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Löfgren syndrome (LS) is a unique acute manifestation of sarcoidosis and characterized by erythema nodosum, bilateral hilar lymphadenectasis, and/or bilateral ankle arthritis or periarthritis. A 37 - year - old female patient with LS presented with fever accompanied by multiple joint swelling and pain, nodular skin erythema, and bilateral hilar lymphadenectasis. The patient had received treatment involving non - steroidal anti - inflammatory drugs and glucocorticoids in other hospitals, but the effects were poor, and the conditions reemerged. The LS duration has lasted for more than 3 months. Following traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment, syndrome differentiation as well as giving patients oral Chinese medicine decoction, the symptoms of the patient were rapidly relieved within one week and did not recur during a six - month follow - up period. This case is the first clinical report of acute sarcoidosis LS treated using T CM and reflects the significant advantages of this form of therapy in emergency treatment
El síndrome de Löfgren (LS) es una manifest ación única y aguda de sarcoidosis, caracterizada por eritrema nodoso, linfadenectasis hilar bilateral, y/o a r tritis de tobillo bilateral o periartritis. Una paciente de 37 años de sexo femenino con LS se presentó con fiebre, acompañada de inflamación y do lor múltiple de articulaciones, eritrema nodular cutáneo, y linfadenectasis hilar bilateral. La paciente recibió un tratamiento que consistió en antiinflamatorios no esteroidales y glucocorticoides en otros hospitales, pero los efectos fueron leves y las c ondiciones reemergieron. El LS ha durado más de tres meses. Siguiendo el tratamiento de medicina tradicional china (MTC), la diferenciación de síndrome, así como darles a los pacientes una decocción de medicina china por vía oral, los síntomas de la pacien te rápidamente fueron aliviados en el curso de una semana y no recidivaron durante los seis meses de un seguimiento. El caso es el primer reporte clínico de tratamiento de sarcoidosis aguda asociada a LS usando TCM y refleja las significativas ventajas de esta forma de terapia en el tratamiento de emergencia.
Subject(s)
Humans , Female , Adult , Sarcoidosis/drug therapy , Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods , Sarcoidosis/complications , Acute DiseaseABSTRACT
Malignant tumor is still one of the malignant diseases with high morbidity and mortality in the world. Its occurrence and development are influenced by various factors. Exosomes are nanoscale secretory vesicles that play an important role in the occurrence and development of malignant tumors, and have intercellular communication functions. The mechanism of action of traditional Chinese medicine in prevention and treatment of tumors is not yet comprehensive enough. This article discusses the relationship between exosomes and tumor development, relapse, metastasis and drug resistance, and the application of exosomes in the treatment of malignant tumors by traditional Chinese medicine, to provide reference for finding new breakthroughs in the treatment of malignant tumors.
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Cognitive impairment refers to the abnormality of the hippocampus， cortex and other parts of the brain， which is manifested by the decline of cognitive abilities such as learning， memory and attention. With the increase in people's work pressure and bad living habits， the incidence of cognitive impairment is getting higher and higher， which seriously affects people's normal life. However， there are adverse reactions such as gastrointestinal reactions and extrapyramidal reactions in Western drug treatment for cognitive impairment. Therefore， the development of a drug with relatively minimal adverse reactions is of great significance. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） has the characteristics of "multi-component， multi-pathway and multi-target"， and the incidence of adverse reactions is relatively low. Studies have shown that the pathogenesis of cognitive impairment is closely related to oxidative stress， inflammation， apoptosis， autophagy and other processes of neurons in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase （PI3K）-protein kinase B （Akt） signal pathway plays an important role in the transmission of intracellular and intracellular signals， and in the regulation of cellular inflammation， apoptosis， autophagy， etc. TCM monomers， TCM extracts， and TCM compounds exert anti-inflammatory， antioxidant， anti-apoptotic and autophagy regulation effects by regulating the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway to improve cognitive impairment. This review first summarized the composition and regulatory process of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway， and then discussed the research progress on the improvement of cognitive impairment through the improvement of oxidative stress， inflammation， apoptosis and autophagy of neurons. Finally， the recent research status of the regulation of this signaling pathway by TCM extracts， TCM monomers and TCM compounds to improve cognitive impairment was summarized. This study provides a theoretical basis for the future study of new TCM related to cognitive impairment.
