Research progress on pathogenesis and treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy / 药学学报

Epilepsy is a chronic nervous system disease, which affects more than 70 million people all over the world. Although more than 30 kinds of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) have been on the market, about one third of the patients with epilepsy fail to respond to medical treatment, who become drug-resistant epilepsy patients. Identifying the mechanism and developing effective treatment methods for drug-resistant epilepsy have become a hot area in the field of epilepsy research. This review discussed resent advance on the pathogenesis of drug-resistant epilepsy from the transporter hypothesis, neural network hypothesis and target hypothesis, and we also summarized the existing potential treatment methods and research progress of drug-resistant epilepsy, such as surgical resection, deep brain stimulation, ketogenic diet, precise treatment, and traditional Chinese medicine treatment. Our review may provide useful clues for the mechanisms research and clinical treatments of drug-resistant epilepsy.

Clinical analysis of 4 acute ischemic stroke children treated with endovascular thrombectomy / 中华儿科杂志

Objective: To assess the feasibility of endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) in children. Methods: Clinical data and follow-up information of 4 AIS children who received EVT in the Department of Intervention & Hemangioma at the Children's Hospital of the Capital Institute of Pediatrics from December 2020 to June 2021 were collected retrospectively. The vascular recanalization after EVT was assessed by the modified thrombolysis in cerebral infarction (mTICI) score. Efficacy outcomes were assessed with initial and postprocedural Pediatric National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (PedNIHSS) score, and the modified Rankin scale (mRS) score at 3 and 6 months after treatment. Safety assessments included perioperative complications and intracranial hemorrhage post-treatment. Results: A total of 5 EVT treatment were performed on 4 children with AIS, of whom 3 were male. The age of onset was 4.6, 13.8, 7.8, 8.0, 8.9 years, respectively. The time from symptom onset to initiation of EVT was 19.0, 25.0, 22.0, 4.0, 16.5 hours, respectively and all patients achieved successful recanalization of the vessel after EVT (mTICI≥2b). The PedNIHSS score was 39, 14, 25, 39, 24 before treatment and decreased to 8, 1, 12, 39, 5 at discharge. All the procedures were performed with no perioperative complications. Only 1 patient with congenital heart disease had a recurrent AIS with malignant brain oedema and brain hernia. Although the occluded vessels were successfully recanalized,the symptoms were not improved and this patient died after treatment abandonment. The other 3 patients achieved good recovery at 6 months postoperatively. The mRS score of 3 patients was 3, 1, 2 at 3 months after EVT and decreased to 2, 1, 1 at 6 months. Conclusion: EVT treatment may be feasible and safe for pediatric AIS due to large vessel occlusion even when the treatment was initiated 6 hours post stroke, but children with heart disease may have a dismal prognosis.

Safety considerations for withdrawal of nucleos(t)ide analogues in patients with chronic hepatitis B: First, do no harm

Nucleos(t)ide analogues (NA) are widely used to treat hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, but they cannot eradicate the virus and treatment duration can be lifelong if the endpoint is set at seroclearance of the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). As an alternative strategy, finite NA therapy without the prerequisite of HBsAg seroclearance has been proposed to allow treatment cessation in patients with sustained undetectable HBV viremia for two to three years. However, reactivation of viral replication almost always follows NA withdrawal. Whereas HBV reactivation might facilitate HBsAg seroclearance in some, it could lead to serious acute flare-ups in a certain proportion of patients. Occurrence and consequences of NA withdrawal flares are complicated with various factors involving the virus, host, and treatment. Accurate risk prediction for severe flares following NA cessation is essential to ensure patient safety. The risks of life-threatening flares in patients who discontinued NA according to the stopping rules of current guidelines or local reimbursement policies have recently been quantitatively estimated in large-scale studies, which also provided empirical evidence to help identify vulnerable patients at risk of devastating outcomes. Moreover, risk predictors were further explored and validated to hopefully aid in patient selection and management. In this narrative review with a focus on patient safety, we summarize and discuss current literature on the incidence of severe flares following NA cessation, risk stratification for candidate selection, rules of posttreatment monitoring, and indications for treatment resumption. We also share our thoughts on the limitations of existing knowledge and suggestions for future research.

