Qi Fu Zhi Treatment Of Vascular Dementia

Vascular dementia is a syndrome caused by cerebrovascular factors leading to damage to the brain tissue, characterized by poor memory, disability in calculation, judgment and orientation, and progressive mental and behavioral disturbances. This disease is the focus of medical study in the world since it has high morbidity, disability and mortality. This paper presents a systematic review of the prevention and treatment of vascular dementia with traditional Chinese medicine and a summary of the academic features in the treatment of the disease with traditional Chinese medicine. Based on the review and summary, the author presents a discussion on the pathogenesis and methods of treatment of the disease. The author holds that the basic pathogenesis lies in qi deficiency and blood stasis, the former being the pathological basis and the latter being the key to disease occurrence, and that the main method of treatment for the disease is invigorating qi and activating blood circulation, based analyses and studies on the role and effect of qi deficiency and blood stasis in vascular dementia pathologically, clinically and experimentally.The prescription of Yiqi Fuzhi Granule (Radix Astragali seu Hedysari, Radix Angelicae Sinensis, Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae, Hirudo seu Whitmania, Rhizoma Ligustici Chuanxiong, Rhizoma Acori Graminei, etc.) was formed for invigorating qi and activating blood circulation, based on the theory of pathogenesis for qi deficiency and blood stasis. Observation was made on the effect of Yiqi Fuzhi Granule on mental disturbance of rat models with multiple cerebral infarction and molecular biological techniques were used to make systematic investigation on the mechanism of the prescription in the treatment of vascular dementia. The result of the clinical observation is as follows. (1) Yiqi Fuzhi Granule has the actions of improving intelligence and preventing dementia by improving memory; (2) It has antagonizing and repairing effect on ischemic brain damage; (3) It has the action of regulating the metabolism of free radicals, increasing SOD activity in the brain tissue and plasma and reducing MDA content; (4) It can rectify NO and ET imbalance of rat models,3increasing the NO content in plasma and decrease ET content; (5) It has the actions of regulating monamine neurotransmitter, increasing the content of 5-HT and its metabolism product 5-HIAA in rat's brain hippocampus and the ratio between 5-HT and 5-HIAA, increasing the content of DA and its metabolism product DOPAC, 5-HT, 5-HIAA and HAV and the ratios between DA and DOPAC, and between 5-HT and 5-HIAA; (6) It has the actions of inhibiting acetylcholine and reducing acetylcholine activity, thus decreasing its decomposition; (7) It has the effect of activating blood circulation to remove blood stasis, reducing rat's blood viscosity and prolonging thromboplastin time; (8) It has the action of inhibiting apoptosis in rats with ischemic brain damage; (9) It can regulate the expression of apoptosis-promoting gene bax an the apoptosis-inhibiting gene bcI-2, inhibit the over-expression of bax protein, markedly reduce the ration between bax and bcl-2. Clinical observation also showed that it can improve the symptoms of dementia and markedly increase the grading of HDS and MMSE of patients with vascular dementia. These results show that Yiqi Fuzhi Granule is effective for vascular dementia. The comprehensiveness of its mechanism in treating vascular dementia provides a solid basis for further research and development of new drugs.