothalamus, being mainly related with up-regulating amino acids,through enhancing the integration of the hippocampus on stress so as to gain the effect of anti-injury of stress.
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Objective To explore the effects of blood-circulation promoting and phlegm removing treatment on the structure, activity of Ca 2+ -Mg 2+ ATPase and malondialdehyde(MDA) content of mitochondria membrane in spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHR). Methods Spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHR) were classified into 14-week-old model group(Group C),28-week-old model group(Group D) and treatment group (treated with blood-circulation promoting and phlegm removing Chinese herbal medicine,Group E).Normal Wistar rats 14 weeks old (Group A)and 28 weeks old(Group B) served as the controls.The structure of myocardial mitochondria membrane were analyzed quantitatively by transmission electron microscope,and the activity of Ca 2+ -Mg 2+ ATPase and MDA content were also detected. Results Specific surface area of mitochondria was smaller, the activity of Ca 2+ -Mg 2+ ATPase was lower and MDA content was higher in SHR than the controls.MDA content increased as the duration of disease prolonged. Chinese herbal medicine could counteract the above changes. Conclusion Blood-circulation promoting and phlegm removing herbs can partially counteract the progress of left ventricular hypertrophy in SHR.
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AIM: To observe the effect of Jiawei Sini Decoction (JWSND) on glucocorticoid receptor (GCR) in thymocytes of chronic psychological stress rats. METHODS: The rats were randomly divided into 4 groups, control group (C), model group (M), group treated by JWSND (C 1), group treated by ginsenosides (C 2). The number of thymocyte GCR sites and the GCR nuclear thanslocation rate were detected by radioimmunoassay. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, in the model group, the thymocyte weight index lowered significantly ( P