Progress on the neuroprotective effects of ginsenoside Rg1 / 药学学报

Ginsenoside Rg1 is one of the most important saponins in ginseng. It has a wide range of pharmacological activities. It is considered to be a powerful neuroprotective agent. It has neuroprotective effects such as anti-neuroinflammation, anti-oxidative stress, anti-neuronal apoptosis, and enhancing memory. Rg1 shows a good application prospect in the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, stroke, and mental diseases such as depression. This paper reviews the research on the neuroprotective mechanism of Rg1 at home and abroad in recent years, in order to provide new research ideas for the clinical treatment of nervous system diseases.

Reducing neuroinflammation and improving neurobehavioral functions: the protective roles of resveratrol for germinal matrix hemorrhage in neonatal rat model / 中国新生儿科杂志

Objective:To study the roles of resveratrol in reducing neuroinflammation and improving neurobehavioral functions after germinal matrix hemorrhage (GMH) in neonatal rat model.Methods:GMH model was established intraparenchymally injecting bacterial collagenase in 7-day-old SD rats. 108 rats were randomly assigned into 18 groups (6 in each group), including 4 sham groups, GMH (12 h, 24 h, 72 h, 7 d) groups, 3 GMH+vehicle (dimethylsulfoxide, DMSO) groups, 5 GMH+resveratrol (10 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg, 1 000 mg/kg) groups and 2 GMH+resveratrol+EX527 (SIRT1 inhibitor) groups. Negative geotaxis and righting reflex tests were used to evaluate the short-term neurobehavior. Water maze, foot fault and Rotor-Rod tests were used to assess the long-term neurobehavior. Immunofluorescence was used to quantify the IL-1β and MPO positive cells (inflammatory markers) in peri-hematoma area. Western blot was used to evaluate the expression of relevant proteins in the brain.Results:Endogenous sirtuin-1(SIRT1) decreased to the lowest level at 24 h and then increased gradually. Phosphorylated NF-κB increased at 12 h, peaked at 72 h and returned to normal level at 7 d after GMH. Compared with the control group and other doses groups, GMH treated with resveratrol (100 mg/kg) had higher short-term behavioral scores at 48 h and 72 h. Compared with the control group, the resveratrol (100 mg/kg) group also had higher scores in water maze, foot fault and Rotor-Rod tests 22 days later. Immunofluorescence showed less positive IL-1β and MPO cells around hematoma in GMH+resveratrol group than both GMH+vehicle group and GMH+resveratrol+EX527 group. Western blot indicated that IL-1, TNF-α and IL-6 expressions were decreased in GMH+resveratrol group and Ex527 could offset the effects of resveratrol.Conclusions:Resveratrol (optimal dose: 100 mg/kg) can improve the short-term and long-term neurobehavioral functions of neonatal GMH rats. It can reduce GMH cells with positive inflammatory markers around the hematoma, possibly via inhibition of the SIRT1/NF-κB pathway. Resveratrol may be promising for the treatment of GMH patients.

Effects of non-endotracheal intubation versus endotracheal intubation in thoracic surgery / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#Objective    To investigate the feasibility and safety of non-intubation anesthesia in thoracic surgery. Methods    From September 2017 to December 2019, 296 patients were operated at department of thoracic surgery in our hospital. There were 167 males and 129 females with an average age of 50.69±12.95 years, ranging from 16 to 76 years. The patients were divided into two groups according to whether they were intubated: 150 patients were in a non-intubation group, including 83 males and 67 females with an average age of 49.91±13.59 years, ranging from 16 to 76 years, and 146 patients were in an intubation group including 84 males and 62 females with an average age of 51.49±12.26 years, ranging from 16 to 74 years. Intraoperative data, postoperative recovery, inflammatory response of the two groups were compared. Results    There was no statistical difference between the two groups in operation time, blood loss, the lowest oxygen saturation or other indicators (P>0.05). But the highest partial pressure of carbon dioxide of the non-intubation group was higher than that of the intubation group (P=0.012). The non-intubation group was superior to the intubation group in postoperative recovery and inflammatory response (P<0.05). Conclusion    The non-intubation anesthesia is safe and maneuverable in thoracic surgery, and it has some advantages in accelerating postoperative rehabilitation.