Reconstruction of the calcaneocuboid and calcaneonavicular ligaments with the autologous semitendinosus in patients with chronic bifurcate ligament injury / 中华创伤骨科杂志

Objective:To explore the clinical efficacy of reconstructing the calcaneocuboid and calcaneonavicular ligaments with the autologous semitendinosus for chronic bifurcate ligament injury.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of 12 patients with chronic bifurcate ligament injury who had been treated by anatomical reconstruction with the autologous semitendinosus from March 2018 to January 2021 at Department of Foot and Ankle Surgery, The Fourth Hospital of Wuhan. There were 4 males and 8 females with an age of (41.4±9.6) years. Seven left and 5 right feet were affected; the time from injury to surgery was (9.3±4.3) months. The surgical efficacy was evaluated based on anteroposterior and lateral imaging assessments of foot weight-bearing at 6 months postoperation, comparison of the visual analogue scale (VAS) pain scores for foot weight-bearing walking and the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) midfoot scores between preoperation and the last follow-up, stress test for stability of the transverse tarsal joint, recovery of movement, and occurrence of complications.Results:All patients were followed up for (18.4±4.0) months. Their sports activities were completely resumed after postoperative (6.8±3.9) months. Primary wound healing was achieved in all patients. One patient suffered from cutaneous nerve lesion and skin numbness, the symptoms of which disappeared after conservative treatment. Double harmonic curves were observed on the anteroposterior and lateral imaging films of foot weight-bearing in all patients. The spaces in the calcaneocuboid and the calcaneonavicular joints were normal, the articular positions were matched, and the calcaneocuboid joint was stable without recurrence or worsening of displacement. The VAS decreased significantly from preoperative 6.5 (5.6, 7.0) to 0.0 (0.0, 1.0) at the last follow-up, and the AOFAS mid-foot score increased significantly from preoperative (55.6±8.8) points to (92.3±2.6) points at the last follow-up ( P<0.05). The stress test for the stability of the transverse tarsal joint showed joint stability. Conclusion:Reconstruction of the calcaneocuboid and calcaneonavicular ligaments using the autologous semitendinosus is an alternative treatment for patients with chronic bifurcate ligament injury, because it can restore the stability of the bifurcate ligament and obviously improve the foot and ankle functions with limited postoperative complications.

Interactions between gut microbiota and berberine,a necessary procedure to understand the mechanisms of berberine / 药物分析学报

Berberine(BBR),an isoquinoline alkaloid,has been found in many plants,such as Coptis chinensis Franch and Phellodendron chinense Schneid.Although BBR has a wide spectrum of pharmacological effects,its oral bioavailability is extremely low.In recent years,gut microbiota has emerged as a cynosure to un-derstand the mechanisms of action of herbal compounds.Numerous studies have demonstrated that due to its low bioavailability,BBR can interact with the gut microbiota,thereby exhibiting altered pharma-cological effects.However,no systematic and comprehensive review has summarized these interactions and their corresponding influences on pharmacological effects.Here,we describe the direct interactive relationships between BBR and gut microbiota,including regulation of gut microbiota composition and metabolism by BBR and metabolization of BBR by gut microbiota.In addition,the complex interactions between gut microbiota and BBR as well as the side effects and personalized use of BBR are discussed.Furthermore,we provide our viewpoint on future research directions regarding BBR and gut microbiota.This review not only helps to explain the mechanisms underlying BBR activity but also provides support for the rational use of BBR in clinical practice.

Research advances on biomaterials for the delivery of growth factors to regulate wound repair / 中华烧伤杂志

Wound repair is a highly coordinated and mutually regulated complex process involving various kinds of cells, extracellular matrices and cytokines. A variety of growth factors play an important regulatory role in wound healing, and it is critical to achieve effective delivery and sustained function of growth factors. In recent years, the application of biomaterials in tissue engineering has shown great potential, and the effective delivery of growth factors by biomaterials has attracted increasing attention. Based on this, this paper introduces the mechanism of related growth factors in the process of wound healing, focusing on the recent progress of biomaterial delivery of growth factors to accelerate wound healing, in order to provide new enlightenment for clinical wound treatment.

Analysis of in vitro activity and compatibility of Dunhuang Yifang Dabupi Decoction on gastric cancer based on computer-aided drug design / 药学学报

