Effect Of Chaihu Shugan Fomulation On Synaptic Plasticity In Depressed Rats

Objective:To explore the clinical efficacy and antidepressant mechanism of Chai Hu Shugan Powder in the treatment of depression.Methods:1.Clinical study:60 patients with moderate depression were randomly divided into two groups:control group(n=30)treated with paroxetine and treatment group(n=30)treated with Chaihu Shugan Powder combined with paroxetine.After 8 weeks of treatment,the improvement of depressive symptoms and the changes of serum antidepressant markers were compared between the two groups,and the efficacy of Chaihu Shugan Powder combined with paroxetine in the treatment of depression was evaluated.2.Experimental study:healthy Wistar rats were used as blank group;at the same time,CUMS depression model rats were randomly divided into model group,traditional Chinese medicine group and western medicine group according to the difference of drug administration.Sugar water preference experiment,open field experiment,Forced swimming test were used as index of depressive behavior in rats;detennination of the effect of Chaihu Shugan San on the level of neuroinflammatory factors in hippocampus by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA);protein immunoblotting technique(Western Blot)to detect and statistically analyze Thhe effects of traditional Chinese medicine on the expression of inflammatory signal pathway and synaptic protein in hippocampus.Results:1.Clinical study:at the end of 8 weeks of treatment,the total effective rate,HAMD score and serum BDNF in the treatment group were superior to those in the control group(P<0.01,P<0.05).At the same time,the HAMD score and serum BDNF in the two groups were signif icantly improved compared with those before treatment(P 0.01,P<0.001).2.Experimental study2.1 behavior experiment of rats:after 21 days of treatment,it was found that the immobility time in forced swimming in the traditional Chinese medicine group was significantly less than that in the model group(P<0.05).In the open field experiment,the central activity time,total movement time and center activity distance increased significantly(P<0.001,P<0.001).However,there was no significant difference in the percentage of sugar water preference between the two groups and the total exercise distance and vertical standing time in the open field experiment(P>0.05).2.2 ELISA results showed that the level of serum inflammatory factor TNF-a in the traditional Chinese medicine group was significantly lower than that in the model group(P<0.01),but there was no significant difference in serum IL-6 between the traditional Chinese medicine group and the model group(P>0.05).2.3 The results of Western Blot showed that after the course of treatment,compared with the model group,the expression of Tr-kB protein increased(P<0.001)and the expression of NF-kB decreased(P<0.001),but there was no statistical difference in BDNF level between the traditional Chinese medicine group and the model group.There was significant difference in the expression of synaptic protein PSD95 and GluR1 between the traditional Chinese medicine group and the model group(P<0.00 1,P<0.001).Conclusion:1.Chaihu Shugan Powder combined with paroxetine is more effective in the treatment of depression than paroxetine alone.2.Chaihu Shugan Powder can reduce the release of TNF-a in CUMS rats,down-regulate NF-kB;and promote the expression of suppressed Tr-kB.Chaihu Shugan Powder can increase the expression of synaptic protein PSD95 and GluR1 in hippocampus of model rats.