The effect of combining breathing training with electromyographic biofeedback on swallowing ability after cerebral infarction / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

Objective:To observe any effect of supplementing breathing training with electromyographic biofeedback in treating the swallowing function soon after a cerebral infarction.Methods:A total of 96 cerebral infarction survivors with dysphagia were randomly divided into a control group, a biofeedback group and a comprehensive treatment group, each of 32. All received conventional rehabilitation treatment for dysphagia, while the biofeedback group was additionally provided with EMG biofeedback training and the comprehensive treatment group received both breathing training and the biofeedback training. Before and after 6 weeks of treatment, all were subjected to a swallowing contrast examination to observe the opening of the upper esophageal sphincter, the forward displacement of the hyoid bone, and the upward displacement of the hyoid bone. The Rosenbak Penetration-Aspiration Scale and Functional Imported Food Scoring were also used to evaluate their swallowing function.Results:Before, there were no significant differences between the groups in terms of any of the measures. After the 6 weeks of treatment, all of the measurements had improved significantly in both groups, but the improvement in the biofeedback and comprehensive treatment groups on all of the measures was significantly greater than in the control group. The average values of the comprehensive treatment group were then superior to the biofeedback group′s averages.Conclusion:Supplementing breathing training with EMG biofeedback can significantly improve the swallowing function of stroke survivors and reduce their risk of aspiration.

Effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for treating functional constipation: An overview of systematic reviews / 中西医结合学报

BACKGROUND@#Functional constipation (FC) is one of the most prevalent functional gastrointestinal disorders. Dissatisfaction with medications prescribed to treat FC may lead patients to seek alternative treatments. Numerous systematic reviews (SRs) examining the use of acupuncture to treat FC have reported inconsistent results, and the quality of these studies has not been fully evaluated.@*OBJECTIVE@#In this overview, we evaluated and summarized clinical evidence on the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for treating FC and evaluated the quality and bias of the SRs we reviewed.@*SEARCH STRATEGY@#The search strategy was structured by medical subject headings and search terms such as "acupuncture therapy" and "functional constipation." Electronic searches were conducted in eight databases from their inception to September 2020.@*INCLUSION CRITERIA@#SRs that investigated the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for managing FC were included.@*DATA EXTRACTION AND ANALYSIS@#Two authors independently extracted information and appraised the methodology, reporting accuracy, quality of evidence, and risk of bias using the following critical appraisal tools: (1) A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR 2); (2) Risk of Bias in Systematic Reviews (ROBIS); (3) Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses for Acupuncture (PRISMA-A); and (4) the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE). A κ index was used to score the level of agreement between the 2 reviewers.@*RESULTS@#Thirteen SRs that examined the clinical utility of acupuncture for treating FC were identified. Using the AMSTAR 2 tool, we rated 92.3% (12/13) of the SRs as "critically low" confidence and one study as "low" confidence. Using the ROBIS criteria, 38.5% (5/13) of the SRs were considered to have "low risk" of bias. Based on PRISMA-A, 76.9% (10/13) of the SRs had over 70% compliance with reporting standards. The inter-rater agreement was good for AMSTAR 2, ROBIS, and PRISMA-A. Using the GRADE tool, we classified 22.5% (9/40) of the measured outcomes as "moderate" quality, 57.5% (23/40) as "low" quality, and 20.0% (8/40) as "very low" quality. The inter-rater agreement was moderate when using GRADE. Descriptive analyses indicated that acupuncture was more efficacious than sham acupuncture for improving weekly complete spontaneous bowel movements (CSBMs) and for raising the Bristol Stool Form Scale (BSFS) score. Acupuncture appeared to be superior to anti-constipation drugs for improving weekly spontaneous bowel movements, the total effective rate, and the Patient Assessment of Constipation Quality of Life score. Although ten SRs mentioned the occurrence of adverse events, serious adverse events were not associated with acupuncture treatment.@*CONCLUSION@#Acupuncture may be more efficacious than sham acupuncture for improving CSBMs and BSFS scores and may be superior to anti-constipation drugs for improving bowel movement frequency, as well as quality of life. Limitations to current studies and inconsistent evidence suggest a need for more rigorous and methodologically sound SRs to draw definitive conclusions.@*SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION@#PROSPERO CRD42020189173.