Based on the research system of computer-aided drug design combined with complex network analysis, the potential mechanism of Dunhuang Dabupi Decoction in preventing and treating gastric cancer (GC) is analyzed, and the scientific connotation of its prescription rules is explored through the efficacy grouping. To study the effect of Dabupi Decoction freeze-dried powder solution on the proliferation activity of gastric cancer cells through cell experiments; the TCMSP and TCMID databases were used to collect the compound components of Dabupi Decoction. Swiss Target Prediction is used to predict potential targets of compounds. DrugBank, GeneCards, TTD, and DisGeNET were used to collect potential targets for gastric cancer. Analyze protein interactions of potential targets through the STRING database. DAVID database was used for KEGG enrichment analysis; Dabupi Decoction was divided into Wenzhong group (dried ginger), Yiqi group (ginseng, licorice, Atractylodes macrocephala), nourishing Yin group (Ophiopogon japonicus, Schisandra) and Jiangni group according to its efficacy characteristics. The inverse group (inula) has 4 functional compatibility groups. Cytoscape was used to construct a network of "medicinal flavor-potential active ingredient-key target" respectively, and the network was used to analyze the scientific connotation of the compatibility of efficacy groups. The Schrödinger software was used to verify the molecular docking of the core components and the core targets. The material basis of the Dabupi Decoction to prevent and treat gastric cancer was discovered through the combination of pattern analysis and combined free energy calculation. The core drug was analyzed from the perspective of dynamics through molecular dynamics simulation. Potential targets and representative potential compounds interact with each other. Cell experiments confirmed that Dabupitang freeze-dried powder solution can down-regulate the mitochondrial membrane potential of AGS gastric cancer cells, block the cell cycle in the G0/G1 phase (P < 0.05), and inhibit its proliferation (P < 0.05). The pathways enriched by the four functional groups contained in Dabupi Decoction are mainly distributed in the body's energy metabolism, inflammation-immune system regulation, and cycle-apoptotic functions. Each module is connected by a common target gene and has its own focus. The results of molecular docking showed that the compounds liquiritigenin, quercetin, kaempferol, isorhamnetin, methylophiopogonanone A, etc. may be the effective multi-target components of Dabupi Decoction. Estrogen receptor 1, androgen receptor, ATP-binding cassette superfamily G member 2, epidermal growth factor receptor, glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta and other targets have good affinity with each potential active compound, which may be a potential target of Dabupi Decoction for preventing and treating gastric cancer. Among them, kaempferol and the drug target EGFR not only have good binding ability, but also have good binding stability. This study is based on computer-aided drug design combined with complex network analysis strategies to initially reveal the material basis and molecular mechanism of Dabupi Decoction in the prevention and treatment of gastric cancer. It also explores the scientific connotation of Dabupi Decoction in the prevention and treatment of gastric cancer with different efficacy groups, and its clinical application provide chemical bioinformatics basis.

Arthroscopic debridement combined with platelet-rich plasma injection for the treatment of Kellgren-Lawrence gradeⅠ-Ⅲ knee osteoarthritis / 中国骨伤

OBJECTIVE@#To explore clinical effect of arthroscopic debridement combined with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection for Kellgren-Lawrence(K-L) gradeⅠ-Ⅲ knee osteoarthritis (KOA) .@*METHODS@#Totally 117 patients with KOA who underwent arthroscopic debridement combined with injection from November 2015 to January 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. According to different injection drugs, the patients were divided into sodium hyaluronate group(group A) and PRP group(group B). In group A, there were 60 patients, including 27 males and 33 females, aged from 49 to 67 years old with an average age of (54.1±4.8) years old;12 patients with gradeⅠ, 23 patients with gradeⅡand 25 patients with grade Ⅲ according to K-L clssification, 2 ml(20 g) sodium hyaluronate was injected into knee joint after intraoperative, 1, 2, 3 weeks after operation for 4 times. In group B, there were 57 patients, including 25 males and 32 females, aged from 47 to 70 years old with an average of (55.8±5.0) years old, 10 patients with gradeⅠ, 20 patients with gradeⅡand 27 patients with grade Ⅲ according to K-L classification, injected 5 ml PRP at the same time. Postoperative complications was recorded between two groups. Postoperative visual analogue scale(VAS) and Lysholm score at 3, 6, 12 months were used to evaluate improvement of knee pain and joint function.@*RESULTS@#All patients were followed up for 12 to 19 months with an average of (14.1±1.6) months. There was no significant difference in postopertaive complications between group A and group B (P>0.05). Postoperative VAS score in group A at 3, 6, 12 months were 3.0±0.8, 2.0±0.8, 2.6±0.9 respectively, and 2.9±0.8, 1.9±0.7, 2.2±0.8 in group B respectively; and no differnece at 3 and 6 months after operation between two groups (P<0.05), while VAS score in group B was higher than group A at 12 months after operation(P<0.05). Postoperative Lysholm score in group A at 1, 6, 12 months (86.6±1.8, 93.1±2.0, 86.7±1.7) were lower than group B(88.9±1.9, 95.0±2.0, 89.0±1.9)(P<0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#Arthroscopic debridement combined with sodium hyaluronate or PRP injection for K-L gradeⅠ-Ⅲ KOA could effectively relieve pain and improve joint function with higher safety in short term, but the medium-long-term effect of PRP injection is stable.

