Effects of xuebijing on nitric oxide and VEGF-A in exhaled breath condensate of patients with ALI/ARDS / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the clinical significance of changes of nitric oxide (NO) and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) of patients with acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ALI/ARDS) after they were treated by Xuebijing (XBJ), and to evaluate the effect of the EBC detection technology.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Totally 32 ALI/ARDS patients receiving mechanical ventilation at intensive care unit (ICU) were randomly assigned to the treatment group and the control group, 16 cases in each group. Patients in the control group were treated by routine therapy, while those in the treatment group were treated by routine therapy + XBJ. The therapeutic course for all was 5 days. The EBC sample was collected by improved EcoScreen condenser within 24 h after confirmed diagnosis of ALI/ARDS and on the fifth day of medication. The levels of NO and VEGF-A were measured by EIA in EBC and serum. The changes of NO and VEGF-A in EBC were observed before and after treatment.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with before treatment, the level of NO in EBC and serum decreased and VEGF-A increased after treatment, showing statistical difference (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). After treatment the level of NO in EBC and serum was lower in the treatment group than in the control group (P < 0.05). The VEGF-A in EBC was higher in the treatment group than in the control group (P < 0.05). There was no statistical difference in the serum VEGF-A level between the two groups (P > 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>XBJ was an effective therapeutic drug capable to control the in vivo inflammation reaction in patients with ALI/ARDS. The detection of changes of VEGF-A and NO levels by EBC could judge the inflammatory reaction degree in ALI/ARDS patients, and help evaluating the therapeutic effect.</p>

Clinical observation on treatment of 10 patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy by gullong tongluo capsule combined with prednisone / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe and evaluate objectively the clinical effect of Guilong Tongluo Capsule (GTC) in treating chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixty CIDP patients were equally randomized into two groups. The treated group was administered with GTC and prednisone, while the control group with prednisone alone. Changes before and after 3-month treatment in terms of muscle force, functional and sensory disturbance of extremities, as well as scoring by Activity of Daily Living Scale (ADL) and electromyogram (EMG) for nerve conduction velocity were observed and compared.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The total effective rate gained in the treated group and the control group was 90.0% (27/30) and 70.0% (21/30) respectively, showing significant difference between them (chi2 = 14.82, P < 0.01). The improvement in the treated group was superior to the control group in muscle force of lower limb, motive and sensory function of extremities, ADL scores and motive function of ulnar nerve (P < 0.05, P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The curative effect of GTC combined with prednisone in treating CIDP was better than that of prednisone alone.</p>