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Liver failure （LF） is a great trouble to the majority of patients due to its severe onset， many complications， difficult treatment， poor prognosis and other characteristics. This disease is liver injury caused by infection， hepatotoxic substances， autoimmunity， circulation disorders and other factors. It is a group of common clinical symptoms mainly manifested by coagulation disorders， jaundice， hepatic encephalopathy， ascites， and so on. In traditional Chinese medicine， it falls under the categories of "tympanites"， "jaundice" and other diseases. At present， the research progress of Western medicine in the treatment of LF is slow， and its clinical application effect is still not ideal. In contrast， traditional Chinese medicine has a long history in the treatment of this disease， with over thousands of years of clinical practice and verification. It is characterized by exact efficacy and fewer side effects. The pathological mechanism of LF is extremely complex， involves a variety of signaling pathways， and is mainly related to inflammation， oxidative stress， liver fibrosis， cell apoptosis and other processes. In recent years， many studies have shown that traditional Chinese medicine can intervene in the occurrence and development of LF by mediating relevant signaling pathways in vivo， but there is still a lack of relevant summary. Therefore， this review summarized several signaling pathways related to the intervention of traditional Chinese medicine in LF by referring to and sorting out relevant literature worldwide， including nuclear factor kappa B （NF-κB）， mitogen-activated protein kinase （MAPK）， phosphatidylin-ositol-3-kinase/protein kinase B （PI3K/Akt）， transforming growth factor-β/ drosophila mothers against decapentaplegic proteins （TGF-β/Smads）， and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2/heme oxygenase-1 （Nrf2/HO-1）， and elaborated the specific mechanism of their intervention in LF. This paper aims to provide practical and effective pathways and corresponding mechanisms for the treatment of LF by traditional Chinese medicine， and to provide new ideas and a theoretical basis for the clinical treatment of LF and further scientific research.
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In recent years， the incidence and mortality rates of cancer have been increasing， posing a serious threat to human health. Western medicine mainly uses treatments such as surgical resection， chemotherapy， immunotherapy and targeted therapy， but they are prone to complications， drug resistance and adverse reactions. A growing number of studies have shown that traditional Chinese medicine has obvious advantages in the treatment of cancer， reducing the recurrence rate of cancer and improving the quality of survival of patients. Cellular senescence refers to a state of irreversible cell cycle growth arrest when cells cease to proliferate after a limited number of divisions， resulting in a decline in cell proliferation and differentiation capacities and physiological functions， accompanied by morphological changes such as flattening and multinuclear morphology. At the molecular level， it shows increased expression of DNA damage-related genes， reduced expression of cell cycle-related factors and significant secretory activity. The malignant development of cancer is closely related to cellular senescence. With the increasing number of cancer cell proliferation， cancer-related genes undergo continuous mutations， freeing them from cellular senescence and thus achieving unlimited proliferation. Through recent studies， it has been found that induction of tumor cell senescence， possibly through modulation of cellular DNA damage， cell cycle arrest and senescence-associated secretory phenotype （SASP）， which converts the suppressive immune tumor microenvironment to an activated immune tumor microenvironment and thus reverses the escape of tumor cell senescence， is a promising strategy for cancer therapy. However， the mechanism of cellular senescence in cancer progression is not fully understood， especially the anti-cancer role played by traditional Chinese medicine in regulating cellular senescence. This article summarized and concluded the specific molecular mechanisms of cellular senescence， the role of cellular senescence in cancer progression， and the mechanism of anti-cancer effects of traditional Chinese medicine based on cellular senescence from the perspective of regulating cellular senescence， with a view to providing ideas and methods for the anti-cancer effects of traditional Chinese medicine and the development of new drugs.