Effective substance and mechanism of Ziziphi Spinosae Semen extract in treatment of insomnia based on serum metabolomics and network pharmacology / 中国中药杂志

This study aims to study the effective substance and mechanism of Ziziphi Spinosae Semen extract in the treatment of insomnia based on serum metabolomics and network pharmacology. The rat insomnia model induced by p-chlorophenylalanine(PCPA) was established. After oral administration of Ziziphi Spinosae Semen extract, the general morphological observation, pentobarbital sodium-induced sleep test, and histopathological evaluation were carried out. The potential biomarkers of the extract in the treatment of insomnia were screened by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry(UHPLC-MS) combined with multivariate analysis, and the related metabolic pathways were further analyzed. The "component-target-pathway" network was constructed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole-Exactive mass spectrometry(UHPLC-Q-Exactive-MS/MS) combined with network pharmacology to explore the effective substances and mechanism of Ziziphi Spinosae Semen in the treatment of insomnia. The results of pentobarbital sodium-induced sleep test and histopathological evaluation(hematoxylin and eosin staining) showed that Ziziphi Spinosae Semen extract had good theraputic effect on insomnia. A total of 21 endogenous biomarkers of Ziziphi Spinosae Semen extract in the treatment of insomnia were screened out by serum metabolomics, and the metabolic pathways of phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, phenylalanine metabolism, and nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism were obtained. A total of 34 chemical constituents were identified by UHPLC-Q-Exactive-MS/MS, including 24 flavonoids, 2 triterpenoid saponins, 4 alkaloids, 2 triterpenoid acids, and 2 fatty acids. The network pharmacological analysis showed that Ziziphi Spinosae Semen mainly acted on target proteins such as dopamine D2 receptor(DRD2), 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 1 A(HTR1 A), and alpha-2 A adrenergic receptor(ADRA2 A) in the treatment of insomnia. It was closely related to neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, serotonergic synapse, and calcium signaling pathway. Magnoflorine, N-nornuciferine, caaverine, oleic acid, palmitic acid, coclaurine, betulinic acid, and ceanothic acid in Ziziphi Spinosae Semen may be potential effective compounds in the treatment of insomnia. This study revealed that Ziziphi Spinosae Semen extract treated insomnia through multiple metabolic pathways and the overall correction of metabolic disorder profile in a multi-component, multi-target, and multi-channel manner. Briefly, this study lays a foundation for further research on the mechanism of Ziziphi Spinosae Semen in treating insomnia and provides support for the development of innovative Chinese drugs for the treatment of insomnia.

Efficacy-related substances of blood-activating and stasis-resolving medicinals derived from Curcuma plants: a review / 中国中药杂志

Derived from Curcuma plants, Curcumae Longae Rhizoma, Curcumae Rhizoma, Wenyujin Rhizoma Concisum, and Curcumae Radix are common blood-activating and stasis-resolving medicinals in clinical practice, which are mainly used to treat amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, chest impediment and heart pain, and rheumatic arthralgia caused by blood stasis block. According to modern research, the typical components in medicinals derived from Curcuma plants, like curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, bisdemethoxycurcumin, curdione, germacrone, curcumol, and β-elemene, have the activities of hemorheology improvement, anti-platelet aggregation, anti-thrombosis, anti-inflammation, anti-tumor, and anti-fibrosis, thereby activating blood and resolving stasis. However, due to the difference in origin, medicinal part, processing, and other aspects, the efficacy and clinical application are different. The efficacy-related substances behind the difference have not yet been systematically studied. Thus, focusing on the efficacy-related substances, this study reviewed the background, efficacy and clinical application, efficacy-related substances, and "prediction-identification-verification" research method of blood-activating and stasis-resolving medicinals derived from Curcuma plants, which is expected to lay a theoretical basis for the future research on the "similarities and differences" of such medicinals based on integrated evidence chain and to guide the scientific and rational application of them in clinical practice.

Postoperative deep vein thrombosis in patients after selective ankle or mid-hindfoot surgery / 中华创伤骨科杂志