Wutou Chishizhi Wan Regulates Autophagy and PI3K/Akt/GSK-3β Signaling Pathway in Rats with Myocardial Ischemia-reperfusion Injury / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo explore the mechanism of Wutou Chishizhi Wan in regulating autophagy and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase （PI3K）/protein kinase B （Akt）/glycogen synthase kinase-3β （GSK-3β） signaling pathway in rats with myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury （MIRI）. MethodSixty male SD rats were randomly assigned into the normal group （normal saline）， model group （normal saline）， positive control （trimetazidine， 5.4 mg·kg-1） group， and low-， medium-， and high-dose （1.63， 4.9， 14.7 g·kg-1， respectively） Wutou Chishizhi Wan groups， with 10 rats in each group. The rats in other groups except the normal group underwent left anterior descending coronary artery ligation for modeling. Electrocardiogram was employed to detect the ST-segment elevation to evaluate the modeling. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining was performed to reveal the damage of myocardial tissue. The levels of aspartate aminotransferase （AST） and creatine kinase （CK） were determined by colorimetry， and those of cardiac troponin T （cTnT） and myoglobin （MYO） by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. Western blot was carried out to determine the protein levels of microtubule-associated proteins 1 light chain 3 （LC3）， autophagy-related gene Beclin-1， PI3K， Akt， GSK-3β， p-GSK-3β， and p-Akt. ResultCompared with the normal group， the modeling elevated the serum levels of AST， CK， cTnT， and MYO （P<0.01）， destroyed the arrangement of myocardial cells abd nucle， twisted and broken myocardial fibers， up-regulated the protein levels of LC3Ⅱ/Ⅰ and Beclin-1 （P<0.01）， and down-regulated the protein levels of PI3K， p-Akt， and p-GSK-3β （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， trimetazidine and Wutou Chishizhi Wan （all the doses） lowered the levels of AST， CK， cTnT， and MYO in serum （P<0.01）， restored the arrangement of myocardial cells and muscle fibers， reduced necrosis， down-regulated the protein level of Beclin-1 （P<0.01）， and up-regulated the protein levels of PI3K， p-Akt， and p-GSK-3β （P<0.01）. Additionally， Wutou Chishizhi Wan （all the doses） down-regulated the protein level of LC3Ⅱ/Ⅰ （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with those in the trimetazidine group， the serum AST level rose in the low-dose Wutou Chishizhi Wan group （P<0.05） and declined in the high-dose group （P<0.01）， and the protein level of Beclin-1 was down-regulated in the medium-dose group （P<0.01）. Additionally， the trimetazidine group had higher protein level of LC3Ⅱ/Ⅰ than medium- and high-dose Wutou Chishizhi Wan groups （P<0.05， P<0.01）， higher protein level of PI3K than low-， medium-， and high-dose groups （P<0.01）， lower protein level of p-Akt than low- and medium-dose groups （P<0.01）， and higher p-GSK-3β protein level than the medium-dose group （P<0.01）. ConclusionDifferent doses of Wutou Chishizhi Wan can ameliorate MIRI， and the high dose has the best effect. Wutou Chishizhi Wan can reduce the activity of myocardial injury markers AST， CK， cTnT， and MYO， and alleviate the pathological damage of myocardial tissue. It can down-regulate the protein levels of beclin-1， LC3Ⅱ/Ⅰ， and up-regulate those of PI3K， p-Akt， and p-GSK-3β. In summary， Wutou Chishizhi Wan may inhibit excessive autophagy and regulate the PI3K/Akt/GSK-3β signaling pathway to exert protective effect on MIRI rats.

Pharmacodynamic Mechanism of Kuanxiong Aerosol for Vasodilation and Improvement of Myocardial Ischemia / 中国结合医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the effect of Kuanxiong Aerosol (KXA) on isoproterenol (ISO)-induced myocardial injury in rat models.@*METHODS@#Totally 24 rats were radomly divided into control, ISO, KXA low-dose and high-dose groups according to the randomized block design method, and were administered by intragastric administration for 10 consecutive days, and on the 9th and 10th days, rats were injected with ISO for 2 consecutive days to construct an acute myocardial ischemia model to evaluate the improvement of myocardial ischemia by KXA. In addition, the diastolic effect of KXA on rat thoracic aorta and its regulation of ion channels were tested by in vitro vascular tension test. The influence of KXA on the expression of calcium-CaM-dependent protein kinase II (CaMK II)/extracellular regulated protein kinases (ERK) signaling pathway has also been tested.@*RESULTS@#KXA significantly reduced the ISO-induced increase in ST-segment, interventricular septal thickness, cardiac mass index and cardiac tissue pathological changes in rats. Moreover, the relaxation of isolated thoracic arterial rings that had been precontracted using norepinephrine (NE) or potassium chloride (KCl) was increased after KXA treatment in an endothelium-independent manner, and was attenuated by preincubation with verapamil, but not with tetraethylammonium chloride, 4-aminopyridine, glibenclamide, or barium chloride. KXA pretreatment attenuated vasoconstriction induced by CaCl2 in Ca2+-free solutions containing K+ or NE. In addition, KXA pretreatment inhibited accumulation of Ca2+ in A7r5 cells mediated by KCl and NE and significantly decreased p-CaMK II and p-ERK levels.@*CONCLUSION@#KXA may inhibit influx and release of calcium and activate the CaMK II/ERK signaling pathway to produce vasodilatory effects, thereby improving myocardial injury.