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Enzymes are widely used in chemical and pharmaceutical industries because of their advantages of high efficiency and specificity. However， the shortcomings of the free enzymes， such as poor stability and difficulty in recycling， limit their application. Therefore， the immobilization and application of enzymes have become one of the research hotspots. The selection of the immobilization carriers is a critical step in the process of enzyme immobilization. Metal-organic frameworks（MOFs）， a kind of porous materials， are formed by the coordination of metal ions or metal clusters with organic ligands. As an emerging immobilization carrier， its advantages such as high porosity， strong stability， and surface modifiability make it ideal for immobilized enzyme carriers. By immobilizing the free enzyme on MOFs， the above mentioned deficiencies of the free enzymes can be effectively solved， which greatly broaden the applicable condition. Ligand fishing is a method to find receptor-specific ligands from complex components， which has the advantages of high efficiency， simple sample pretreatment and high specificity. The MOF-enzyme complex formed by enzyme immobilization can act as a "fishing rod" for ligand fishing， which can screen out the targets from the complex system of components. The complex chemical composition and various active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） make the ligand fishing technology to play a big role in the screening of enzyme inhibitors from TCM. And the screened enzyme inhibitors are expected to be further developed into the lead compounds with good efficacy and low adverse effects， so the immobilized enzymes of MOFs have a wide application in the screening of active ingredients from TCM. Based on this， this paper summarized the methods of immobilized enzymes of MOFs in recent years， analyzed the characteristics， advantages and disadvantages of each method， and summarized the laws of preparation conditions and mechanisms. Meanwhile， the application and future development of immobilized enzymes of MOFs in the field of enzyme inhibitor screening from TCM were also summarized and prospected， with a view to providing a reference for the development of natural ingredients and the modernization of TCM.
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Insulin resistance （IR） is an important pathological and physiological mechanism of type 2 diabetes （T2DM）， and the treatment of IR has become the key to the prevention and treatment of T2DM. IR is a state of insensitivity or reduced sensitivity of insulin-stimulated tissue cells to glucose， resulting in cells that are unable to efficiently take up glucose in the bloodstream and thus causing hyperglycemia. Adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase （AMPK） is an energy-sensing enzyme that can regulate multiple metabolic pathways and maintain the stability of adenosine triphosphate （ATP） in the cell. In recent years， traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） has played an increasingly important role in the prevention and treatment of T2DM. The research on exploring the AMPK signaling pathway of TCM intervention in the progress of T2DM has gradually increased. Many pharmacological studies have shown that TCM has advantages such as safety and high efficiency in the prevention and treatment of T2DM. AMPK signaling pathway is one of the key pathways for the active ingredients of TCM and TCM extracts to improve IR. Active ingredients such as phenols， flavonoids， polysaccharides， alkaloids， and saponins， as well as other herbal extracts can improve IR by activating the AMPK signaling pathway cascade response， thereby improving IR by regulating glucolipid metabolism， inhibiting inflammatory response， anti-oxidative stress and maintaining mitochondrial homeostasis. Based on this， this paper reviews the pharmacological and experimental research results of TCM intervening the AMPK signaling pathway to improve IR in recent years， expecting to provide reference for further research， development and application of TCM in intervening IR and treating T2DM.