Objective:To investigate the prevalence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in patients after selective ankle or mid-hindfoot surgery.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted of the 109 patients with ankle or mid-hindfoot disease who had been treated from January 2018 to December 2019 at Department of Orthopaedics, Wuhan Fourth Hospital. They were 65 males and 44 females, aged from 32 to 74 years (average, 49.0 years). Ultrasonography was performed at preoperative 1 day, postoperative 2 and 6 weeks to determine the occurrence, location and clinical symptoms of DVT. The patients were divided into an early DVT group, a late DVT group and a DVT-free group according to the occurrence and onset time of DVT. The 3 groups were compared in terms of gender, age, body mass index and tourniquet duration.Results:The incidence of postoperative lower limb DVT was 22.9% (25/109). All the thromboses were observed beyond the distal plane of the popliteal vein. 72.0% of the DVT patients were clinically asymptomatic. There was no significant difference in gender, age or body mass index between early DVT group ( n=17), late DVT group ( n=8) and DVT-free group ( n=84) ( P>0.05). The incidence was 68.0% (17/25) for early DVT and 32.0% (8/25) for late DVT. The intraoperative tourniquet duration for the early DVT group [(77.7±12.3) min] was significantly longer than that for the late DVT group [(66.8±11.2) min] and for the DVT-free group [(65.9±10.5) min] ( P<0.05). Conclusions:The majority of postoperative DVTs may be clinically asymptomatic in patients after selective ankle or mid-hindfoot surgery. Although DVT tends to occur within postoperative 2 weeks, its risk may continue after 2 weeks. Increased tourniquet duration may be associated with incidence of early DVT.

Research Progress on Anti-tumor Mechanism of Formononetin / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Formononetin is a kind of plant isoflavones extracted from medicinal herbs such as Trifolium pratense，Astragalus membranaceus and Spatholobi Caulis have shown that formononetin has strong anti-tumor biological activity，and can be used as an anti-tumor drug in the treatment of various malignant tumors. Many studies so far have shown that formononetin can inhibit cell proliferation，induce cell apoptosis，inhibit cell migration and invasion，and induce cell cycle arrest on tumors through a variety of molecular mechanisms and pathways. These antitumor activities can be observed in cells of various tumors such as breast cancer，colorectal cancer，prostate cancer，bladder cancer and lung cancer in trials and animal models. Examples of these effects include triggering the generation of reactive oxygen species （ROS），regulating phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin（PI3K/Akt/mTOR） and Mitogen-activated protein kinases（MAPK） signaling pathways，inhibiting the activation of tyrosine kinase（JAK1 and JAK2 ）and nonreceptor tyrosine kinase（c-Src），and regulating cytokeratin 19（CK19），matrix metalloproteinases（MMP），microRNA-21（miR-21），lamin A/C antibody（Lamin A/C），expression of Cyclin D1 and Cyclin E1. In addition， the anti-tumor effects of formononetin derivatives were reviewed in this paper. By modifying the chemical structure of formononetin，many related derivatives have been obtained. Experimental results have shown that some derivatives of formononetin have stronger anti-tumor activity and lower cytotoxicity，but the related molecular mechanism of action still needs to be explored further in-depth. In conclusion，formononetin and its derivatives may become potential anti-tumor drugs.

Force balance reconstruction of orbicularis oris in correction of unilateral cleft lip deformity / 华西口腔医学杂志

OBJECTIVES@#Short-term outcome evaluation for the correction of unilateral cleft lip deformity with a new technique.@*METHODS@#Forty-four patients with unilateral cleft lip deformity were included in the study and in which the orbicularis oris muscle was reconstructed to achieve the optimal force balance of reconstructed orbicularis oris. The photometric two-dimensional indexes, including the philtrum oblique angle and asymmetry ratios (lip height, lip width, vertical distance from the white roll to the vermilion bottom at the Cupid's bow point, and vertical distance from the Cupid 's bow points to facial midline), were employed to measure and evaluate the outcome.@*RESULTS@#Several indexes showed statistically significant difference, and they included the philtrum oblique angle, asymmetry ratio of the lip height, and asymmetry ratio of the vertical distance from the white roll to the vermilion bottom at Cupid ' s bow points (@*CONCLUSIONS@#The results suggested that the new muscle reconstruction technique can significantly improve the short-term outcome of the correction of unilateral cleft lip deformity.

Short-term nasal symmetry repaired by force-balanced muscular reconstruction technique / 华西口腔医学杂志

OBJECTIVES@#This study aimed to compare the postoperative outcome of the new and classical muscular reconstruction technique combined with nasal internal-fixation method for secondary deformity post unilateral cleft lip repair. A rationale is provided for the further surgical improvement of secondary deformities.@*METHODS@#Sixty patients aged 4-18 years with secondary unilateral cleft lip-nose deformity were involved in this research. The deformities of 28 patients were repaired using the muscular force balance technique through nasal internal fixation method, and 32 were repaired using classical muscular reconstruction technique. Two-dimensional analysis was used to evaluate the nose-lip morphology of pre- and post-operative patients through standardized photographs seven days after surgery.@*RESULTS@#Compared with preoperative nasal morphology in the muscular force balance technique group, the 7-days postoperative results of this group showed the significantly improved short-term outcomes in the correction of columellar deflection, alar rim angle, nasal shape, and the symmetry of alar base width, nostril width, nostril height, alar rim angle (@*CONCLUSIONS@#The new muscular reconstruction technique with nasal internal-fixation method has a significant effect on nasal repair.

