Mutual Information Entropy Analysis of Compatibility of Traditional Chinese Patent Medicines Against Liver Diseases in Chinese Pharmacopoeia（2020 Edition） / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo investigate the compatibility rule of traditional Chinese patent medicines （TCPMs） against liver diseases through network analysis. MethodWith “liver” as the search term， TCPMs against liver diseases were retrieved from volume Ⅰ of Chinese Pharmacopoeia （2020 edition）， and the basic information of them was collected. TCPMs with same Chinese medicinal materials （CMMs）， usage， and indications， but different dosage forms， were unified as one formula. Mutual information entropy （MIE） of CMM couples was calculated to quantify the relationship between them， and the top 25% CMM pairs in MIE were used to construct the compatibility network， with CMM as node and the relationship between CMM pairs as the edge. Key CMM and frequently used CMM combinations were identified based on node centrality and cluster analysis， respectively. The indications of TCPMs related to the CMMs in clusters were recorded. Cytoscape 3.6.1 was employed for visualization and topology analysis of the compatibility network. ResultA total of 179 TCPMs， involving 428 CMMs， were retrieved. Angelicae Sinensis Radix， Paeoniae Radix Alba， and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma were identified as key CMMs with high frequency， and Cuscutae Semen-Lycii Fructus， Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium-Cyperi Rhizoma， and Ecliptae Herba-Ligustri Lucidi Fructus combinations had high MIE. Furthermore， the CMMs were clustered into ten groups corresponding to different diseases which， however， all belonged to digestive diseases. ConclusionThis study unveils potential CMM pairs and common CMM combinations against liver diseases， which can serve as a reference for revealing compatibility rules of CMMs and research and development of Chinese medicine.

Mechanism study on preventive and curative effects of buyang huanwu decoction in Qi deficiency and blood stasis diseases based on network analysis / 中国中药杂志

In this study, researchers adopted the network analysis method to study Buyang Huanwu decoction at three levels, namely chemical ingredients, targets and diseases, and discovered the potential effect of Buyang Huanwu decoction in cancer treatment. Besides, they analyzed the "target-target" network of Buyang Huanwu decoction based on diseases, calculated four network indexes, namely node centrality, closeness centrality, betweenness centrality and eigenvector centrality for a comprehensive evaluation on the importance and significance of each target in the network. Afterwards, key targets of Buyang Huanwu decoction were excavated to obtain two important targets--COX-2 and PPAR-gamma, which may be important targets involved in the qi deficiency and blood stasis diseases. Meanwhile, the two targets were the basis to build the core network of "chemical component-target-disease" of Buyang Huanwu decoction, which provided reference for further studies on the effect of Buyang Huanwu decoction in treating qi deficiency and blood stasis diseases. According to the study, the network analysis method was helpful to excavate potential targets Buyang Huanwu decoction in treating qi deficiency and blood stasis diseases, and could provide methodological reference for revealing the mechanism of Buyang Huanwu decoction at multiple levels, with a guiding significance for interpreting mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicinal formulae and developing new drugs.

Osteoarthritis of knee joint treated with acupuncture and moxibustion / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare the clinical efficacy of osteoarthritis of knee joint treated by acupuncture and moxibustion and simple acupuncture.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixty-two cases were randomized into an observation group (32 cases) and a control group (30 cases). In the observation group, acupuncture and non-scarring moxibustion were applied. Acupuncture was applied on the local acupoints of knee and moxibustion was performed on Shenshu (BL 23) and Xuehai (SP 10). In the control group, only acupuncture was adopted. The clinical efficacy was observed after 2 courses of treatment. Lysholm knee joint motor function scale, visual analogue scale (VAS) and WHO quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF) were used for the assessment of scores before and after treatment and the statistical analysis of clinical efficacy.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The total effective rate (93.8%, 30/32) in the observation group was superior to that (87.7%, 26/30) in the control group (P < 0.05). The scores in Lysholm knee joint motor function scale and VAS were improved after treatment compared with those before treatment in two groups (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). The degree of improvement in the observation group was superior to that in the control group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). There was no statistical significance in the scores of WHOQOL-BREF before and after treatment in two groups as well as in intra-group comparison (all P > 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Acupuncture and moxibustion in combination achieve the definite clinical efficacy on osteoarthritis of knee joint and this therapy is superior to simple acupuncture in the improvement of motor function of knee joint and the alleviation of pain.</p>

Therapeutic effect of electroacupuncture combined with medicine on acute rheumatoid arthritis at active stage / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore a treatment program for increasing therapeutic effect on rheumatoid arthritis at active stage.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>One hundred and forty-six cases were randomly divided into treatment group (n = 74) and medicine control group (n = 72). The treatment group were treated by electroacupuncture at Quchi (LI 11), Hegu (LI 4), Yanglingquan (GB 34), etc. , combined with meloxicam, sulfasalazine and MTX. The control group treated by simple the Western medicines. Their therapeutic effects were compared.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The effective rate was 79.73% in the treatment group and 51.39% in the control group with a significant difference between the two groups (P< 0. 05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Electroacupuncture combined with medicine has a better therapeutic effect than the simple medicine on rheumatoid arthritis at active stage.</p>