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As the pace of society increases and lifestyles change， the incidence and mortality rates of breast cancer continue to rise. Targeted therapies are now promising in the treatment of breast cancer， and a variety of protein targets have been identified to play an important role in the development of breast cancer. Among them， signal transducer and activator of transcription （STAT） proteins constitute a crucial group that serves as important targets for transducing cellular transcriptional information， which can regulate downstream cell proliferation， apoptosis， cell migration， invasion， angiogenic factors， etc. and then affect the progression of breast cancer. The STAT family is closely associated with the inflammatory response to tumors and plays a landmark role in tumor development as well as in diagnosis and prognosis. The "inflammation-cancer" transformation refers to the process in which the inflammatory microenvironment caused by uncontrolled inflammation promotes normal cells to become cancerous. According to the theory of Chinese medicine， "heat toxicity" in "cancer toxicity" corresponds to inflammation， which is closely related to tumor development. As a major link associated with the inflammatory response， the STAT family has a promising role in the development and treatment of a variety of tumors， but its relevance to breast cancer remains inadequately explored. Chinese medicine has been shown to have good efficacy in the prevention and treatment of breast cancer， and some current studies have shown that the active ingredients and compounds of Chinese medicine have certain intervention effects on breast cancer-related STAT proteins， but there has not been a systematic review. In order to better sort out and summarize the studies on the effects of Chinese herbal medicines based on the STAT family interventions in breast cancer， this paper reviewed the studies on Chinese herbal medicines acting on the STAT family in recent years， aiming to provide new ideas for clinical applications in breast cancer and to provide thoughts for the development of STAT protein-based drugs.
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Yigongsan is derived from Xiaoer Yaozheng Zhijue written by QIAN Yi in the Northern Song dynasty， which is the No. 3 formula in the Catalogue of Ancient Famous Classical Formulas（The Second Batch of Pediatrics） released by the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine（TCM） in September 2022， and it can be developed as a class 3.1 new TCM drug. By referring to ancient medical books and modern literature， this study conducted herbal textual research on Yigongsan from five aspects， including historical evolution， origin and processing， dosage conversion， usage and preparation methods， and functional application， then formed the key information table of this formula， in order to provide reference for the development of reference samples and preparations of Yigongsan. Based on the results of the study， it is recommended that Panax ginseng should be removed the basal part of stem（rhizoma）， Poria cocos should be removed the peel， Citrus reticulata should be cut into shreds and Glycyrrhiza uralensis should be used. According to 4.13 g/Qian（钱）， 1 g/slice for ginger， 3 g for each jujube and 300 mL/Zhan（盏）， the doses of Ginseng Radix， Poria， Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma， Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma， Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium， Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens， Jujubae Fructus were 1.652， 1.652， 1.652， 1.652， 1.652， 5， 6 g， and the total amount was 19.26 g. The decocting method was to crush the medicinal materials into fine powder with 50-80 mesh， add 300 mL of water and decoct to 210 mL for each dose， then remove the dregs and take it warmly. This formula was recorded in ancient books as the main treatment for the cold-deficiency of spleen and stomach， and Qi stagnation in children with vomiting and diarrhea and lack of appetite. It has been flexibly applied by later generations of physicians， and is often used to treat anorexia， inflammation of the digestive tract， diarrhea and other diseases in children.
