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Huatan Jiangzhuo decoction (HJD) is a combination of six traditional Chinese medicines that were used for lipid metabolism-related disorders, but its efficacy and underlying mechanisms have not been explored by modern research strategies. This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic role of HJD in determining the transcriptome level. Hyperlipidemia model was established by feeding Sprague-Dawley rats with high-fat diet. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected by high-through transcriptome sequencing, followed by gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis. The total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) levels in hyperlipidemia model rats were significantly increased, whereas high-density lipoprotein (HDL) concentration decreased when compared to normal rats, and HJD significantly downregulated TC concentrations and liver coefficient in the hyperlipidemia rats. Histology staining showed that HDJ greatly recovered the lipid accumulation in rat hepatic stellate cells and aortic arch vascular wall thickness of hyperlipidemia rats. One thousand nine hundred and thirty-six DEGs were identified in the HJD-treated hyperlipidemia rats, which were associated with various biological processes and signaling pathways such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors, AMP-activated Protein Kinase , and insulin signaling pathways. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction further confirmed the downregulated expression of cholesterol 7-α-hydroxylase(CYP7A1), liver orphan receptor(LXRα),peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma(PPARγ),andSterol Response Element-Binding Protein 1c(SREBP1c) genes in hyperlipidemia rats treated with HJD. Our data first elucidated the gene expression profile of high-fat diet-induced hyperlipidemia in rats after HJD treatment, and lipid metabolism-related genes (CYP7A1, LXRα, PPARγ, and SREBP1c) may be potentially biomarkers for HJD-alleviated hyperlipidemia.
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Objective: To explore the laws of core symptom and traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) prescription in treatment of the Yin deficiency syndrome of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), in order to provide the objective basis for the treatment of SLE with TCM based on complex network. Method: Complex network analysis method was used to retrospectively study 322 TCM prescriptions collected from the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine between January 2011 and May 2017 and 134 literatures about treatment of SLE with TCM through computer retrieval. The topological property parameters of the complex network were calculated, and used to analyze the structure of the core network and the compatibility rule of symptom and TCM. Then the core syndrome, herbs, compatibility rules and characteristics of commonly used prescriptions for SLE were analyzed. Result: The results of analysis of complex network showed that the core TCM herbs for Yin deficiency syndrome of SLE mainly included Rehmanniae Radix, Moutan Cortex, Paeoniae Radix Rubra, Anemarrhenae Rhizoma, Scutellariae Radix, Artemisiae Annuae Herba, Cornt Fructus, Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix, Trionycis Carapax, Ligustri Lucidi Fructus, Paeoniae Radix Alba, Poria, Alismatis Rhizoma, Coicis Semen, Dioscoreae Rhizoma, Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, Pinelliae Rhizoma.Core prescriptions included Qinghao Biejia Tang and Liuwei Dihuang Wan. Core syndromes included fatigue, poor sleep, anorexia, low fever, five upset heat, night sweats, dizziness, rash, skin erythema, facial red butterfly erythema, dark red rash, alopecia, weak waist and knees, joint pain, muscle pain, tinnitus, thirst, sore throat, red tongue, tongue with less fur, and thready and rapid pulse. Compared with the diagnostic criteria of the syndrome, the core symptoms included some new common clinical symptoms, such as poor sleep, anorexia, facial red butterfly erythema, dark red rash. Conclusion: The main pathogenesis of SLE is Yin deficiency and blood heat, so the treatment should be nourishing Yin and generating body fluid, removing pathogenic heat from blood and clearing deficient heat. In this study, the results of clinical retrospective review and computer retrieval by the complex network analysis method were basically consistent with the clinical application. It can be used as a reference for the clinical syndrome differentiation and treatment of Yin deficiency syndrome of SLE.
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BACKGROUND@#Phlegm and blood stasis syndrome (PBSS) is one of the main syndromes in coronary heart disease (CHD). Syndromes of Chinese medicine (CM) are lack of quantitative and easy-implementation diagnosis standards. To quantify and standardize the diagnosis of PBSS, scales are usually applied.@*OBJECTIVE@#To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of CM diagnosis scale of PBSS in CHD.@*METHODS@#Six hundred patients with stable angina pectoris of CHD, 300 in case group and 300 in control group, will be recruited from 5 hospitals across China. Diagnosis from 2 experts will be considered as the "gold standard". The study design consists of 2 phases: pilot test is used to evaluate the reliability and validity, and diagnostic test is used to assess the diagnostic accuracy of the scale, including sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratio and area under the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve.@*DISCUSSION@#This study will evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of CM diagnosis scale of PBSS in CHD. The consensus of 2 experts may not be ideal as a "gold standard", and itself still requires further study. (No. ChiCTR-OOC-15006599).
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<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To assess the methodological quality of systematic reviews and meta-analyses regarding acupuncture intervention for stroke and the primary studies within them.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Two researchers searched PubMed, Cumulative index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Embase, ISI Web of Knowledge, Cochrane, Allied and Complementary Medicine, Ovid Medline, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang and Traditional Chinese Medical Database to identify systematic reviews and meta-analyses about acupuncture for stroke published from the inception to December 2016. Review characteristics and the criteria for assessing the primary studies within reviews were extracted. The methodological quality of the reviews was assessed using adapted Oxman and Guyatt Scale. The methodological quality of primary studies was also assessed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Thirty-two eligible reviews were identified, 15 in English and 17 in Chinese. The English reviews were scored higher than the Chinese reviews (P=0.025), especially in criteria for avoiding bias and the scope of search. All reviews used the quality criteria to evaluate the methodological quality of primary studies, but some criteria were not comprehensive. The primary studies, in particular the Chinese reviews, had problems with randomization, allocation concealment, blinding, dropouts and withdrawals, intent-to-treat analysis and adverse events.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Important methodological flaws were found in Chinese systematic reviews and primary studies. It was necessary to improve the methodological quality and reporting quality of both the systematic reviews published in China and primary studies on acupuncture for stroke.</p>
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<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the epilepsy patients and their family members on their knowledge of the disease.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A 34-point questionnaire with 34 questions related to epilepsy knowledge was used for the survey on 170 pairs of epilepsy patients and their family members in Huashan hospital. Characters of the disease on the subjects were recorded.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The mean scores of the epilepsy knowledge of the patients and their family members were 16.5 +/- 8.2 and 16.1 +/- 8.5, respectively. The scores were quite low with no statistical difference between patients and their family members. The rate of correct answer in the urban subjects was obviously higher than those subjects living in the rural areas. All the subjects lacked the knowledge on the "cause of disease" when comparing with items as "diagnosis" and "treatment". Multivariate analysis showed that rural residents (P = 0.0001, OR = 52.963) and low education level (P = 0.0294, OR = 2.266) related to low epilepsy knowledge score among epilepsy patients. However, for family members, the factor related to low score was only living in the rural area (P = 0.0001, OR = 37.229).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Education on the epilepsy knowledge should be strengthened, especially in the rural areas.</p>