Efficacy of Conbercept combined with vitrectomy in the treatment of PDR and influencing factors of postoperative rehaemorrhage / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

@#AIM: To observe the clinical effect of conbercept combined with 25G minimally invasive vitrectomy in the treatment of proliferative diabetic retinopathy(PDR), and analyze the influencing factors of postoperative vitreous rehaemorrhage.<p>METHODS: Totally 179 eyes of 179 PDR patients confirmed and treated in our hospital from 2017-04/2019-11 were selected and grouped according to patients' condition and intention. 108 patients in the observation group underwent conbercept combined with 25G minimally invasive vitrectomy, while 71 patients in the control group underwent 25G minimally invasive vitrectomy only. The baseline data, intraoperative condition, best corrected visual acuity(BCVA), intraocular pressure, amplitude of N1 wave latency, central macular thickness(CMT)in the macular area before and after operation, and postoperative complications were compared between the two groups. The influencing factors of vitreous rehaemorrhage in PDR patients were analyzed. <p>RESULTS:The operative time, intraoperative bleeding rate, electrocoagulation rate, incidence of iatrogenic retinal hiatal aperture, the number of laser points and silicone oil filling rate of the observation group were all lower than those of the control group(<i>P</i><0.05). After 6mo, BCVA(LogMAR), CMT and N1 wave latencies amplitude of the two groups were improved compared with those before operation, and the observation group was better than the control group(all <i>P</i><0.05). The incidence of total complications in the observation group was lower than that in the control group(14.8% <i>vs</i> 40.8%, <i>P</i><0.05). There were 31 cases and 31 eyes with vitreous rehaemorrhage after operation. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that elevated HbA1c, vascular occlusion, proliferative retinal traction and no use of conbercept were risk factors for postoperative vitreous rehaemorrhage in PDR patients.<p>CONCLUSION: Conbercept combined with 25G minimally invasive vitrectomy in the treatment of PDR can reduce the intraoperative bleeding rate, reduce complications, shorten the operation time, and thus help to improve visual acuity and visual function. Effective control of blood glucose to reduce HbA1c level, intraoperative removal of fibrovascular hyperplasia membrane as much as possible to relieve retinal traction, and combined treatment with conbercept can reduce the risk of postoperative vitreous rehaemorrhage.

Phased study on the impact of diagnosis-intervention packet payment on hospitalization expenses / 中华医院管理杂志

Objective:To explore the change trend of average hospitalization expense and cost structure of inpatients after the implementation of diagnosis-intervention packet (DIP) payment reform in Zhuhai.Methods:The data of hospitalization expense and the proportion of each classification cost (i.e. the value of a classification cost per thousand yuan of medical cost) in Zhuhai before and after the reform were analyzed by interrupted time series method, and the changes of per capita hospitalization cost and cost structure were studied.Results:The average hospitalization expense showed a linear change trend before and after the reform, and the immediate level and the slope of regression line did not change significantly after the reform, which was basically consistent with the trend before the reform. After the implementation of DIP, the proportion of various categories of expenses changed. Among them, the proportion of comprehensive medical services, treatment, traditional Chinese medicine, western medicine, blood and blood products, and other categories changed significantly, P values were less than 0.05. There was no obvious change in the proportion of expenses of diagnosis, rehabilitation and traditional Chinese medicine, but there was a change in the immediate level. The change in the level of diagnosis was -13.649 ( P< 0.001), the change in the level of rehabilitation was -1.053 ( P< 0.001), and the change in the level of traditional Chinese medicine was 2.781 ( P< 0.001). The immediate level and trend change of the proportion of consumables after the reform was not obvious. Conclusions:After the implementation of DIP payment in Zhuhai, the average expense of inpatients has not changed significantly, but the expense structure has changed significantly.

Magnolol attenuates right ventricular hypertrophy and fibrosis in hypoxia-induced pulmonary arterial hypertensive rats through inhibition of the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway / 中国药理学与毒理学杂志