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ObjectiveTo clarify the differences in the efficacy and mechanism of different processed products of Atractylodes chinensis rhizoma by the pharmacodynamics and metabolomics studies of raw， bran-fried and rice water-processed products on rats with spleen deficiency. MethodSixty male SD rats were randomly divided into blank group， model group， raw product group（3.75 g·kg-1）， bran-fried product group（3.75 g·kg-1）， rice water-processed product group（3.75 g·kg-1） and Shenling Baizhusan group（6.7 g·kg-1）， with 10 rats in each group. The method of excessive fatigue+improper diet was used to establish a spleen deficiency model in rats. After the end of modeling， except for the blank and model groups， each dosing group was given the corresponding drug suspension， the immune organ coefficients of each group of rats were examined， the levels of interleukin-6（IL-6）， tumor necrosis factor-α（TNF-α）， immunoglobulin G（IgG）， amylase（AMS）， motilin（MTL）， gastrin（GAS）， Na+-K+-adenosine triphosphatase（ATPase）， aquaporin 2（AQP2）， AQP3 and AQP8 in rats were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA）. Ultra high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-TOF-MS） combined with orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis（OPLS-DA） were used to search for biomarkers in the plasma samples of spleen-deficient rats by using two criteria［P<0.05 and variable importance in the projection（VIP） value>1］， and to compare the different modulatory effects of the three decoction pieces on the splenic-deficient biomarkers， and metabolic pathway analysis was conducted through the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes（KEGG） database. ResultCompared with the blank group， the thymus index and spleen index of rats in the model group were significantly decreased（P<0.05）， the levels of IL-6， TNF-α， IgG and AQP2 were significantly increased（P<0.05）， the levels of AMS， GAS， MTL， AQP3， AQP8 and Na+-K+-ATPase were significantly decreased（P<0.05）. Compared with the model group， raw products， bran-fried products and rice water-processed products all increased thymus index and spleen index（P<0.05）， decreased IL-6， TNF-α， IgG and AQP2 levels（P<0.05）， and increased AMS， GAS， MTL， AQP3， AQP8 and Na+-K+-ATPase levels to different degrees. A total of 176 differential metabolites were screened in the model group compared with the blank group， of which 75， 72 and 84 biomarkers were called back by the raw products， bran-fried products and rice water-processed products， respectively（P<0.05， P<0.01）. Raw products of A. chinensis rhizoma mainly affected glycine， serine and threonine metabolism. Bran-fried products mainly affected alanine， aspartate and glutamate metabolism， D-arginine and D-ornithine metabolism. Rice water-processed products mainly affected glycine， serine and threonine metabolism， alanine， aspartate and glutamate metabolism， citrate cycle， thiamine metabolism， D-arginine and D-ornithine metabolism. ConclusionRaw products， bran-fried products and rice water-processed products of A. chinensis rhizoma all have good spleen strengthening effects， among which the effects of bran-fried products and rice water-processed products were stronger. Meanwhile， raw products has the strongest dryness， followed by bran-fried products， and the weakest dryness of rice water-processed products. The three decoction pieces are able to significantly modulate metabolic abnormalities in spleen-deficient rats， and the mechanism may be related to amino acid metabolism such as glycine， serine and threonine metabolism as well as alanine， aspartate and glutamate metabolism.
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At present，there is a lack of consensus on the diagnosis， treatment and management of erectile dysfunction（ED）/premature ejaculation（PE） comorbidity in China. To develop a clinical diagnosis and treatment strategy for ED/PE comorbidity， according to the guidelines for ED/PE comorbidity published in China and abroad in recent years and combined with the clinical practice of many urology and andrology research units in China，the clinical experts organized by the Branch of Sexology of Traditional Chinese Medicine， China Sexology Association formed this consensus through consensus drafting， academic review， expert correspondence interview and full discussion at the review meeting based on the existing evidence-based medical evidence. Based on the clinical experience of doctors，research evidence，patients' wishes and living environment factors，this consensus comprehensively evaluates the diagnosis and treatment norms of ED/PE comorbidity with integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine，aiming at the diagnosis and treatment orientation and value of integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine，so as to benefit the whole process management of more patients. Traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis pays attention to the collection of four diagnostic information of inspection， auscultation， inquiry and palpation， and carries out pattern differentiation of six meridians， pattern differentiation of Wei-defence， Qi， Ying nutrients and blood， and pattern differentiation of zang-fu organs as described in the Shanghanlun （《伤寒论》）. Based on the synergy of traditional Chinese and Western medicine， the advantages of the overall regulation of traditional Chinese medicine are brought into play， and the individualized treatment of integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine is implemented. Internal treatment of traditional Chinese medicine is based on the pattern differentiation of yin and yang described in Section Ⅱ， Chapter Ⅳ Syndrome Differentiation of Surgical Diseases in Surgery of Traditional Chinese Medicine. As stated in Leijing： Yinyanglei （《类经·阴阳类》）， "Human diseases ... must have their roots， either in Yin or in Yang. Although there are many pathological changes， their roots are one." Huangdineijing：Suwen： Yinyangyingxiangdalun（《黄帝内经·素问·阴阳应象大论》） states that "Those who are good at diagnosis should look at the color and pulse， and differentiate Yin and Yang syndromes first." This consensus describes the yang and yin syndromes according to the principle that "Yin and Yang syndromes differentiation should be the priority in the pattern differentiation by the eight principles." In addition， for the syndromes of ED/PE comorbidity， based on the same treatment of different diseases， Chaihu Guizhitang， Wenjingtang and Buzhong Yiqitang are used， which can be referred to.
