OBJECTIVETo study the effects of Jing'an Oral Liquid (JOL) on the central neurotransmitters of multiple tics (MT) children.

METHODSSixty MT children patients were randomly assigned to the treatment group and the control group, 30 cases in each group. Another 30 healthy children were recruited as the health group. JOL and Tiapride Tablet (TT) was respectively given to patients in the treatment group and the control group. The treatment course was 2 months. The levels of central neurotransmitters [dopamine (DA), homovanillic acid (HVA), 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), norepinephrine (NE), glutamic acid (GLU), aspartate (ASP), gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)] were measured using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) before and after treatment, and compared with the health group.

RESULTSCompared with the health group, the levels of 5-HT, HVA, GLU, and ASP significantly increased in the treatment group and the control group before treatment (P < 0.05), GABA significantly decreased (P < 0.05). Compared with before treatment in the same group, the levels 5-HT, HVA, and GLU significantly decreased in the treatment group (P < 0.05), while the levels of NE and GABA significantly increased (P < 0.05). The levels of DA, 5-HT, GLU, and ASP significantly decreased, while the levels of NE ang GABA significantly increased in the control group, showing statistical difference (P < 0.05). There was no statistical difference in each index between the treatment group and the control group before and after treatment (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS(1) The imbalance of a variety of monoamines and amino acid neurotransmitters can lead to MT, especially in the changes of 5-HT, HVA, GLU, ASP, and GABA. (2) JOL can significantly reduce the levels of 5-HT, HVA, and GLU, and significantly increase the levels of NE and GABA, which might be its pharmacodynamic mechanisms for treating MT.