Clinical Research On Neuropeptide Y (NPY) In Different TCM Syndromes Of Stage 2 Essential Hypertension And Effect Of Erigeron Breviscapus Treatment

Background: Neuropeptide Y(NPY) is one of polypeptides contracting blood vessel, and participate in the emergence and development of the high blood pressure through many kinds of way. Objective: Through the measuring of stage 2 essential hypertension (EH2) patient's plasma NPY level, to study the relation between NPY level and different traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndromes and blood stasis syndrome of EH2; and offer the modern medical basis for different TCM syndromes of hypertension. At the same time, it was explored that the mechanism of treating hypertension with Activating blood flow and removing blood stasis by comparing plasma NPY level before and after treating hypertension with Erigeron breviscapus.Material and methods: According to the diagnostic standard of WHO and TCM of essential hypertension, 87 patients (38 male and 49 female) with EH2 (aged 47~84 years),were observed. the 87 patients included 21 with the type of the flaming-up of liver-fire, 24 with the type of deficiency of ying and hyperactivity of yang, 26 with the type of retention of phlegm-dampness, 16 with the type of deficiency of ying and yang .on the other hand, of the 87 patients,63 cases were blood stasis syndrome,24 cases were non-blood stasis syndrome.25 healthy people (11 male and 14 female)aged 49~82 years, were taken as the healthy control group. 87 patients with EH2 were divided randomly into treated group and control group further, 57 patients in treated group were treated with Erigeron breviscapus plus hydragogue or/and β -block and 30 patients in control group were treated withhydragogue or/and P -block alone. To determine the plasma NPY level by RIA method. Results: I.the level of plasma NPY in patients with EH2 patient's was obviously higher than healthy control group (p<0.01). The level of plasma NPY in patients significantly increased with the level of risk factors of cardiovascular disease (p<0.01 ,p<0.05), and obviously higher with the target organs damaged than the ones without targets organ damaged (p<0.01). 2. Among different TCM syndromes of hypertension, the level of NPY in the group of deficiency of ying and yang was higher than the group of retention of phlegm-dampness (p<0.05) ;the level of NPY in the group of retention of phlegm-dampness was higher than the group of retention of deficiency of ying and hyperactivity of yang( p<0.05);but it had no significantly difference in the group of in the group of deficiency of ying and hyperactivity and the flaming-up of liver-fire (p>0.05) ;The level of NPY in the groups of blood stasis syndrome was significantly higher than the group of non-blood stasis syndrome(p<0.01).3.the decompresssion effect have no significance difference between the two groups(p>0.05),but symptom curative effect in treated group were superior to the control group(p<0.05).4.Compared with the situation before treating, the level of NPY were significantly lower in the treated group compared with the control group (p<0.01),but the control group could not affect level of plasma NPY(p>0.05).5. The level of NPY was significantly lower in the group of blood stasis syndrome compared with non-blood stasis syndrome (p<0.01). Conclusions: There was a correlation between plasma neuropeptide Y and different traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndromes of hypertension. NPY might be looked as one of objective indexes of different TCM syndromes of EH2. Erigeron breviscapus could lower the NPY level of EH patients. It presumed that the NPY lowering effect of Activating blood flow and removing blood stasis might be one of its mechanisms in treating high blood pressure.