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In order to provide a reference basis for the development of relevant compound preparations， this article takes a comprehensive analysis of the usage and dosage of famous classical formulas in Han dynasty from various perspectives， and gives corresponding countermeasures on this basis. Through the comprehensive analysis of the classification and statistics of Zhongjing's medication characteristics， decoction methods， administration and dosage， and combining conversion methods of weights and measures by ancient medical practitioners， along with the dosage and administration of the listed Han dynasty famous classical formulas， it was found that the "Jiangxi method" served as a general guideline for administration according to Zhongjing's original text. This method allowed for flexible dosing based on the conversion of the ancient measurements to modern equivalents［13.8 g per Liang（两）］， ensuring the safe and effective medication of these formulas. After combing， it is found that although the dosage of single medicine is large in famous classical formulas from Han dynasty， the administration is flexible. The crude drug amount per administration serves as the foundational dose， with the frequency of administration adjusted flexibly according to the condition. This dosing approach becomes the key for the rational development of compound formulations of famous classical formulas. Based on the conclusions of the study， it is recommended that when developing compound formulations of famous classical formulas in Han dynasty， the original administration method and dosage should be respected. The original crude drug amount per administration should be considered as the daily foundational dose， with the frequency of administration described within a range（1 to N times per day， where N is the maximum number of administrations as per the original text）. The specific frequency of administration can be adjusted flexibly by clinical practitioners based on the individual condition. This approach should also be adopted in toxicological studies， where the dosage per administration serves as the basis for toxicity research， and the toxicity profile at the maximum administration frequency should be observed， providing guidance on the clinical safety range. Corresponding drug labels should provide information within a range to indicate toxicological risk intervals.
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The development and application of processing technology is closely related to the quality of Chinese medicine. Currently， Chinese medicine processing is still in the mechanization stage with limited processing equipment， low levels of automation and intelligence. As a result， the imprecise control of parameters during processing leads to unstable quality of Chinese herbal pieces. However， with the arrival of the big data era and the continuous development of "Internet+"， Chinese medicine processing technology and equipment have been continuously improved and updated， and gradually shifted to the development direction of automation and intelligence. The linkage production technology of Chinese herbal pieces optimizes the separate processing equipment coupling into the production line for continuous manufacture of Chinese herbal pieces， intending to improve production efficiency. The large-scale industrialized production of Chinese herbal pieces tends towards digital technology of processing experience and online inspection technology based on machine vision， electronic nose， and electronic tongue. These technologies are crucial prerequisites for standardizing the parameters of Chinese medicine processing. And further by docking the processing process and equipment with the internet， realizing the intelligent control of the production process is an important process for the transformation and upgrading of Chinese herbal piece industry in the future. In this paper， we summarized the development characteristics of different stages of Chinese medicine processing technology， combed application and development of processing theory， the evolution of processing equipment， and problems in the current industrial development stage of Chinese medicine processing， in order to provide ideas and methods for achieving digital and intelligent innovation of processing technology as well as high-efficient and high-quality production of Chinese herbal pieces.
