| Depression is one of the mental sickness that harmful to human’s physical and mental health. The disease features in high incidence, recurrence, suicide rate, self-mutilation rate, and heavy social burden. According to WHO forecast, depression in 2020 will be ranked second in the total burden of disease, will become the main killer of human health in twenty-first Century in addition to cardiovascular disease. Cytokine hypothesis is considered as one of the mechanisms of depression in recent years. The imbalance between pro-inflammatory cytokines and anti-inflammatory cytokines plays an important role in the pathogenesis of depression.Drug therapy as the main treatment of depression, there are narrow spectrum, the side effect is big, curative effect is not stable, easy to produce dependence and so on. As a preventive method, preventive moxibustion can strengthen the self-healing force within the body, so that protect body or alleviate diseases harmful. Researches show that preventive moxibustion can effectively regulate immunological function and relieve inflammation. Chronic stress can lead to the occurrence of immune inflammatory reaction in depression model, and the study on the regulation of preventive moxibustion has not been carried out.Objective:This experiment adopts the chronic unpredictable mild stress to simulate human symptoms of depression, from the aspects of behavior, serum inflammatory cytokines and anti-inflammatory cytokine expression, the effect mechanism of preventive moxibustion on chronic stress depression model rats was discussed, and observe the effect of Moxibustion in the prevention and treatment of depression and moxibustion in the treatment of depression.Methods:1. Forty male SD rats were evenly randomized into control, model, PM, Moxibustion and fluoxetine groups, with 8 rats in each. Depression model was established by using chronic unpredictable mild stress(CUMS) stimulation. PM was given moxibustion at point "baihui"-. "dazhui" three weeks before model-establishing, the treatment was conducted once a day, each time for 20 min, six day a week. Moxibustion and fluoxetine groups were treated for three weeks after successful model-establishing, both treatment conduct an hour before stress stimulation.2. Behavioral detection:Behavioral tests (including weight, open-field, sucrose preference test) were given once a week to evaluate if the model is successful, and compare the effect differences among the five groups.3.Index detection:The contents of IL-1β、IL-6 and IL-4、IL-10 in serum were detected by radio-immunoassay.Results:Effects on rat behavior:Body weight:CUMS could cause rats lose weight. Compared to the normal group, at the first week of experiment, the weight of the model group was significantly decreased, which lasted for five weeks (P<0.01). Compared to the model group, after treatment, the weight of the Moxibustion and fluoxetine groups was increased smoothly and had significant difference (P<0.01), and no difference between the two treatment groups (P>0.05). When CUMS was applied after preventive moxibustion, the weight lost could be alleviated obviously. At the second week of stress stimulation, the weight of the PM group had significant difference with the model group (P<0.01), but had no difference with the moxibustion and fluoxetine groups (P>0.05).Open-field test:Compared to the normal group, after two weeks of experiment, the crossing and rearing motion numbers of the model group were significantly decreased, which lasted for four weeks (P<0.01). In comparison with the model group, at the third week of treatment, the crossing motion of moxibustion group had increased considerably (P<0.05), but rearing motion had not (P>0.05); Both the crossing and rearing motion numbers of the fluoxetine group were slightly increased, but had no considerably difference (P>0.05,> 0.05). When CUMS was applied after preventive moxibustion, can significantly improve the activity and explore behavior. At the second week of stress stimulation, the crossing and rearing motion numbers of the PM group had significant difference with the model group (P <0.01,<0.01).Sucrose preference test:Compared to the normal group, after two weeks of experiment, sucrose preference percentage of the model group were significantly decreased, which lasted for four weeks (P<0.01). In comparison with the model group, at the third week of treatment, sucrose preference percentage in the moxibustion and fluoxetine groups had increased considerably(P<0.01, P<0.05), and no difference between the two treatment groups (P> 0.05). When CUMS was applied after preventive moxibustion, the loss of pleasure cause by chronic stress could be improved effectively. At the second week of stress stimulation, sucrose preference percentage of the PM group had significant difference with the model group (P <0.01), but had no difference with the moxibustion and fluoxetine groups (P>0.05). Effects on serum contents of IL-1β、IL-6 and IL-4、IL-10:Compared with normal group, the contents of IL-1β、IL-6 in serum in model group were significantly increased(P<0.01、P<0.01), the serum content of IL-10 in model group was significantly decreased(P<0.05), the serum content of IL-4 in model group had no considerably difference (P>0.05). Compared with model group, the contents of IL-1β、 IL-6 in serum of the PM, moxibustion and fluoxetine groups had significantly decreased (P<0.01、 P<0.05),the IL-10 level in serum in PM and fluoxetine groups had considerably increased (P<0.05), the IL-10 level in serum in moxibustion group had no difference (P>0.05). the serum content of IL-4 in moxibustion and fluoxetine groups had slightly decreased, in PM group had significantly increased, but all had no difference with the model group(P>0.05).Conclusions:CUMS cause decrease of weight, open-field movement, sucrose consumption in rats, preventive moxibustion could effectively improve those depression like behavioral changes.The CUMS resulted in increasing expression of IL-1β、IL-6 in serum, and decreasing expression of IL-10 in serum, which could be regulated by preventive moxibustion, so that restore the dynamic balance of cytokines.Preventive moxibustion can effectively improve the depression like behavior changes caused by chronic stress, reduce depression model rats of inflammatory response, and maintains the balance of immune endocrine system, and overall, the preventive effect of preventive moxibustion on the depression model rats better than the treating effect of moxibustion. Effective regulating the content of inflammatory cytokines(IL-1β, IL-6)and anti-inflammatory cytokines(IL-4, IL-10)in serum, two-way benign regulation of the body, restoring endocrine and immune system homeostasis, to stimulate the body’s own defense mechanism so that body can adapt to harmful stress, this may be the mechanism of preventive moxibustion in preventing and treating depression. This experiment for clinical preventive moxibustion in preventing and treating depression provides an experimental basis, expand the application field of preventive moxibustion and broaden the clinical prevention and treatment of depression. |
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