Altern Ther Health Med. 2021 Mar;27(2):58-64.
Coronary heart disease (CHD) refers to a disease where coronary atherosclerosis induces stenosis or obstruction of the blood vessels. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) function to protect and repair the vascular endothelium, and their functional activity state reflects the ability of the body to repair vascular damage. In the peripheral blood of patients with CHD, the density of EPCs decreases, and the function of EPCs is low.
This study aimed to investigate the effects of a China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA)-approved prescription medicine, Tongxin, on the density and function of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in peripheral blood.
In this study, a randomized, single blind, parallel controlled clinical trial was used. The single blind subjects were subjects.
The study took place in the Cardiology and Emergency Departments at Shanghai Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Shanghai, China.
Participants were 48 patients with coronary heart disease at the hospital.
Participants were randomly divided into 2 groups (n = 24 each): a control group and an intervention group. Both groups received routine drug treatments, such as platelet inhibitors, nitrates, β-receptor blockers, statins, angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor antagonists (ARBs), and calcium blockers. The control group was treated with the Shexiang Baoxin Pill, while the intervention group was treated with prescription Tongxin. The course of treatment was 3 months for both groups.
Changes in the density and function of EPCs in the peripheral blood of the 2 groups were measured at baseline and postintervention, and the clinical efficacy of the 2 treatments was statistically analyzed.
The density of EPCs was significantly higher in both groups after 3 months of treatment, compared to the densities at baseline (P < .05). The change in density between baseline and postintervention was significantly greater for the intervention group than for the control group (P < .05). For the control group, the proliferative vitality [optical density (OD)] value of the EPCs was significantly higher than that at baseline from the fourth day of treatment (P < .05). In the intervention group, the OD value was significantly higher than that at baseline from the first day of treatment (P < .05). Furthermore, the intervention group's cells began to enter the logarithmic growth phase of increase from the fifth day of treatment, and the group's increase as significantly higher than the control group's from the fifth to the seventh dayof treatment (P < .05 for all 3 days). Moreover, the total effective rate was higher in the intervention group than in the control group (P < .05).
Prescription Tongxin can stimulate the release of EPCs from the bone marrow to the peripheral blood of patients with CHD, can significantly increase the proliferation of EPCs in the peripheral blood, and can improve the clinical symptoms of patients. Its curative effect was greater than that of the control treatment.
冠心病是指冠状动脉粥样硬化使血管腔狭窄或阻塞导致心肌缺血、缺氧而引起的心脏病。内皮祖细胞（EPCs）的功能是保护和修复血管内皮，其功能活动状态反映了机体修复血管损伤的能力。在冠心病患者的外周血中，EPCs 的密度降低，EPCs 的功能降低。
本研究旨在探讨一种国家食品药品监督管理局（CFDA）批准的处方药物通心络对冠心病患者外周血内皮祖细胞（EPCs）密度和功能的影响。
本研究采用随机、单盲、平行对照的临床试验。单盲对象为受试者。
研究地点位于中国上海的上海市中医院心内科和急诊科。
参与者为医院的 48 名冠心病患者。
参与者被随机分为 2 组（n = 24 人）：对照组和干预组。两组均接受常规药物治疗，如血小板抑制剂、硝酸盐、β受体阻滞剂、他汀类药物、血管紧张素转换酶（ACE）抑制剂、血管紧张素 II 受体拮抗剂（ARB）和钙通道阻滞剂。对照组给予麝香保心丸治疗，干预组给予处方通心络治疗。两组疗程均为 3 个月。
在基线和干预后测量两组患者外周血 EPCs 密度和功能的变化，并对两种治疗方法的临床疗效进行统计分析。
治疗 3 个月后，两组 EPCs 密度均明显高于治疗前（P <.05）。干预组密度变化与对照组相比，差异有统计学意义（P <.05）。对照组 EPC 增殖活力[光密度（OD）]值从治疗第 4 天开始明显高于治疗前（P <.05）。干预组从治疗第 1 天开始，OD 值明显高于治疗前（P <.05）。此外，干预组的细胞从治疗第 5 天开始进入对数增长期，且从第 5 天到第 7 天的增长速度明显高于对照组（P <.05）。此外，干预组的总有效率明显高于对照组（P <.05）。
通心络处方可刺激冠心病患者骨髓 EPCs 释放到外周血中，明显促进外周血 EPCs 的增殖，并改善患者的临床症状。其疗效优于对照组。
