Stability is the important feature of the control system. Stability exists extensively in the biological systems such as different cell types during the process of individual development, new biological properties formed under the environment and/or diet factors, drug addition, long-term memory formation, and so on. The underlying mechanisms generally include epigenetically modification, the emergence of certain substance with long half life, the formation of positive feedback loop, and the activation of stem cells. Introduction of stability into researches of Chinese medicine syndrome is essentially to explore the mechanisms of quantitative changes into the qualitative alternation. It is also helpful for us to choose an appropriate time window of animal models for Chinese syndrome and to consider what are the core effects of Chinese materia medica in improving syndrome. The stability not only meets the features of Chinese medicine theories, but also agrees with the progress of modern systems theory and biology. We hope it could promote studies on Chinese medicine syndrome.
Allostasis ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Research

OBJECTIVE: Staging of psychiatric disorders is gaining momentum and the purpose of this review is to examine whether major mood disorders can be defined according to stages. METHODS: In April 2018 the PubMed electronic data base was scrutinized by a combination of various search terms like “major depressive disorder and staging,”“bipolar disorder and neuroprogression,” etc. To incorporate the latest findings the search was limited to the last 10 years. Both original and review articles were examined by reading the abstracts, and papers which were found to be particularly applicable were read in full and their reference lists were also consulted. RESULTS: A significant increase occurred in the number of papers published on the topic of staging of mood disorders. Staging formats were found for both major mood disorders, with the caveat that many more articles were discovered for bipolar disorder. Current evidence points to allostatic load and neuroprogression as the basis for staging of mood disorders. CONCLUSION: Principal affective illnesses may be characterized by distinct stages, for instance early, intermediate and late. These phases inform the management so that clinicians should incorporate the staging schema into everyday practice and implement treatment strategies according to the phase of the illness.
Allostasis ; Bipolar Disorder ; Depressive Disorder ; Depressive Disorder, Major ; Mood Disorders*

Bipolar disorder is manifested as severe dysregulation of mood with recurrent manic and major depressive episodes. It is associated with psychiatric and medical comorbidities, inadequate response to currently available pharmacological agents and a progressively deteriorating course in many patients. The index episode is often depressive in nature, while the first manic or hypomanic episode may occur several years later in the course of the disorder causing delay in diagnosis and use of inappropriate treatment strategies. Staging has been used to great advantage in other branches of medicine like cardiology and oncology. There is growing realization that major mental disorders are fundamentally progressive, with simpler treatment requirements and better prognosis during initial stages of the illness. Defining these conditions into clinically applicable stages not only helps in better understanding the trajectory of a particular disorder, but also assists in management. Patients with a chronic, recalcitrant condition like bipolar disorder are likely to greatly benefit from this approach. If the illness is correctly identified early in its course, proper treatment can be instigated arresting progression to latter phases which are associated with myriad complications in the biopsychosocial realm. With these considerations, a search of the MEDLINE data base was conducted to seek out literature pertaining to staging models in bipolar disorder. A thorough scrutiny of the existing research work revealed that a number of investigators have endeavored to stage define bipolar disorder. This paper outlines staging proposals for bipolar disorder which have the greatest supporting evidence in the literature.
Allostasis ; Biomarkers ; Bipolar Disorder* ; Cardiology ; Comorbidity ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Mental Disorders ; Prognosis ; Research Personnel

Allostasis ; physiology ; Chronic Disease ; General Adaptation Syndrome ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Stress, Psychological ; physiopathology

Neuroinflammation is one of important allostatic loads contributory to the various psychiatric illness. It is mediated mainly by glial cells, which produce both proinflammatory and antiinflammatory cytokines, and the balance of them determines the inflammatory process in the central nervous system. S100 calcium-binding protein B, which is used as an inflammatory marker is also released by glial cells. In the molecular level, oxidative stress contributes to the neuroinflammation. Their disturbances have been revealed in the psychiatric illness and related with the dysregulation of the glutamatergic and monoaminergic systems. There is a possibility to use them as disease markers. The approach for inflammation using antiinflammatory drugs and antioxidants could be connected to the development of disease-modifying treatments. Also, a searching examination about specific subtypes who are vulnerable to inflammation in the patients is required to confirm their efficacy clearly.
Allostasis ; Antioxidants ; Central Nervous System ; Cytokines ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Neuroglia ; Oxidative Stress

