Effect of Ningdong Granule on the levels of IL-12 and TNF-alpha in children patients with Tourette's syndrome / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effect of Ningdong Granule (NG) on serum levels of interleukin-12 (IL-12) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) of children patients with Tourette's syndrome (TS).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Totally 90 TS children patients were randomly assigned to the NG group, the NG + Tiapride group (abbreviated as the combined treatment group), and the Tiapride group, 30 in each group. Besides,another 30 healthy children were recruited as the healthy control group. Patients in the NG group were treated with NG (consisting of all gastrodia rhizome, Codonopsis pilosula, Ophiopogon japonicus, white peony root, Rhinocerotidae, oyster, earthworm, licorice root, etc.), one dose daily, administered by dissolving it in boiled water, taken in two portions in the morning and in the evening respectively. Patients in the Tiapride group took Tiapride Tablet, 50 -100 mg each time, twice daily. The dosage was adjusted according to individual difference and changes of pathogenic conditions. The maximal dosage was 300 mg per day. Those in the combined treatment group were treated with equal dose of NG and Tiapride Tablet in combination. The treatment course was 3 months for all. Changes of pathogenic condition before and after treatment were assessed by Yale global tic severity scale (YGTSS). Serum levels of IL-12 and TNF-alpha were detected by enzyme-labeled immunosorbent assay (ELISA) before and after treatment.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>(1) The total effective rate of the NG group, the combined treatment group, and the Tiapride group was 79.3%, 83.3%, and 67.9%, respectively. It was the lowest in the Tiapride group (P < 0.05). It was significantly higher in the combined treatment group than in the NG group (P < 0.05). (2) The post-treatment YGTSS score was obviously lower in each group after treatment than before treatment (P < 0.05). The posttreatment YGTSS score was obviously lower in the NG group and the combined treatment group than in the Tiapride group (P < 0.05), but with no statistical difference between the fromer two groups (P > 0.05).(3) Compared with the healthy control group before treatment, serum levels of IL-12 and TNF-alpha (pg/mL) were 124.95 +/- 22.78 and 209.52 +/- 21.69 in the NG group, 126.14 +/- 25.65 and 208.97 +/- 22.46 in the combined treatment group, 123.00 +/- 24.26 and 205.10 +/- 26.16 in the Tiapride group, being higher than those in the healthy control group (64.56 +/- 27.59 and 78.13 +/- 33.42; P < 0.05). After treatment, serum levels of of IL-12 and TNF-alpha were 104.67 +/- 16.84 and 183.01 +/- 24.95 in the NG group, 109.04 +/- 16.81 and 179.87 +/- 23.45 in the combined treatment group, significantly lower than before treatment (P < 0.05). But there was no statistical difference in serum levels of IL-12 or TNF-alpha in the Tiapride group between before treatment (123.00 +/- 24.26 and 205.10 +/- 26.16) and after treatment (117.75 +/- 16.79 and 199.76 +/- 33.21; P > 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>NG could modulate abnormal serum levels of IL-12 and TNF-alpha in TS children patients, which might be one of its pharmacodynamic mechanisms for treating TS.</p>

Effect of ningdong granule on stereotyped behaviors in Tourette syndrome model rats of different Chinese medical syndromes / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effect of Ningdong Granule (NDG) on stereotyped behaviors in Tourette's syndrome (TS) model rats of different Chinese medical syndromes.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Thirty-two Wistar rats were used to establish TS models of different Chinese medical syndromes (n =8) induced by TS children patients' sera of 4 syndromes, i.e., Xin-Gan deficiency syndrome (XGDS), Gan-Shen yin deficiency syndrome (GSYDS), sputum-turbid blocking aperture syndrome (STBAS), and Gan hyperactivity Pi deficiency syndrome (GHPDS). Corresponding sera was micro-infused to them while administering NDG (120 mg/kg each time, thrice daily, for 3 successive weeks). Besides, another normal control group (n =8) was set up by injecting sera from healthy children plus intragastric perfusion of normal saline. Stereotyped behaviors were recorded on the 1st, 7th, 14th, and 21st day after administration of NDG.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The anti-neural antibody serum concentration in TS children was significantly higher than that in healthy control [(1.28 +/- 0.36) UL vs. (0.52 +/- 0.24) U/L, P < 0.01 ]. It was (1.34 +/- 0.41) U/L in the XGDS group, (1.19 +/- 0.51) U/L in the GSYDS group, (1.29 +/- 0.61) U/L in the STBAS group, and (1. 17 +/- 0.45) U/L in the GHPDS group, showing no statistical difference (P > 0.05). There was no statistical difference in stereotypic behaviors of rats after treatment among the four different Chinese medical syndromes (P > 0.05). At day 7, 14, and 21 after treatment by NDG, the times of stereotyped behaviors were significantly less in the XGDS group than in the other three groups at the same time points except in the GHPDS group at day 14 (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Meanwhile, the total numbers of stereotyped behaviors in the XGDS group [(42.8 +/- 12.6)] was obviously superior to that in the GSYDS group [(29.3 +/- 13.7)], the STBAS group [(21.9 +/- 10.4)], and the GHPDS group [(30.6 +/- 9.6)], showing statistical difference (P < 0.01, P < 0.05) after treatment by NDG at day 21.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The anti-neural antibody serum concentration in TS children was significantly higher than that in healthy children. Stereotyped behaviors could be induced in rats after intrastriatal micro-infusion of TS sera rich in anti-neural antibody. TS model rats of XGDS were better improved than rats in the other 3 groups after treatment by NDG.</p>