Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the possible mechanism of Ningdong granule (NDG) for the treatment of Tourette syndrome (TS). The rats with stereotyped behavior were established by microinjection with TS patients' sera; then, the model rats were divided into NDG and haloperidol (Hal) group, and the nonmedication model rats were regarded as treatment control (TS group). The stereotyped behavior of the rats was recorded, the level of dopamine (DA) in striatum, and the content of homovanillic acid (HVA) in sera were tested, and dopamine transporter (DAT) expression was measured in the study. The experimental results showed that NDG effectively inhibited the stereotyped behavior (P < 0.01), decreased the levels of DA in the striatum (P < 0.05), increased the content of sera HVA (P < 0.01), and enhanced the protein and mRNA expression of DAT in the striatum (P < 0.01). Additionally, the results also revealed Hal could improve the stereotyped behavior as well but had no remarkable influence on DAT expression and DA metabolism. In conclusion, NDG attenuates stereotyped behavior, and its mechanism of action might be associated with the upregulation of DAT expression to regulate DA metabolism in the brain.
Highlights
Tourette syndrome (TS) is a chronic neurobehavioral and neuropsychiatric disorder that is characterized by multiple, stereotyped, involuntary, purposeless, and repetitive movements and vocal tics with a male gender bias, which waxes and wanes spontaneously for years [1,2,3,4,5,6]. ere are approximately four to 10 per 1000 school-aged children and adolescents suffering from TS [2, 4, 7, 8]
The presence of autoantibodies reacting in the brain is thought to be mechanistically involved in the pathophysiology of TS. e presence of these autoantibodies strongly favors the autoimmune and immune dysregulation hypothesis of TS [14,15,16,17]
Autoantibodies reacting in the brain and immune dysregulation may accompany the pathophysiology of TS [14,15,16]
Summary
TS is a chronic neurobehavioral and neuropsychiatric disorder that is characterized by multiple, stereotyped, involuntary, purposeless, and repetitive movements and vocal tics with a male gender bias, which waxes and wanes spontaneously for years [1,2,3,4,5,6]. ere are approximately four to 10 per 1000 school-aged children and adolescents suffering from TS [2, 4, 7, 8]. Functional neuroimaging and neurobiological studies have provided evidence for the involvement of a metabolic and transmission disturbance of DA within the cortico-striatal-thalamo-cortical (CSTC) circuits [11,12,13]. The presence of autoantibodies reacting in the brain is thought to be mechanistically involved in the pathophysiology of TS. As a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparation, Ningdong granule (NDG) can reduce stereotyped behavior and regulate metabolic DA in TS animals and Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. NDG can effectively alleviate the clinical symptoms of the children with TS [22,23,24]; we hypothesized that NDG might modulate DAT expression to regulate DA metabolism in the brain and, as a result, to attenuate stereotyped behavior in TS model rats in the study
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
