ABSTRACT
Objective:To seed for stable time window of the integrated disease-syndrome animal model based on the counterevidence from Chinese medicinal prescriptions， and to verify syndrome stability and reliability. Method:A model of depression was established by exposing rats to chronic unpredictable mild stress （CUMS）， followed by body weight measurement， sugar water test， behavioral test， and brain 5-hydroxytryptamine（5-HT） detection. The identification of liver depression and spleen deficiency syndrome was conducted after the equivalent transformation of human clinical symptoms into macroscopic representations of rats. Based on the dynamically collected macroscopic representation scale， Xiaoyaosan was used to reversely verify the stability and reliability of the integrated disease-syndrome animal model of depression due to liver depression and spleen deficiency. Result:The sugar water consumption and the number of crossings and the total movement distance in the open field test of 16-week-old rats in the CUMS （eight weeks of CUMS） group were significantly lower than those in the normal group （<italic>P</italic><0.05）. According to the immunohistochemical results， the 5-HT content in hippocampal area CA2 of rats in the CUMS group was also significantly lowered as compared with that in the normal group（<italic>P</italic><0.05），which indicated that depression was successfully modeled. The liver depression and spleen deficiency syndrome was present in 14-week-old rats （six weeks after CUMS）of the CUMS group， and the number of rats experiencing the liver depression and spleen deficiency syndrome reached the peak in the 16th week （eight weeks after CUMS），accounting for 70% of the total number. Thereafter， the number decreased gradually. The syndrome scores of the 14-， 16-， 18-， 20-， and 22-week-old rats in the Xiaoyaosan group were reduced by 66.6%， 70.7%， 54.8%， 50.4%， and 44.8%， which were graded as effective， marked effective， effective， effective， and effective， respectively. Conclusion:The age of 14-16 weeks（six to eight weeks after CUMS） is considered the stable and reliable time window for depression due to liver depression and spleen deficiency.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE@#To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Chinese herbs in the treatment of sub-health systematically.@*METHODS@#Nine databases were systematically and extensively searched to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about Chinese herbs in the treatment of sub-health. The outcomes included overall effective rate, main symptoms, quality of life, etc. Literature screening, data extraction and quality assessment were conducted according to Cochrane Handbook 5.1. Meta-analysis was conducted to the included literature with Review Manager Software.@*RESULTS@#Seventy-two studies involving 9,296 patients with sub-health were included with 4,908 patients in experimental groups and 4,387 patients in control groups. The overall quality of included clinical research was not high. In the aspect of improving overall effective rate, relieving main symptoms, Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) score, Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS) score, Fatigue Scale-14 (FS-14), Cornell Medical Index (CMI) score and discontinuation rate, the effects of experimental groups were better than that of control groups. According to available research reports, adverse reactions in Chinese herb groups were mainly mild gastrointestinal symptoms, which did not affect the treatment.@*CONCLUSION@#Chinese herbs have a curative effect in the treatment of sub-health. However, there are no clear criteria for diagnosis and curative effectiveness judgment globally, which would affect the accuracy of curative effect evaluation.
ABSTRACT
To evaluate the methodological quality of the randomized controlled trials(RCTs) for traditional Chinese medicines for treatment of sub-health, in order to provide a scientific basis for the improvement of clinical trials and systematic review. Such databases as CNKI, CBM, VIP, Wanfang, EMbase, Medline, Clinical Trials, Web of Science and Cochrane Library were searched for RCTS for traditional Chinese medicines for treatment of sub-health between the time of establishment and February 29, 2016. Cochrane Handbook 5.1 was used to screen literatures and extract data, and CONSORT statement and CONSORT for traditional Chinese medicine statement were adopted as the basis for quality evaluation. Among the 72 RCTs included in this study, 67 (93.05%) trials described the inter-group baseline data comparability, 39(54.17%) trials described the unified diagnostic criteria, 28(38.89%) trials described the unified standards of efficacy, 4 (5.55%) trials mentioned the multi-center study, 19(26.38%) trials disclosed the random distribution method, 6(8.33%) trials used the random distribution concealment, 15(20.83%) trials adopted the method of blindness, 3(4.17%) study reported the sample size estimation in details, 5 (6.94%) trials showed a sample size of more than two hundred, 19(26.38%) trials reported the number of withdrawal, defluxion cases and those lost to follow-up, but only 2 trials adopted the ITT analysis,10(13.89%) trials reported the follow-up results, none of the trial reported the test registration and the test protocol, 48(66.7%) trials reported all of the indicators of expected outcomes, 26(36.11%) trials reported the adverse reactions and adverse events, and 4(5.56%) trials reported patient compliance. The overall quality of these randomized controlled trials for traditional Chinese medicines for treatment of sub-health is low, with methodological defects in different degrees. Therefore, it is still necessary to emphasize the correct application of principles such as blindness, randomization and control in RCTs, while requiring reporting in accordance with international standards.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To summarize the distributing rule of TCM syndrome elements of common diseases by analyzing the literature of Depression,Chronic Hepatitis B,Chronic Renal Failure,Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease,Menopausal Syndrome.Methods: We selected eligible literatures,then established database with EpiData 3.0 software and computed the frequency of TCM syndrome elements with SPSS 12.0 software.Results: ①Liver,heart,spleen,lung and kidney are common TCM syndrome elements of location of disease.②Yin deficiency,yang deficiency,heat,qi stasis,qi deficiency,blood stasis,damp and phlegm are common TCM syndrome elements of nature of disease.③There are TCM syndrome types between 62 and 148,but the sum of frequency of leading syndrome types which includes disease information is mostly no more than 50%.There are TCM syndrome elements between 19 and 47,but the sum of frequency of leading syndrome elements which includes disease information is mostly above 80%.Conclusion: It is convenient to study TCM syndrome from the aspect of TCM syndrome elements,so we should thoroughly keep on studying TCM syndrome elements.