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- Title
Neuroimaging studies of brain corpus striatum changes among heroin-dependent patients treated with herbal medicine, U'finer capsule.
- Authors
Jia, S W; Wang, W; Liu, Y; Wu, Z M
- Abstract
Chronic exposure to heroin is associated with structural changes in dopaminergic (DA) neurones. The present study examined the effects of a new herbal medicine, U'finer capsule, on the brain corpus striatum and DA systems, comparing pre- and post- treatment in 36 heroin-dependent patients. Neuroimaging studies were performed by using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with 99mTc-TRODAT-1 as radiotracer. The results show that U'finer significantly repaired the damaged bilateral corpus striatum, restoring it to a 'panda eye' shape, analogous in size and shape to that of the healthy volunteers. DA transporter (DAT) function in the bilateral corpus striatum was restored to a normal state after recovery from neurotoxic insult. These findings suggest that U'finer is a reliable herbal medicine in the treatment of heroin dependency.
- Publication
Addiction biology, 2005, Vol 10, Issue 3, p293
- ISSN
1355-6215
- Publication type
Journal Article
- DOI
10.1080/13556210500222456