Study on quality identification of Curcumae Rhizoma from different origins based on quantitative analysis of appearance color and content of main components / 中国中药杂志

L~*, a~* and b~* values of prepared slices of Curcumae Rhizoma were measured by spectrophotometer. SPSS 21.0 was used for discriminant analysis to establish the color range and mathematical prediction model of prepared slices of Curcumae Rhizoma. The values of L~*, a~* and b~* of kwangsiensis ranged from 58.09-62.40, 4.53-5.66 and 23.61-24.29, while the values of L~*, a~* and b~* of phaeocaulis were between 64.02-70.71,-0.89-4.13 and 44.59-54.52, respectively. The values of L~*, a~* and b~* of wenyujin were 68.55-70.99,-0.11-1.47 and 28.26-32.19, respectively. The mathematical prediction model was proved to be able to realize 100% identification of Curcumae Rhizome of different origins through original and cross validation and external samples validation. A dual wavelength HPLC was established; the contents of 9 sesquiterpenoids and 3 Curcumae Rhizomes were determined simultaneously; and the contents of Curcumae Rhizome of different origins were determined. The results showed that kwangsiensis had higher contents of neocurdione, β-elemene and isocurcumaenol, phaeocaulis curcumin, furadienone, demethoxycurcumin and curcumin; and wenyujin mainly contained curdione, furadienes and guimarone. Pearson correlation analysis on L~*, a~*, b~* value and content of 12 components showed that curcumin, furadienone, demethoxycurcumin and curcumin had a significant positive correlation with b~* value(P<0.01). There was a significant negative correlation between neocurdione, β-elemene and isocurcumaenol and L~* value(P<0.01). Curdione, furadienes and guimarone were significantly correlated with L~* value(P<0.01),indicating that the appearance co-lor of Curcumae Rhizoma could reflect the change of the content of the internal components. This study provided reference for the rapid recognition of Curcumae Rhizoma and the establishment of quality evaluation system.

Research Progress on Lichongtang in Treatment of Uterine Leiomyoma / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Uterine leiomyoma （UL）， the most common benign tumor of the reproductive system in women of childbearing age， is characterized by clinical symptoms such as increased menstrual flow， prolonged menstrual period， breast tenderness，backache， lower abdominal pain and mass in the lower abdomen. With the continuous progress of modern society， the age of women's marriage and childbirth is gradually pushed back， which to a certain extent has led to an increase in the probability of modern women suffering from UL. Relevant literature shows that the incidence of UL is about 70%， and 25%-50% of the patients have clinical symptoms， seriously endangering women's physical health. The prevention and treatment of UL by modern medicine is currently limited to two aspects： drug control of estrogen and progesterone levels and surgical removal. Traditional Chinese medicine（TCM）has shown obvious advantages in improving the clinical symptoms of UL patients， with very broad application prospects as it can regulate body's Qi and blood on the basis of syndrome differentiation， treatment and overall concepts. Lichongtang， as a famous TCM prescription for replenishing Qi， activating blood and removing blood stasis， was created by ZHANG Xi-chun， a famous Chinese medicine doctor in the Qing dynasty， and recorded in the Records of Tradition Chinese and Western Medicine in Combination. It is widely used in the field of gynecological diseases in clinical practice. Studies have shown that Lichongtang is effective in treating UL. Clinical observations show that Lichongtang can significantly relieve the clinical symptoms of UL patients such as prolonged menstrual period， dysmenorrhea， waist and abdomen swelling and irregular vaginal bleeding， with the characteristics of stable curative effect， high safety， less side effect and low recurrence rate. The experimental results show that Lichongtang has a comprehensive regulatory effect on UL through inhibiting the proliferation of UL cells and inducing apoptosis， reducing serum estrogen and progesterone level， regulating the apoptosis pathway of tumor cells， and promoting the degradation of extracellular matrix（ECM）. After retrieval in PubMed， CNKI and other databases， the authors made a review by summarizing the theories， clinical efficacy and action mechanisms of Lichongtang in the treatment of UL， in order to provide reference for the follow-up in-depth study of pharmacological mechanism of Lichongtang and its further clinical application and promotion.

