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The Effects of Puerarin on Insulin Resistance in Elderly Patients with Hypertension abstracted & translated by Keywords: Chinese medicine, Chinese herbal medicine, hypertension, insulin resistance, puerarin Yu Jian published an article titled, “A Study of the Effects of Puerarin on Insulin Resistance in the Elderly with Hypertension,” in Shan Xi Zhong Yi (Shanxi Chinese Medicine), #6, 2001, p. 46-47. Cohort description: In this study, there were 32 men and 28 women, all of whom were seen as in-patients. The youngest patient was 61 and the oldest was 78 years of age, with a median age of 66.2 ± 5.9 years. None of these had concomitant heart, kidney, or liver disease. These 60 patients were divided into two groups: a treatment group of 35 patients and a comparison group of 25 patients. In terms of sex, age, and hypertension, there was no marked statistical difference between these two groups (P , 0.05). Treatment method: Members of both groups continued with their original antihypertension medicine daily life activities. In addition, the patients in the treatment group received 500mg of Ge Gen Su Zhu She Ye (Puerarin Injectible Fluid) in 250ml of saline solution intravenously one time per day. Two continuous months of treatment equaled one course, and both groups received one such course of treatment. A number of various parameters were studied before and after treatment. These included: blood pressure, fasting blood glucose (FBG), GhbA1c, insulin sensitivity index (ISI), total cholesterol, triglycerides, low density lipids (LDL), high density lipids (HDL), etc. Treatment outcomes: After two months, blood pressure, total cholesterol, low density lipids, triglycerides, and indeces of blood rheology all dropped remarkably in the treatment group from before to after treatment (P + 0.05-0.01) and the insulin sensitivity index increased significantly (P + 0.05). There were no significant changes in these values in the comparison group (P , 0.05). For instance, mean ISI went from -2.07 ± 0.45 before treatment to -1.76 ± 0.40 after treatment. This index was measured by multiplying the FBG (mmol/L) times fasting serum insulin (mU/L). In addition, there were significant differences in the mean changes in all measured indeces between the treatment and comparison groups (P + 0.05-0.01). Therefore, the conclusion was drawn that injectible puerarin has a good effect on reducing insulin sensitivity in elderly patients with hypertension. Copyright © Blue Poppy Press, 2002. All rights reserved. For more information, see Bob Flaws, Lynn Kuchinski & Robert Casañas’s The Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus with Chinese Medicine available from Blue Poppy Press. |
