ABSTRACT
@#Objective This study focused on the application regularity of medicinal and dietary substances (MDS) of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) diet therapy during rehabilitation, in order to help patients with Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) reduce sequelae and improve their life quality. Methods The official websites of the national and provincial health committees, the website of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the China BioMedical Literature Database (CBM), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP), and Wanfang Database were used to search the keywords, such as “coronavirus” “novel coronavirus pneumonia” “COVID-19” “protocol” “guideline” “consensus” and “rehabilitation period”. The search time was from the establishment of databases to July 31, 2022. The prevention and control protocols of various provinces and cities were manually supplemented and screened out. The information on the frequency, property, flavor, meridian tropism, and efficacy of MDS was collected for association rule analysis through the Apriori algorithm. Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed using the Euclidean distance and longest distance. Results A total of 18 protocols were screened out, including 56 lists of TCM diet therapy, and 47 kinds of MDS with a frequency of 132 times during the rehabilitation of COVID-19. Among them, six lists of diet therapy were collected from national websites, 26 from local government websites, and 24 from social and academic institution websites. The intended population can be divided into seven categories including normal recovery, lung-spleen Qi deficiency, deficiency of both Qi and Yin, spleen-stomach weakness, deficiency of Yang Qi, kidney Qi deficiency, and blood deficiency. Shanyao (Dioscoreae Rhizoma) and Lianzi (Nelumbinis Semen), followed by Dazao (Jujubae Fructus) were used most commonly in MDS, with mainly flat property, sweet flavor, and spleen and lung meridians in meridian tropism. Besides, deficiency-tonifying drugs were commonly used in MDS. Through association rule analysis, 12 groups of association MDS pairs were obtained. The pair of Yiyiren (Coicis Semen) and Chenpi (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium) had the highest Lift value, and Yiyiren (Coicis Semen) was used most frequently in the MDS category for eliminating pathogenic factors. The results of complex network analysis showed that the core MDS were Yiyiren (Coicis Semen), Shanyao (Dioscoreae Rhizoma), Huangqi (Astragali Radix), Fuling (Poria), and Dazao (Jujubae Fructus). Three core categories were classified by cluster analysis, including the category of strengthening spleen, nourishing kidney, and grasping Qi, the category of removing phlegm, abating panting, and regulating Qi, and the category of strengthening the middle-energizer and reinforcing Qi. Conclusion Based on the TCM theory, most patients during the rehabilitation of COVID-19 are in a state of lingering pathogens due to deficient vital Qi. TCM diet therapy is based on the principle of “giving both reinforcing and reducing treatment”, and the MDS combinations focus on both reinforcing the health Qi and eliminating pathogenic factors. The diet therapy mainly uses the MDS with flat property and sweet flavor, which belongs to deficiency-tonifying drugs, adding suitable MDS of pathogen-eliminating drugs according to different situations. The ultimate goal is to promote lung inflammation absorption, improve pulmonary fibrosis, increase immunity, reduce the occurrence of sequelae, and improve life quality.
