Objective: To investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms of some Chinese herbs on apoptosis of thyrocytes in Graves' disease.
Methods: Thirteen patients of Graves' disease were treated by anti-thyroid drugs and Chinese herbs were added in the therapeutic period for 2-10 weeks. Thyroid tissue of patient was sucked by percutaneous aspiration before and after adding Chinese herbs for observing the cellular morphology by fast red tablet staining, monitoring the cell apoptotic ratio by flow cytometry and terminal uridine deoxynucleotidyl end labelling (TUNEL) method to observe the effect of anti-thyroid drugs combined with Chinese herbs on Graves' disease.
Results: Compared with that treated with anti-thyroid drugs alone, after the combined therapy, the size of thyroid decreased significantly, P < 0.01. Typical apoptosis appearance, such as vacuolated cell, marginal nuclei, chromatin condensation and nuclear fragmentation, could be seen under light microscopy. The apoptotic rate before and after adding Chinese herbs was (2.11 +/- 1.78)% and (18.66 +/- 20.01)% respectively (P < 0.01). TUNEL positive cells were detectable for up to 2-20 weeks after Chinese herbal treatment.
Conclusion: Some Chinese herbs could induce cell apoptosis when used in combination with antithyroid drugs in treating Graves' disease.