BACKGROUND: Allostatic load (AL) measures overall physiological wear and tear on one's body, as a preclinical marker of pathophysiologic processes that precede the onset of disease. We studied the association of dietary habits with AL. METHODS: Consecutive patients visiting a tertiary hospital Health Promotion Center from September 2009 to February 2010, older than 20 years with metabolic syndrome were selected for study (n = 204). By multivariable linear regression analysis, we investigated the association of various dietary habits evaluated by questionnaires. RESULTS: In male, multivariable linear regression showed a significant negative association between fat preference and AL with BMI > or = 30 (1st quartile [Q] vs. 2Q: beta = -3.71; 95% confidence interval [CI], -6.26 to -1.16), a significant negative association between salt preference and AL with BMI 25-30 (beta = -1.36; 95% CI, -2.46 to -0.26), a negative association between appetite control and AL with BMI < 25 (1Q vs. 3Q: beta = -1.54; 95% CI, -3.00 to -0.096), a significant positive association between appetite control and AL with BMI 25-30 (1Q vs. 3Q: beta = 1.30; 95% CI, 0.12 to 2.48), and a significant positive association between eating in response to food cues and AL in males with BMI 25-30 (1Q vs. 4Q: beta = 1.09; 95% CI, 0.020 to 2.15). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that metabolic syndrome patients should be discouraged from eating fat and eating in response to food cues, and should be educated about nutrition and balanced diet.
Allostasis ; Appetite ; Cues ; Diet ; Eating ; Food Habits ; Food Preferences ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Linear Models ; Male ; Tertiary Care Centers

Eurycoma longifolia (EL) has been well recognized as a booster of male sexual health. Over the past few decades, numerous in vivo animal studies and human clinical trials have been conducted across the globe to explore the promising role of EL in managing various male sexual disorders, which include erectile dysfunction, male infertility, low libido, and downregulated testosterone levels. The aim of the present review is to analyze and summarize the literature on human clinical trials which revealed the clinical significance and therapeutic feasibility of EL in improving male sexual health. This systematic review is focused on the following databases: Medline, Wiley Online Library, BioMed Central, Hindawi, Web of Knowledge, PubMed Central and Google Scholar, using search terms such as "Eurycoma longifolia", "EL", "Tongkat Ali", "male sexual health", "sexual infertility", "erectile dysfunction", "male libido", and "testosterone levels". Notably, only human clinical studies published between 2000 and 2014 were selected and thoroughly reviewed for relevant citations. Out of 150 articles, 11 met the inclusion criteria. The majority of articles included were randomized placebo-controlled trials, multiple cohort studies, or pilot trials. All these studies demonstrated considerable effects of EL on male sexual health disorders. Among them, 7 studies revealed remarkable association between the use of EL and the efficacy in the treatment of male sexual disorders, and remaining 4 studies failed to demonstrate sufficient effects on male sexual health. In summary, there is convincing evidence for the prominence of EL in improving the male sexual health. The review also substantiates the use of current methodology in the development of novel and more rationale natural herbal medicines for the management of male sexual disorders.
Allostasis ; drug effects ; Animals ; Eurycoma ; Humans ; Male ; Phytotherapy ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Reproductive Health ; Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological ; prevention & control

Inflammation is an immune response engaged with the reciprocal interactions among the neural, endocrine and immune system. From this psychoneuroimmunological view, inflammation is one of important allostatic loads contributory to depression. Sickness behaviors in the inflammatory state share many parts of depressive symptoms and patients treated with cytokines for various illnesses are at increased risk of developing depression. The dysfunctions of cytokines and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis have been widely investigated to find out inflammatory responses. Inflammatory mediators such as cytokines, glucocorticoid and C-reactive protein affect the etiopathogenesis of depression via altered monoamine and glutamate neurotransmission, glucocorticoid receptor resistance and neurogenesis. Although inflammation is subtle and not easy to be detected in the wide population, it is basal pathophysiology and plays an important role at least to the vulnerable patients. From this perspectives, inflammatory markers may be useful in the diagnosis and prediction of treatment response, leading to the possibility of tailored treatments. Understanding depression as a kind of inflammatory disease would provide new opportunities for the psychiatry beyond monoamine theory.
Allostasis ; Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; C-Reactive Protein ; Cytokines ; Depression ; Glutamic Acid ; Humans ; Illness Behavior ; Immune System ; Inflammation ; Neurogenesis ; Psychoneuroimmunology ; Receptors, Glucocorticoid ; Synaptic Transmission