OBJECTIVE Right ventricular (RV) remodeling is one of the essential pathological features in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). RV hypertrophy or fibrosis are the leading causes of RV remodeling. Magnolol is a com?pound isolated from Magnolia officinalis. It possesses multiple pharmacological activities, such as anti-oxidation and anti-inflammation. This study aims to evaluate the effects and underlying mechanisms of magnolol on RV remodeling in hypoxia-induced PAH. METHODS ① Male SD rats (220 g) were randomly divided into 5 groups (n=10): the normoxia group, the hypoxia group, the hypoxia plus Magnolol (10 and 20 mg·kg-1·d-1) group, and the vehicle group. Rats in the normoxia group were kept in a normoxia environment for 4 weeks, while rats in the hypoxia group were kept in a hypoxic chamber (10％ O2). The rats in the hypoxia plus magnolol groups were administered with magnolol at 10 or 20 mg·kg-1 (ip) once a day for 4 weeks. At the end of 4 weeks, the heart function was assessed by Doppler echocardiography, and then the rats were anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital (30 mg·kg-1, ip). The RVSP was measured by the right heart catheterization method. The heart tissues were collected and dissected to calculate the index of RV remodeling (RV/LV+IVS, RV/tibial length, or RV/body weight). Part of the RV samples was fixed with 4％paraformaldehyde for morphological analysis, while other samples were frozen at-80℃for molecular studies (measurements of ANP, BNP,α-SMA, and col?lagen Ⅰ/Ⅲ mRNA expression as well as p-JAK2/JAK2 and p-STAT3/STAT3 protein levels). ② To evaluate the effect of magnolol on hypoxia-induced myocardial hypertrophy and fibrosis, H9c2 or cardiac fibroblasts were divided into 7 groups: the control group, cells were cultured under normal conditions; the hypoxia group, cells were cultured under hypoxic condition (3％ O2);the hypoxia plus magnolol 10 mg·kg-1 group, magnolol10μmol·L-1 was added to the culture medium before the hypoxia treatment;the hypoxia plus magnolol 30 mg·kg-1 group, magnolol 20μmol·L-1 was added to the culture medium before the hypoxia treatment;the hypoxia plus TG-101348 group, TG-101348 (a specific inhibitor of JAK2) 1μmol·L-1 was added to the culture medium before the hypoxia treatment;the hypoxia plus JSI-124 group, JSI-124 (a specific inhibitor of JAK2) 1μmol·L-1 was added to the culture medium before the hypoxia treatment;and the hypoxia plus vehicle group, an equal volume of vehicle (DMSO) was added to the culture medium before the hypoxia treatment. At the end of the experiments, the cells were collected for morphological and molecular analysis. RESULTS In vivo, male Sprang-Daley rats were exposed to 10％ O2 for 4 weeks to establish an RV remodeling model, which showed hypertrophic and fibrotic features (increases of RV remodeling index, cellular size, hypertrophic and fibrotic marker expression), accompanied by an elevation in phosphorylation levels of JAK2 and STAT3;these changes were attenuated by treating rats with magnolol. In vitro, the cultured H9c2 cells or cardiac fibroblasts were exposed to 3％ O2 for 48 h to induce hypertrophy or fibrosis, which showed hypertrophic (increases in cellular size as well as the expression of ANP and BNP) or fibrotic features (increases in the expression of collagenⅠ, collagenⅢandα-SMA). Administration of mag?nolol and TG-101348 or JSI-124 (JAK2 selective inhibitors) could prevent the process of myocardial hypertrophy and fibrosis, accompanied by the decrease in the phosphorylation level of JAK2 and STAT3. CONCLUSION Magnolol can attenuate RV hypertrophy and fibrosis in hypoxia-induced PAH rats through a mechanism involving inhibition of the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway.

Correlation of sleep disorders with serum Aβ 1-42 and P-Tau 181 in patients with Alzheimer's disease / 中华老年医学杂志

Objective:To investigate the correlation of sleep disorders(SD)with serum levels of amyloid β-proteins(Aβ 1-42)and tau phosphorylated at threonine(P-Tau 181)in patients with Alzheimer's disease(AD). Methods:A total of 126 patients with mild and moderate AD who met the inclusion criteria in the memory clinic, sleep clinic and geriatrics department of Jianghan Oilfield General Hospital affiliated to Yangtze University from February 2017 to January 2020 were included.The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index(PSQI)was used to evaluate sleep quality.Patients with PSQI scores ≥7 were included in the AD group with sleep disorders(AD-SD group), and patients with PSQI scores <7 were included in the AD group without sleep disorders(AD-NSD group). The Montreal Cognitive Assessment(MoCA), Global Deterioration Scale(GDS), Clinical Dementia Rating(CDR), Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression(HRSD)and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale(HAM-A)were used to evaluate cognitive and psychosocial symptoms.During the same time, biological markers such as serum Aβ 1-42, Aβ 1-40 and P-Tau 181 were detected by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays.Patients in the two groups received donepezil as an anti-dementia therapy, while the AD-SD group was treated additionally with a targeted sleep intervention.All patients underwent neuropsychological assessment and biochemical tests at enrollment and at the end of the 6th month, and results from all parameters at baseline and at the end of the 6th month were compared.At the end of the six-month treatment, patients in the AD-SD group were further divided into the recovery AD-SD sub-group and the no-recovery AD-SD sub-group based on the extent of sleep improvement. Results:Of the 126 AD patients, 93(73.8%)had sleep disorders.There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in gender, age, onset age, educational level, course of disease, CDR, GDS, MoCA, Aβ 1-40 or Aβ 1-42/Aβ 1-40(all P>0.05). The scores of PSQI, HRSD and HAM-A and serum levels of Aβ 1-42 and p-Tau 181 showed statistically significant differences between the AD-ND and AD-NSD groups( P<0.05 or P<0.01). At the end of the 6th month, the scores of PSQI, GDS, HRSD and HAM-A and levels of Aβ 1-42, Aβ 1-40, and P-Tau 181 also showed statistically significant differences between the AD-ND and AD-NSD groups( P<0.05 or P<0.01). There was no statistically significant difference in results from other parameters( P>0.05). Spearman correlation analysis showed that PSQI was correlated with HRSD( r=0.271, P=0.009), HAM-A( r=0.479, P=0.000), Aβ 1-42( r=0.470, P=0.000), Aβ 1-42/ Aβ 1-40( r=0.479, P=0.000)and P-Tau 181( r=0.371, P=0.000)in the AD-SD group at baseline.Multivariate Logistic regression model showed that serum Aβ 1-42 and P-Tau 181 levels and HRSD had predictive effects on changes in sleep quality in AD patients( OR=1.897, 1.269 and 1.889, P=0.000, 0.003 and 0.000). The areas under the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves for Aβ 1-42, P-Tau 181 and HRSD were 0.926(95% CI: 0.860-0.991), 0.837(95% CI: 0.746-0.927)and 0.854(95% CI: 0.776-0.932), respectively. Conclusions:Sleep quality is correlated with serum Aβ 1-42and P-Tau 181 levels in AD patients.Elevated serum levels of Aβ 1-42 and P-Tau 181 and high HRSD scores are important predictors of SD in AD patients and may be used as indexes for clinical treatment efficacy.

