Effects of Zexie Decoction （泽泻汤） on Cognitive Function and Neuroinflammation of Brain Tissue in Mouse Models with High-Calorie Diet-Induced Cognitive Impairment / 中医杂志

ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanism of Zexie Decoction （泽泻汤） in inhibiting neuroinflammation and improving cognitive impairment mediated by high-calorie diet. MethodsTwenty seven C57BL/J mice were randomly divided into control group （n = 9）， model group （n = 9） and Zexie Decoction group （n = 9）. The mice in the model group and the Zexie Decoction group were fed with high-calorie diet to establish the model of cognitive impairment. Meanwhile， the mice in Zexie Decoction group were also fed with 0.36 g/（kg·d）Zexie Decoction， and the mice in the control group and model group were fed with the same volume of normal saline for 8 weeks. The body weight of mice was recorded at the same time every week； after intervention， oral glucose tolerance test （OGTT） and insulin tolerance test（ITT） commenced； the cognitive level of mice was detected by Morris water maze， open field test， new object recognition test and Y maze； magnetic resonance spectroscopy （MRS） was used to detect the expression of N-acetylaspartate （NAA）， choline （CHO）， lactic acid （Lac）， creatine （Cr）， lipid （Lip）， and myoInositol （mI） in left hippocampus， hypothalamus and cortex. Western blotting was used to detect the expression of synaptophysin （SYN）， synaptosome associated protein-25 （SNAP-25）， postsynaptic dense protein-95 （PSD-95）， tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， nuclear factor kappa B （NF-κB p65） and its phosphorylated form （P-NF-B p65） in mouse brain； Nissl's staining was used to detect the morphological changes of hippocampal neurons. ResultsCompared with the control group， body mass， blood glucose in oral glucose tolerance test， and blood glucose in insulin tolerance test increased in the model group； in the Morris water maze experiment， the total distance travelled and escape latency of the model group mice increased， the time spent in the platform area and the number of times traversing the platform decreased on days 3 and 4； in the open-field experiment， the number of times the model group mice entered the central area， the ratio of the time in the central area to the total time， and the ratio of the distance travelled in the central area to the total distance significantly decreased； in the new object recognition test， the frequency of new object recognition and recognition index were significantly lower in the model group mice； in the Y-maze test， the spontaneous alternation rate of mice in the model group was significantly lower （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）； in the left hippocampus， hypothalamus， and cortex of mice in the model group， the CHO/Cr， NAA/Cr significantly decreased， and the mI/Cr， Lac/Cr and Lip/Cr significantly increased； SYN/β-actin， SNAP-25/β-actin and PSD-95/β-actin values significantly decreased， and p-NF-κB p65/NF-κB p65 and TNF-α/β-actin values significantly increased in brain tissue （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Compared with the model group， the above indexes of mice in the Zexie Decoction group significantly improved （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. The results of Nissl staining showed that compared with the control group， the neurons in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus in the model group were scattered and sparsely arranged， the density was significantly reduced， the nuclei of the cells had consolidation and shrinkage， the number of Nissl vesicles was reduced， and the staining became lighter； compared with the model group， the density of neurons in the hippocampal dentate gyrus region of the Zexie Decoction group increased， the wrinkling of nuclei improved， the cell gap narrowed， and the arrangement was slightly tight. Concusion The ameliorative effect of Zexie Decoction on cognitive function in mice with high-calorie diet-induced cognitive impairment may relate to the restructuring of glucose metabolism homeostasis， inhibition of neuroinflammation， reduction of neuronal damage， and enhancement of synaptic plasticity.

Research progress on the curative effect and mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of diabetic retinopathy / 中国药房

Diabetic retinopathy （DR） is one of the most important microvascular complications of diabetes mellitus， which can lead to blindness in severe cases. Both traditional drug therapy and surgical treatment have certain limitations. Literature review indicates that the main pathogenesis of DR is related to inflammation and apoptosis induced by oxidative stress， and changes in growth factors， hormones， etc. Monomer of traditional Chinese medicine （chlorogenic acid）， single medicine （Panax notoginseng， Typha angustifolia， Pueraria montana root， Matrimony vine， etc.）， prescription （modified Buyang huanwu decoction and Liujunzi decoction， modified Xuefu zhuyu decoction， Simiaoyong’an decoction， etc.） and Chinese patent medicine （Ligustrazine injection， Furong tongmai capsule， Qiju dihuang pill， etc.） can provide beneficial supplement for the treatment of DR. Its mechanism of action mainly involves antioxidant， anti-inflammatory， anti-apoptosis， decreasing the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor， improving hormone levels and so on.