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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Pediatric Neurology
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fped.2025.1549103
Clinical Efficacy and Effect on Neurotransmitter Levels of Shaoma Zhijing Granules in Children with Tic Disorders
Provisionally accepted- 1 Wuxi Children’s Hospital, Wuxi, China
- 2 Wuxi No.2 People's Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China
Objective: To investigate the clinical efficacy of Shaoma Zhijing Granules in treating pediatric tic disorders and its impact on plasma neurotransmitter levels.Methods: Eighty pediatric patients with tic disorders were randomly divided into the Shaoma Zhijing group (40 cases) and the Tiapride group (40 cases). The Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) scores, clinical efficacy, and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome evaluations were compared at baseline, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks after treatment. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was used to analyze the changes in plasma neurotransmitter levels before and after treatment. Results: Compared with baseline, both groups showed a decrease in YGTSS scores and TCM syndrome scores at 4 weeks and 8 weeks after treatment (P<0.05). No statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups (P>0.05).The effective rates were 90% for the Shaoma Zhijing group and 80% for the Tiapride group, with the incidence of adverse reactions being 2.5% and 15%, respectively. After 8 weeks, serum levels of glutamic acid (Glu), aspartic acid (Asp), dopamine (DA), norepinephrine (NE), and epinephrine (E) in both groups were significantly lower than baseline (P<0.05), while gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels were significantly higher (P<0.05). Significant differences were also observed between the two groups in DA, NE, E, and GABA levels after treatment (P<0.05). Conclusion: Shaoma Zhijing Granules demonstrate significant clinical efficacy and good safety in treating pediatric tic disorders. They effectively improve symptoms, thereby contributing to the enrichment of the TCM diagnostic and treatment system for pediatric tic disorders.
Keywords: Tic Disorders, Shaoma Zhijing Granules, Tiapride, clinical efficacy, neurotransmitters
Received: 20 Dec 2024; Accepted: 31 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Jing, Hua, Zhang, Wang and Fan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Yanping Wang, Wuxi Children’s Hospital, Wuxi, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.