Progress In The Study Of Diabetic Cognitive Dysfunction And The Effect Of Naofu Cong On Cognitive Function In Diabetic Rats

Diabetes is one of the most severe diseases threatening people's health.China is the country that has the greatest number of people suffering from diabetes.Chronic hyperglycemia may affects the central nervous system.Cognitive dysfunction caused by diabetes is also called diabetic encephalopathy.Cognition is the ability that people acquire and process information.People with diabetes have a higher risk of developing dementia.Alzheimer's disease is even referred to as "Type 3 diabetes".The pathology of diabetic encephalopathy is quite complex.Chronic hyperglycemia can damage vessel's structure and function,reduce the level of brain neutrophic factors,cause metabolic disorders of neurotransmitter and lipid,Alzheimer's disease-like changes,neuronal inflammtion,oxidative stress,neuronal apotosis,activates the renin-angiotensin system and HPA axis,leading to cognitive decline.The diagnosis of diabetic encephalopathy is based on the diagnosis of diabetes.Cognition should be tested by mental and behavioral scales,such as MMSE and MoCA.The point of treating diabetic encephalopathy is improving cognition on the basis of glycemic control.Mild cognitive impairment can be treated by diet adjustment and cognition training.Moderate to severe cognitive impairment is mainly treated by medicines which can improve dementia symptoms,including choline ester formulations,and drugs which can promote brain blood circulation, improve brain metabolism,anti inflammation,anti oxiditive stress,etc.Diabetic encephalopathy belongs to "diabetes" combined with "dementia","forgetfulness"in traditional chinese medicine.The disease is developed because of congenital deficiency and deficiency of qi,blood,yin,leading to sputum,toxin,dampness stagnate the brain collaterals.Clinically diabetic encephalopathy is divided into 5 patterns of syndromes:deficiency of kidney essence and Sui-hai;kidney dificiency and blood stasis leading to the insufficiency of brain vessels;phlegm confusing the brain;deficiency of heart and spleen leading to the insufficiency of brain;toxin damaging the brain collaterals.And the treatment should be based on the syndromes.Modern pharmacological studies have found that some chinese medicine and their extracts,chinese herbal compounds can be used to treat the disease,such as astragalus,curcumin,salidroside,Liu Wei Di Huang Tang,Qi Fu drink,Huanglian Jiedu Tang,Naoan Capsule,Nao Kang No.II,JMT,etc.It's been found that acupuncture can improve cognition of diabetic animals.Chinese hearbal compound Nao Fu Cong(NFC) includes 7 herbs:ginseng,poria,polygonum,berberine,and so on.It can replenish spleen and kidney,promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis,dissipate phlegm for resuscitation.This experiment studies the effect of NFC on cognition of diabetic rats.50 rats were randomly divided into 5 groups:control group,diabtetic model group,NFC low dose group,NFC medium dose gtroup,NFC high dose group.The diabetic model is induced by intraperitomeal injection of STZ,NFC was given by gavage every day for 12 weeks.and the learning and memory ability was tested by Y maze and morris water maze.It's found that the diabetic rats'correct rate declined in Y maze,and increased after treatment,but there's no significant difference.The latency of diabetic rats in the Morris water maze prolonged(P<0.05),and shortened after treatment,especially in the NFC high dose group(P <0.05),which means the cognition of diabetic rats is impaired but NFC can improve it.