Theoretical Connotation and Mechanism of Regulating Mental Activity by Dredging Collaterals in Treatment of Psycho-cardiological Diseases via Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

The incidence of psycho-cardiological diseases， i.e.， cardiovascular diseases combined with psychological disorders， is increasing year by year. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor （BDNF） plays a role in the pathogenesis of such diseases. According to the theory of collateral diseases， our team innovates the concept of regulating mental activity by dredging collaterals in the treatment of psycho-cardiological diseases and summarizes the concepts of "heart of Qi and collaterals" and "heart of vessels and collaterals". We believe that obstructed collaterals and disturbed mental activity run through the whole course of psycho-cardiological diseases， being the core pathogenesis. BDNF closely related to the core pathogenesis can regulate nerve and vascular inflammation， alleviate oxidative stress， and mediate a variety of signaling pathways， thereby promoting the survival and repair of nerve cells and vascular endothelial cells to regulate emotion and protect the heart. Therefore， BDNF is one of the potential biomarkers for clinical treatment of psycho-cardiological diseases. Collateral obstruction caused by blood stasis is specifically manifested as collateral deficiency， blood stasis， and Qi stagnation in collaterals. It can easily lead to inflammation， free radical generation， and antioxidant system changes in the patients with psycho-cardiological diseases， which can cause oxidative stress damage， affect the BDNF level， and result in mental disorders， such as anxiety and depression. Disturbed mental activity is mainly caused by the disturbance in the heart of Qi and collaterals， which is specifically manifested as the disturbance of the mind and liver soul. It is prone to cause anxiety or depression symptoms， which is closely related to the BDNF-mediated abnormal activation of neural circuits， nerve injury， and inflammation. This article elaborates on the theoretical connotation and pathological mechanism of regulating mental activity by dredging collaterals in the treatment of psycho-cardiological diseases from the perspective of BDNF， aiming to provide new ideas for the prevention and treatment of psycho-cardiological diseases and collateral diseases.