| Polymyositis(PM) is a syndrome, characterized by inflammation with the skeletal muscles and degeneration of muscle fibers. Proximal muscle weakness is the cardinal symptom. Pain and tenderness of the muscles occurs in more than half the patients. As the disease progresses, there may be widespread wasting and weakness, with bulbar dysfunction and respiratory muscle weakness. Now there is no ideal therapy in PM. Although corticosteroids can relieve symptoms of patients, they have many side-effects, dependency and to 1/3 patients no treatment. It is urgent to find one safe and effective medicine to cure PM. This research used guinea pigs, which were immunized with rabbit muscle homogeneate to make experimental autoimmune myositis (EAM) animal model, analysis serum muscle enzyme spectrum changes and investigate the effect of Gecko on PM. To obtain an animal model for polymyositis, we induced EAM in guinea pigs by immunization with rabbit muscle homogeratein Freund's adjuvant. 40 immunized guinea pigs, weight 300-400g, were divided into 4 groups at random. A group (n=12), were treated with small dose Gecko power 1250 mg.kg-1 .d-1 for 4 weeks. B group (n=10), were treated with large dose Gecko power 3750 mg.kg-1 .d-1 for 4 weeks. C group (n=8), were treated with prednisone 3 mg.kg-1 .d-1 for 4 weeks, as the positive control. D group (n=10), received no treatment, as the blank control. Clinical signs, such as posture, fur, activity, foraging, weight, part skin change were observed and the animals were taken blood 1-2ml through the heart at the time of before immunized, immunized 4th week and treated 4th week. Centrifugalizing the blood at 300r/min for 5 minutes, and the serum was taken, examined CPK, LDH and AST.ALT, ALP and GGT were examined in C group and D group, also. The result showed that A, B, C groups became better. The levels of CPK, LDH, AST decreased significantly after treatment. D group showed no significantly change. The levels of ALT and GGT were significantly higher in EAM animals. The serum muscle enzyme is one of the standards to diagnosis polymyositis. Muscle cells degenerate and become necrosis in myositis. The enzyme in the cell enters blood, so the amount ofmuscle enzyme and serum muscle enzyme activities are increased and reflects the degree of muscular disorder. CPK, LDH and AST are most used. There is the highest positive rate in CPK, secondly LDH and AST almost has no specificity. In the experiment CPK, LDH, AST of the guinea pigs that were treated with Gecko are decreased. The effect of therapy is same to prednisone. The result provided a reliable evidence that Gecko might be used for the treatment of PM. The inflammatory muscle diseases polymyositis are of unknown cause, but immune mechanisms are strongly implicated, cellular immunity and humoral immunity existing in the same time. Skin is always damaged. Viscera damage has almost not been reported. The result showed the significant change of serum hepatic enzyme in EAM guinea pigs implicating that there might be abnormal hepatic function in PM. Serum ALT, ALP, GGT come from liver chiefly. In the hepatic disorders, there is a change of hepatic enzyme and it is reflected by serum enzyme concentration. When immunity mediates inflammation, the liver cells are damaged or necrosis. So the ALT and GGT, which exist in the cell or on the cell memberane enter blood. The causes of liver damage maybe: 1. Auto-antibody mediated immune damage. It... |
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