Genome-wide analysis of hippocampal transfer RNA-derived small RNAs identifies new potential therapeutic targets of Bushen Tiansui formula against Alzheimer's disease / 中西医结合学报

OBJECTIVE@#Bushen Tiansui formula (BSTSF), a traditional Chinese medicine prescription, has been widely used to treat Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the mechanisms underlying its effects remain largely unknown. In this study, a rat AD model was used to study the effects of BSTSF on cognitive performance and expression of transfer RNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs) in the hippocampus, to determine whether treatment of AD with BSTSF could regulate the expression of tsRNAs, a novel small non-coding RNA.@*METHODS@#To generate a validated AD model, oligomeric amyloid-β@*RESULTS@#The learning and memory deficits of Aβ@*CONCLUSION@#This study identified a previously uncharacterized mechanism underlying the effects of BSTSF in alleviating the learning and memory deficits in Aβ

Huoxin Pill () Attenuates Cardiac Fibrosis by Suppressing TGF-β1/Smad2/3 Pathway in Isoproterenol-Induced Heart Failure Rats / 中国结合医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To evaluate the effects of Huoxin Pill (, HXP) on cardiac fibrosis and heart failure (HF) in isoproterenol (ISO)-induced HF rats.@*METHODS@#Thirty Wistar rats were randomly divided into 5 groups including control, HF, isosorbide mononitrate (ISMN), HXP low (HXP-L), and HXP high (HXP-H) groups (n=6 for each group) according to the complete randomization method. Rats were pretreated with ISMN (5 mg/kg daily), low concentration of HXP (10 mg/kg daily) or high concentration of HXP (30 mg/kg daily) or equal volume of saline by intragastric administration for 1 week, followed by intraperitoneal injection of ISO (10 mg/kg, 14 days), and continually intragastric administrated with above medicines or saline for additional 6 weeks. The effects of HXP treatment on the cardiac function, heart weight index (HWI), pathological changes, and collagen content were further assessed. Moreover, the role of HXP on activation of transforming growth factor- β 1 (TGF-β 1)/Smads pathway was further explored using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and Western-blot assay.@*RESULTS@#HXP treatment significantly alleviated the decrease of ejection fraction (EF) and fractional shortening (FS), while decreased the elevation of left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV) in ISO-induced HF rats (P<0.05). Moreover, HXP treatment obviously attenuated the increase of HWI and serum level of creatine kinase MB (CK-MB, P<0.05), as well as pathological changes in ISO-induced HF rats. Further determination indicated that HXP treatment alleviated the elevation of collagen I and collagen III protein expression in cardiac tissues of ISO-induced HF rats. Furthermore, HXP treatment significantly down-regulated the increase of TGF-β 1 and p-Smad2/3 protein expression in cardiac tissues of HF rats (P<0.05), while did not affect the expression of total Smad2/3.@*CONCLUSIONS@#HXP attenuated heart failure and cardiac fibrosis in ISO-induced HF rats by suppression of TGF-β 1/Smad2/3 pathway.