Protective Effect of Modified Danshenyin and Erchentang on Intimal Injury Caused by Carotid Atherosclerosis / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To discuss the clinical efficacy of modified Danshenyin and Erchentang in treating carotid atherosclerosis （CAS）， and the effect on intimal injury. Method:Patients （151 cases） were divided into control group （75 cases） and observation group （76 cases）. Specifically， 69 cases in control finished the treatment （4 cases fell off in follow-up， and 2 cases were eliminated）， and 69 cases in observation group finished the treatment （3 cases fell off in follow-up， and 4 cases were eliminated）. Patients in both group got atorvastatin calcium tablets， 10 mg/time， 1 time/day， and aspirin enteric-coated tablets， 100 mg/time， 1 time/day. Patients in control group got Hedan tablets， 2 tablets/time， 3 times/day. Patients in observation group got modified Danshenyin and Erchentang， 1 dose/day. The treatment lasted for 4 months. Before and after treatment， color Doppler ultrasound of carotid artery was detected， and carotid intima-media thickness （IMT）， plaque number， plaque area， plaque thickness and hemodynamics were recorded. Levels of nitric oxide （NO）， endothelin-1 （ET-1）， von Willebrand factor （vWF）， soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 （sICAM-1）， vascular endothelial growth factor （VEGF）， matrix metalloproteinase-9 （MMP-9）， triglyceride （TG）， total cholesterol （TC）， high-density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL-C）， low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL-C）， whole-blood low-shear viscosity （LBV）， whole-blood high-shear viscosity （HBV）， plasma viscosity （PV）， platelet aggregation rate （PAR）， fibrinogen （FIB）， homocysteine （Hcy）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， IL-10， tumor necrosis factor-<italic>α</italic> （TNF-<italic>α</italic>）， serum superoxide dismutase （SOD）， malondialdehyde （MDA）， oxidized low density lipoprotein （ox LDL） and circulating glutathione peroxidase （GSH-Px） were detected before and after treatment. And the safety was evaluated. Result:After treatment， IMT， number， area and thickness of plaque in observation group were less than those in control group （<italic>P</italic><0.01）. Peak systolic velocity and end diastolic velocity in observation group were higher than those in control group （<italic>P</italic><0.01）， while pulsatility index and resistance index were lower than those in control group （<italic>P</italic><0.01）. And levels of ET-1， vWF， sICAM-1， VEGF， MMP-9， TG， TC， LDL-C， LBV， HBV， PV， PAR， FIB， Hcy， IL-6， TNF-<italic>α</italic>， MDA and ox-LDL were lower than those in control group （<italic>P</italic><0.01）， whereas levels of NO， HDL-C， IL-10， SOD and GSH-Px were higher than those in control group （<italic>P</italic><0.01）. And there was no adverse reaction caused by traditional Chinese medicine. Conclusion:Modified Danshenyin and Erchentang can reduce plaque， improve hemodynamics and hemorheology， and regulate blood lipid metabolism and vascular endothelial factor， with anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidation damages. It can protect vascular intima， and inhibit the occurrence and development of CAS， with a safety in clinical use.

Ethnopharmacology, chemodiversity, and bioactivity of Cephalotaxus medicinal plants / 中国天然药物

Cephalotaxus is the only genus of Cephalotaxaceae family, and its natural resources are declining due to habitat fragmentation, excessive exploitation and destruction. In many areas of China, folk herbal doctors traditionally use Cephalotaxus plants to treat innominate swollen poison, many of which are cancer. Not only among Han people, but also among minority ethnic groups, Cephalotaxus is used to treat various diseases, e.g., cough, internal bleeding and cancer in Miao medicine, bruises, rheumatism and pain in Yao medicine, and ascariasis, hookworm disease, scrofula in She medicine, etc. Medicinal values of some Cephalotaxus species and compounds are acknowledged officially. However, there is a lack of comprehensive review summarizing the ethnomedicinal knowledge of Cephalotaxus, relevant medicinal phytometabolites and their bioactivities. The research progresses in ethnopharmacology, chemodiversity, and bioactivities of Cephalotaxus medicinal plants are reviewed and commented here. Knowledge gaps are pinpointed and future research directions are suggested. Classic medicinal books, folk medicine books, herbal manuals and ethnomedicinal publications were reviewed for the genus Cephalotaxus (Sanjianshan in Chinese). The relevant data about ethnobotany, phytochemistry, and pharmacology were collected as comprehensively as possible from online databases including Scopus, NCBI PubMed, Bing Scholar, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). "Cephalotaxus", and the respective species name were used as keywords in database search. The obtained articles of the past six decades were collated and analyzed. Four Cephalotaxus species are listed in the official medicinal book in China. They are used as ethnomedicines by many ethnic groups such as Miao, Yao, Dong, She and Han. Inspirations are obtained from traditional applications, and Cephalotaxus phytometabolites are developed into anticancer reagents. Cephalotaxine-type alkaloids, homoerythrina-type alkaloids and homoharringtonine (HHT) are abundant in Cephalotaxus, e.g., C. lanceolata, C. fortunei var. alpina, C. griffithii, and C. hainanensis, etc. New methods of alkaloid analysis and purification are continuously developed and applied. Diterpenoids, sesquiterpenoids, flavonoids, lignans, phenolics, and other components are also identified and isolated in various Cephalotaxus species. Alkaloids such as HHT, terpenoids and other compounds have anticancer activities against multiple types of human cancer. Cephalotaxus extracts and compounds showed anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities, immunomodulatory activity, antimicrobial activity and nematotoxicity, antihyperglycemic effect, and bone effect, etc. Drug metabolism and pharmacokinetic studies of Cephalotaxus are increasing. We should continue to collect and sort out folk medicinal knowledge of Cephalotaxus and associated organisms, so as to obtain new enlightenment to translate traditional tips into great therapeutic drugs. Transcriptomics, genomics, metabolomics and proteomics studies can contribute massive information for bioactivity and phytochemistry of Cephalotaxus medicinal plants. We should continue to strengthen the application of state-of-the-art technologies in more Cephalotaxus species and for more useful compounds and pharmacological activities.

