Traditional Chinese medicine insights of newly-diagnosed and young hypertension and clinical practice of Tianma Gouteng Decoction for hypertension treatment / 中国中药杂志

ABSTRACT

Hypertension is a global major public health problem. Early intervention and timely blocking are necessary for newly-diagnosed hypertensive and young hypertensive patients. Tianma Gouteng Decoction recorded in Zabing Zhengzhi Xinyi written by HU Guangci has the major functions in treating excess syndrome and wind-Yang disturbance syndrome with effects in calming liver-wind, clearing heat and activating blood, and nourishing liver and kidney. As we known, Tianma Gouteng Decoction is a classical formula for treating hypertension. However, due to the limitation of historical conditions, some problems impede Tianma Gouteng Decoction from being handed down successfully, such as uncertain diagnosis, uncertain antihypertensive efficacy and treatment-course. In this case, we ask whether Tianma Gouteng Decoction can be used as antihypertensive therapy and the exactly decrease of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and wonder the half-life of Tianma Gouteng Decoction and the relationship with Western medicine. Therefore, defined prescription and syndrome, efficacy, treatment-course are important in clinical practice. According to the findings, ① previously, we thought that hypertension was a liver-Yang hyperactivity and liver-wind stirring syndrome, and the liver-based therapy theory was effective. However, based on our study, long-term treatment with Western medicine could block disease progression, control the increased blood pressure and change the pathogenesis and syndrome of traditional Chinese medicine. Therefore, the frequency of liver-Yang hyperactivity syndrome "fire syndrome" decreased sharply, and the main syndrome was fluid-retention syndrome and deficiency syndrome. The etiology and pathogenesis of hypertension was prone to deficiency syndrome accompanied with excess syndrome. Therefore, it was necessary to intervene hypertension in "liver-wind" and "liver-Yang" excess syndrome stage, and the early intervention and treatment are important. ② The newly-diagnosed hypertensive and young hypertensive patients usually had no Western medicine intervention. Thus, the etiology and pathogenesis of hypertension were free from Western medicine, which maintained the initial stage of hypertension in line with the liver-Yang hyperactivity syndrome. ③ The pathological mechanisms of newly-diagnosed and young hypertension were mainly increase in sympathetic activity, active renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, change in morphology of vascular smooth muscle cells and endothelial cell dysfunction. ④ According to the syndrome of Tianma Gouteng Decoction, in modern medicine, Tianma Gouteng Decoction was widely used to treat the early-stage hypertension and the early-intervention of hypertension without Western medicine, particularly newly-diagnosed, young hypertension, Ⅲ hypertension, hypertensive crisis and hypertensive emergency. Tianma Gouteng Decoction can treat such symptoms as headache, dizziness, fullness of head, slurring of speech; facial flushing, conjunctival congestion and blurred vision; dysphoria, anxiety, palpitation, insomnia, mental disorder and hot flushes; dry-mouth with bitter taste and sweeting; myasthenia of limbs and lassitude in loin and legs; brown urine with burning sensation during urination; a solid or liquid stool consistency; red tongue, slippery and rapid pulse, wiry and rapid pulse over to Cunkou. ⑤ After treatment with Tianma Gouteng Decoction for three to six months, the blood pressure was decreased, and the symptoms were improved with reduction or even discontinuance of Western medicine. ⑥ According to recent studies, Caul is Polygoni Multiflori of Tianma Gouteng Decoction induced certain hepatotoxicity and increased the risk of long-term treatment. However, with the regular monitoring of biomedical index, long-term treatment with Caulis Polygoni Multiflori(3-10 g·d~(-1) for 3 to 6 months) didn't show hepatic dysfunction. ⑦ The pharmacological activity of Tianma Gouteng Decoction coincided with the pathology and disease mechanism of newly-diagnosed and young hypertension. Therefore, Tianma Gouteng Decoction was the specific recipe for newly-diagnosed and young hypertension. Therefore, further studies of efficacy, safety and molecular mechanism of Tianma Gouteng Decoction may make a medical breakthrough for hypertension treatment.