A Human Case of Lumbosacral Canal Sparganosis in China

In this study, we intended to describe a human case of lumbosacral canal sparganosis in People’s Republic of China (China). A 56-year-old man was admitted to Xiangya Hospital Central South University in Changsha, Hunan province, China after having an experience of perianal pain for a week. An enhancing mass, a tumor clinically suggested, was showed at the S1-S2 level of the lumbosacral spine by the examination of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with gadolinium contrast. The patient was received the laminectomy from S1 to S2, and an ivory-white living worm was detected in inferior margin of L5. In ELISA-test with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum samples, anti-sparganum antibodies were detected. He had a ingesting history of undercooked frog meat in his youth. By the present study, a human case of spinal sparganosis invaded in lumbosacral canal at the S1-S2 level was diagnosed in China. Although the surgical removal of larvae is known to be the best way of treatment for sparganosis, we administered the high-dosage of praziquantel, albendazole and dexamethasone to prevent the occurrence of another remain worms in this study.

Updated research progress of selective PPARγ modulators / 药学学报

Thiazolidinediones (TZDs) are currently the only recognized insulin sensitizers available for the clinical treatment of type 2 diabetes. Although their advantages are recognized, the profiles of numerous adverse effects hinder the continued use of these drugs. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) is known as a receptor for TZDs, and its underlying mechanisms of pharmacological actions and adverse effects have been deeply explored. To maximally preserve the PPARγ-mediated insulin sensitizing effects and reduce the occurrence of related adverse effects, the concept of "selective PPARγ modulators (SPPARMs)" has been proposed and developed, guiding the development of new drugs. In this review, we summarize the recent research progress in the definition of SPPARMs, the candidate classification and the molecular underpinnings, as well as present the discovery of the YR series compounds as an example, and discuss the potential application prospects of SPPARMs.

Bear Bile Powder Inhibits Growth of Hepatocellular Carcinoma via Suppressing STAT3 Signaling Pathway in Mice / 中国结合医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To evaluate the inhibitory effect of bear bile powder (BBP) on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) growth in vivo and investigate the underlying mechanisms.@*METHODS@#A HCC xenograft mouse model was developed by producing with huh7 cells. After 5 days following xenograft implantation, ten HCC xenograft mice were given intra-gastric administration with 10 mg/(kg•d) dose of BBP or saline for 3 weeks. Tumor growth in HCC xenograft mice was evaluated by measuring the tumor weight and volume. Cell apoptosis, proliferation or tumor angiogenesis were examined via immunohistochemical (IHC) staining for transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL), proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) or cluster of differentiation 31 (CD31), respectively. Phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) were determined by Western blot. The mRNA and protein expressions of Bcl-2, Bax, Cyclin D1 and Cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4) in HCC tumor tissues were respectively determined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot. The protein expression of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) in tumor tissues was examined by IHC staining.@*RESULTS@#BBP treatment led to a significant decrease on tumor volume and tumor weight in HCC mice (P<0.05) and had no effect on the change of body weight. In addition, BBP profoundly promoted cell apoptosis, inhibited cell proliferation and intratumoral microvessel density in HCC tumor tissues (P<0.05). Moreover, BBP treatment remarkably suppressed the STAT3 phosphorylation and modulated the expression of critical target genes including Bcl-2, Bax, Cyclin D1, CDK4 and VEGF-A in HCC mice.@*CONCLUSION@#BBP exerts its anti-cancer activities via suppressing STAT3 signaling pathway and affecting multiple intracellular targets.

Epigenetic Landscape Changes Due to Acupuncture Treatment: From Clinical to Basic Research / 中国结合医学杂志

Acupuncture has been widely used for treating diseases since the ancient days in China, but the mechanism by which acupuncture exerts such powerful roles is unclear. Epigenetics, including DNA methylation, histone modification, and post-transcriptional regulation of miRNAs, is the study of heritable changes in gene expression that do not include DNA sequence alterations. Epigenetics has become a new strategy for the basic and clinical research of acupuncture in the last decade. Some investigators have been trying to illustrate the mechanism of acupuncture from an epigenetics perspective, which has shed new lights on the mechanisms and applications of acupuncture. Moreover, the introduction of epigenetics into the regulatory mechanism in acupuncture treatment has provided more objective and scientific support for acupuncture theories and brought new opportunities for the improvement of acupuncture studies. In this paper, we reviewed the literatures that has demonstrated that acupuncture could directly or indirectly affect epigenetics, in order to highlight the progress of acupuncture studies correlated to epigenetic regulations. We do have to disclose that the current evidence in this review is not enough to cover all the complex interactions between multiple epigenetic modifications and their regulations. However, the up-to-date results can help us to better understand acupuncture's clinical applications and laboratory research.

