Doron Ravid, Lotan Dafna, Versano Ziv, Benatav Layla, Franko Motty, Armoza Shir, Kately Nadav, Rehavi Moshe
School of Behavioral Sciences, Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yaffo, Tel- Aviv, Israel; Department of Education and Psychology, The Open University of Israel, Raanana, Israel; School of Health and Life Sciences, Hadassah Academic College, Jerusalem, Israel.
Department of Education and Psychology, The Open University of Israel, Raanana, Israel; School of Psychological Sciences and Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel-Aviv University, Tel- Aviv, Israel.
PLoS One. 2014 Apr 1;9(4):e91455. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0091455. eCollection 2014.
Anxiety disorders are a major public health concern worldwide. Studies indicate that repeated exposure to adverse experiences early in life can lead to anxiety disorders in adulthood. Current treatments for anxiety disorders are characterized by a low success rate and are associated with a wide variety of side effects. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the anxiolytic effects of a novel herbal treatment, in comparison to treatment with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor escitalopram. We recently demonstrated the anxiolytic effects of these treatments in BALB mice previously exposed to one week of stress. In the present study, ICR mice were exposed to post natal maternal separation and to 4 weeks of unpredictable chronic mild stress in adolescence, and treated during or following exposure to stress with the novel herbal treatment or with escitalopram. Anxiety-like behavior was evaluated in the elevated plus maze. Blood corticosterone levels were evaluated using radioimmunoassay. Brain derived neurotrophic factor levels in the hippocampus were evaluated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We found that (1) exposure to stress in childhood and adolescence increased anxiety-like behavior in adulthood; (2) the herbal treatment reduced anxiety-like behavior, both when treated during or following exposure to stress; (3) blood corticosterone levels were reduced following treatment with the herbal treatment or escitalopram, when treated during or following exposure to stress; (4) brain derived neurotrophic factor levels in the hippocampus of mice treated with the herbal treatment or escitalopram were increased, when treated either during or following exposure to stress. This study expands our previous findings and further points to the proposed herbal compound's potential to be highly efficacious in treating anxiety disorders in humans.
焦虑症是全球主要的公共卫生问题。研究表明，早年反复接触不良经历会导致成年后患焦虑症。目前焦虑症的治疗成功率较低，且伴有多种副作用。本研究的目的是评估一种新型草药治疗的抗焦虑作用，并与选择性5-羟色胺再摄取抑制剂艾司西酞普兰的治疗效果进行比较。我们最近在先前经历过一周应激的BALB小鼠中证明了这些治疗的抗焦虑作用。在本研究中，ICR小鼠在出生后经历母婴分离，并在青春期经历4周不可预测的慢性轻度应激，然后在应激期间或应激后用新型草药治疗或艾司西酞普兰进行治疗。在高架十字迷宫中评估焦虑样行为。使用放射免疫分析法评估血皮质酮水平。使用酶联免疫吸附测定法评估海马体中脑源性神经营养因子水平。我们发现：（1）童年和青春期暴露于应激会增加成年后的焦虑样行为；（2）草药治疗在应激期间或应激后进行治疗时均可减少焦虑样行为；（3）在应激期间或应激后用草药治疗或艾司西酞普兰治疗后，血皮质酮水平降低；（4）在应激期间或应激后用草药治疗或艾司西酞普兰治疗的小鼠海马体中脑源性神经营养因子水平升高。本研究扩展了我们之前的发现，并进一步指出了所提出的草药化合物在治疗人类焦虑症方面具有高效的潜力。