Analysis of clinical features and related factors of coronavirus disease 2019 in Shanghai / 上海交通大学学报（医学版）

Objective • To explore the common clinical features of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)-infected local patients in Shanghai and their related influencing factors. Methods • A total of 320 patients admitted to Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center from January to March 2020 and diagnosed as having coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) were selected. Clinical data of the patients were collected to analyze their characteristics. Using the statistical operation formula of R language, the correlation analysis of hospitalization days, days of increased hypersensitive C-reactive protein concentration (allergic days), days of lung CT improvement (CT days), and days required for nucleic acid turning negative with the main clinical manifestations and laboratory data was carried out. The correlation factors affecting the above four variables were analyzed. Results • Among the 320 patients, the proportions of mild type, moderate type, serious type and critical type were 6.25%, 83.44%, 6.88% and 3.44%, respectively; 91.25% of them had a history of exposure to Hubei. The proportions of fever, cough, sputum and fatigue were 79.06%, 46.56%, 21.56% and 15.31%, respectively. Spearman correlation analysis showed that the concentrations of lactate dehydrogenase, interleukin-2(IL-2) and IL-6 were positively correlated with the above four variables, respectively (all P<0.05), albumin concentration was negatively correlated with allergic days (P=0.018), and CD4+ cell count was negatively correlated with CT days and days required for nucleic acid turning negative (both P<0.05). Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis showed that procalcitonin (PCT) concentration was negatively correlated with hospitalization days, CT days and allergic days (both P<0.05), and disease type was positively correlated with hospitalization days, allergic days, CT days and days required for nucleic acid turning negative (all P<0.05). Conclusion • Moderate type is common in the local patients in Shanghai; fever, cough and fatigue are common symptoms, and most of the patients are accompanied by lung CT abnormalities. The therapeutic effect and prognosis of these patients are closely related to disease type, concentrations of PCT and IL-6, as well as CD4+ cell count.

Pharmaceutical resource discovery from traditional medicinal plants: Pharmacophylogeny and pharmacophylogenomics / 中草药·英文版

The worldwide botanical and medicinal culture diversity are astonishing and constitute a Pierian spring for innovative drug R&D. Here, the latest awareness and the perspectives of pharmacophylogeny and pharmacophylogenomics, as well as their expanding utility in botanical drug R&D, are systematically summarized and highlighted. Chemotaxonomy is based on the fact that closely related plants contain the same or similar chemical profiles. Correspondingly, it is better to combine morphological characters, DNA markers and chemical markers in the inference of medicinal plant phylogeny. Medicinal plants within the same phylogenetic groups may have the same or similar therapeutic effects, thus forming the core of pharmacophylogeny. Here we systematically review and comment on the versatile applications of pharmacophylogeny in (1) looking for domestic resources of imported drugs, (2) expanding medicinal plant resources, (3) quality control, identification and expansion of herbal medicines, (4) predicting the chemical constituents or active ingredients of herbal medicine and assisting in the identification and determination of chemical constituents, (5) the search for new drugs sorting out, and (6) summarizing and improving herbal medicine experiences, etc. Such studies should be enhanced within the context of deeper investigations of molecular biology and genomics of traditional medicinal plants, phytometabolites and metabolomics, and ethnomedicine-based pharmacological activity, thus enabling the sustainable conservation and utilization of traditional medicinal resources.