Cupping therapy for patients with chronic urticaria: A systematic review and meta-analysis / 中西医结合学报

BACKGROUND@#Chronic urticaria (CU) is a common skin disease, which has a negative effect on quality of life. Current treatments do not fully control the symptoms of urticaria for many CU patients, thus effective and safe treatments for CU are still needed.@*OBJECTIVE@#This review aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of cupping therapy in patients with CU.@*SEARCH STRATEGY@#The search strategy looked for the presence of related keywords, such as "chronic urticaria" and "cupping therapy," in the title and abstract of research articles indexed in major databases. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were selected after querying nine electronic databases from their inception to May 2019 with the above search terms.@*INCLUSION CRITERIA@#RCTs were included if they recruited patients with CU who were intervened with dry or wet cupping. Publications could be written in Chinese or English.@*DATA EXTRACTION AND ANALYSIS@#Data were extracted, and the studies were assessed for the quality of their methodological design and risk of bias. Meta-analyses of the RCT data were conducted to assess the total effective rate of the treatment as the primary outcome. Skin disease quality of life index score, recurrence rate, and adverse events were assessed as secondary outcomes. Subgroup analyses were conducted based on different interventions.@*RESULTS@#Thirteen comparisons from 12 RCTs involving 842 participants were included. There were no significant differences between wet cupping and medications in total effective rate (n = 372; risk ratio [RR] = 1.10, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.97 to 1.25; P = 0.14) or recurrence rate (n = 240; RR = 0.56, 95% CI 0.23 to 1.36; P = 0.20). Cupping therapy, in combination with antihistamine treatment was more efficacious than antihistamines alone, with a greater total effective rate (n = 342; RR = 1.18, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.39; P = 0.03) and lower recurrence rate (n = 342; RR = 0.52, 95% CI 0.32 to 0.84; P = 0.007). Cupping therapy combined with acupuncture was more effective than acupuncture alone (n = 156; RR = 1.25, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.46; P = 0.006). No serious adverse events were reported.@*CONCLUSION@#Wet cupping may be as effective as treatment with antihistamines. When cupping therapy is used as an adjuvant therapy to antihistamines or acupuncture, it may enhance the efficacy. Results drawn from these studies should be interpreted with caution and applied with care to clinical practice, because of the poor quality among the studies that were reviewed.@*SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION@#PROSPERO, CRD42019137451.

Effect of electroacupuncture on intestinal epithelial mucosal barrier function in rats with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome / 针刺研究

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on intestinal epithelial mucosal barrier function in diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome(IBS-D) rats, so as to explore its mechanisms underlying improvement of IBS-D. METHODS: Forty SD rats (half male and half female) were randomly divided into control, model, EA and medication (Pinaverium Bromide, PB) groups, with 10 rats in each group. The IBS-D model was established by chronic unpredictable mild stress combined with gavage of Senna-leaf solution. EA (2 Hz/15 Hz，0.1-1 mA) was applied to unilateral "Zusanli"(ST36),"Tianshu" (ST25), "Sanyinjiao"(SP6) and "Taichong"(LR3) alternatively for 15 min, once daily for 14 days. Rats of the medication group was treated by gavage of PB (10 mL·kg-1·d-1) for 14 days. The visceral sensitivity (pain) was assessed by using the pressure threshold which the inserted rectal balloon catheter air-inflation (connected to a blood pressure gauge) induced stronger abdominal muscular contraction to force the rat's abdomen to lift the experimental stand surface. The diarrhea index was used to evaluate loose stool grade. The expression of Claudin-1 and Occludin (intestinal epithelial tight junction proteins) of colon tissue was detected by immunohistochemistry. The activity of plasma diamine oxidase (DAO) was assayed by using spectrophotometry. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the diarrhea index and plasma DAO activity in the model group were significantly increased (P0.05). CONCLUSION: Electroacupuncture can significantly improve abdominal pain and diarrhea in IBS-D model rats, which may be closely associated with its effects in up-regulating the expression of intestinal epithelial tight junction proteins Claudin-1 and Occludin to restore the function of intestinal epithelial mucosal barrier.

-'s diagnosis and treatment characteristics of acupuncture-moxibustion for facial diseases / 中国针灸

Based on the three books of - (1931), - (1940) and - (1955) written by Mr. -, the classification of facial diseases as well as the records and evolution process of Chinese and western disease names are summarized and analyzed to discuss Mr. -'s understanding of facial diseases in different periods. Through the systematic analysis and comparison in the trilogy of acupuncture and moxibustion, the characteristics of syndrome differentiation and diagnosis-treatment of acupuncture-moxibustion treatment for facial diseases by Mr. - are summarized, including clinical syndrome differentiation and treatment, which is adjusted with syndrome changes; simplified selection of acupoints, with attention on empirical acupoints; the strength of acupuncture is based on efficacy; acupuncture and moxibustion has specific indication; combination of acupuncture and medication could bring out the best in each other.