ABSTRACT
Background and Aims: CYP17 inhibitors can block androgen production both intratumorally and systemically, thus attenuating the progression of prostate cancer (PCa). Many randomized controlled trials (RCTs) showed promising results that men with metastatic castration-resistant PCa (mCRPC) might benefit from treatment with CYP17 inhibitors such as abiraterone acetate and orteronel. The goal of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of CYP17 inhibitors for the prognosis in patients with mCRPC. Materials and Methods: Studies were identified in PubMed/MEDLINE, the Cochrane Library, and the Web of Science. The RCTs with mCRPC patients focusing on the efficacy of CYP17 inhibitors were involved. Then, we analyzed the patients' prognosis such as overall survival (OS) and radiographic progression-free survival (RPFS). Results: A meta-analysis of the pooled data from seven randomized Phase III clinical trials was performed to compare 5516 mCRPC patients with CYP17 inhibitors versus that with placebo. Compared to placebo, the CYP17 inhibitors significantly increased the OS (pooled hazard ratios [HR]: 0.816, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.750–0.887), RPFS (pooled HR: 0.647, 95% CI: 0.557–0.752), and time to prostate-specific antigen (PSA) progression (pooled HR: 0.599, 95% CI: 0.517–0.693). Additional endpoints such as PSA response rate, objective response assessed by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors, and time to initiation of chemotherapy were included in this study and were found having significant improvement with CYP17 inhibitors compared to placebo. Conclusion: This research showed that CYP17 inhibitors had a significant improvement on prognosis of patients with mCRPC within a relative safety profile both in pre- and post-chemotherapy trials. These expected results provide evidence for the use of CYP17 inhibitors to treat mCRPCs
ABSTRACT
This study examined the association of a common polymorphic allele (25G) of the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related proteinl (LRP1) gene with myocardial infarction (MI).The genotypes of LRP1 25CG (rs35282763) were determined in 347 MI patients and 347 age-and sex-frequency-matched controls from an unrelated Chinese Han population.Factor Ⅷ (FⅧ) levels were measured in the MI patients and controls by chromogenic assay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).The results showed that LRP1 25CG (rs35282763) genotype distribution did not differ significantly between patients (n=206 for 25CC,n=122 for 25CG) and controls (n=191 for 25CC,n=126 for 25CG;P＞0.05).The 25G allele was not associated with a reduced risk of MI (P ＞0.05).Further stratifications for age,sex,and other cardiovascular risk factors did not affect the negative findings.It was concluded that the presence of the G allele at the 25CG (rs35282763) polymorphism of the LRP1is not associated with a reduced risk of MI,and genotyping for LRP1 25CG (rs35282763) polymorphism is not useful in assessing the individual risk of MI.
ABSTRACT
This study examined the changes of activities of vitamin K-dependent clotting factors (VKDCF)under various pathological conditions and explored the relationship between acquired deficiency of VKDCFs and hemorrhage.Clinical data of 35 patients who were diagnosed as having acquired deficiency of VKDCF were retrospectively analyzed.Coagulation factors involved in the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways were detected in these patients and 41 control subjects.The results showed that the average activities of VKDCFs were decreased in the patients in comparison to the control subjects and significantly increased after treatment of these patients with vitamin K and blood products.Multivariate regression analysis indicated that decreased activity of VKDCF was not an independent risk factor for bleeding disorders owing to deficiency or metabolic disturbance of vitamin K.It was concluded that acquired deficiency of VKDCF occurs under a variety of pathologic conditions and is closely associated with hemorrhagic events.Administration of vitamin K and transfusion of blood products containing high concentrations of VKDCFs helps alleviate the hemorrhagic diseases.
ABSTRACT
To clarify the role of TAFI in hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, 22 subjects, including 10 with pre-eclampsia (PE) and 12 with gestational hypertension were examined for the levels of TAFI and thrombin-antithrombin (TAT) complex. Thirty normal pregnant women served as controls. ELISA was employed for the detection. The results showed that the TAFI antigen levels in normal pregnancy group, gestational hypertension group and PE group were (85.35±24.69)%, (99.65±18.27)%, (110.12±23.36)%; (97.06±21.40)%, (114.08±27.76)%, (125.49±24.70)%; (106.6±19.21)%, (129.2±25.07)%, (139.1±30.12)%, in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimester respectively. No significant differences were found between the normal pregnancy group and gestational hypertension group but significant difference existed between normal pregnancy group and PE group in each tri- mester (P<0.05). TAT complexes were significantly higher in patients with PE than that in controls (P<0.05), but no correlation was found between TAT and TAFI. It is concluded that TAFI may con- tributed to the impairment of fibrinolysis in the patients with PE and may serves as a sensitive indi- cator for PE, but it may not help in the diagnosis of the gestational hypertension.