title: Neuroimaging studies of brain corpus striatum changes among heroin-dependent patients treated with herbal medicine, U'finer capsule.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Shenzhen Hospital, Peking University, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Z M
authors.initials: ZM
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006556:Heroin Dependence / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008954:Models, Biological; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012038:Regeneration / Q000502:physiology; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts; C507667:U'finer; D004298:Dopamine