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Diabetic peripheral neuropathy（DPN） is a neurodegenerative disease of diabetes mellitus involving peripheral nervous system damage， which is characterized by axonal degenerative necrosis， Schwann cell apoptosis and demyelination of nerve myelin sheath as the main pathological features， this disease is highly prevalent and is a major cause of disability in diabetic patients. Currently， the pathogenesis of DPN may be related to oxidative stress， inflammatory response， metabolic abnormality， and microcirculation disorder. The treatment of DPN in modern medicine mainly starts from controlling blood glucose， nourishing nerves and improving microcirculation， which can only alleviate the clinical symptoms of patients， and it is difficult to fundamentally improve the pathological damage of peripheral nerves. Mitochondrial quality control refers to the physiological mechanisms that can maintain the morphology and functional homeostasis of mitochondria， including mitochondrial biogenesis， mitochondrial dynamics， mitochondrial oxidative stress and mitochondrial autophagy， and abnormal changes of which may cause damage to peripheral nerves. After reviewing the literature， it was found that traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） can improve the low level of mitochondrial biogenesis in DPN， maintain the balance of mitochondrial dynamics， inhibit mitochondrial oxidative stress and mitochondrial autophagy， and delay apoptosis of Schwann cells and neural axon damage， which has obvious effects on the treatment of DPN. With the deepening of research， mitochondrial quality control may become one of the potential targets for the research of new anti-DPN drugs， therefore， this paper summarized the research progress of TCM in treating DPN based on four aspects of mitochondrial quality control， with the aim of providing a theoretical research basis for the discovery of new drugs.
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The clinical changes of ulcerative colitis （UC） with the main syndrome of large intestine dampness-heat and the alterations of intestinal flora in UC were summarized to reveal the underlying mechanism. After review of the treatment methods for UC with the syndrome of large intestine dampness-heat， we identified the representative traditional Chinese medicines and compound prescriptions and explored the treatment mechanisms. Furthermore， we probed into the associations of UC and the treatment methods with the intestinal flora. The related articles were retrieved from China National Knowledge Infrastructure （CNKI）. The available studies have shown that Akkermansia muciniphila， Escherichia coli， Enterococcus， and probiotics such as Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus are closely associated with Chinese medicines in UC patients with the syndrome of large intestine dampness-heat. However， due to the shortcomings in clinical research and the susceptibility of intestinal flora to diverse factors， it is still challenging to accurately characterize the intestinal flora changes associated with diseases. Additionally， the research on the mechanisms of Chinese medicines in regulating intestinal flora in UC patients with the syndrome of large intestine dampness-heat remains to be improved. The feasibility of using Chinese medicines and compound prescriptions for precise regulation of intestinal flora in these patients is still debatable. In this regard， scientific issues such as the biological connotation of UC with the syndrome of large intestine dampness-heat and the correlation between syndrome and intestinal flora have become primary research tasks. Additionally， attention should also be paid to the interactions between the intestinal lumen exposure profile of Chinese medicines and intestinal flora. Finally， the thinking of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） and the concepts of modern medicine should be combined for the research on the formulation of TCM regimens for regulating intestinal flora in treating UC.
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The efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） and compound prescriptions is confirmed based on practical experience. It is a highly generalized expression of the clinical characteristics and scope of prescriptions and a unique expression of the medical effects of TCM. Network pharmacology， as a cross-disciplinary field based on the theory of systems biology and multi-level analysis of biological systems， has become a common virtual screening tool in TCM research and gradually developed with the progress in big data and artificial intelligence. In the context of modern medicine， the efficacy of TCM compound prescriptions has a vague concept and lacks scientific evidence. Elucidating the connotation of TCM efficacy and guiding TCM theoretical research has become one of the hotspots and difficulties in TCM research. This article explores the feasibility of using network pharmacology for the research on the efficacy of TCM compound prescriptions and investigates whether the research results can represent part of the efficacy of prescriptions. Furthermore， the research platforms and algorithms in this field are summarized. The research ideas and existing problems in this field are proposed from the aspects of efficacy concept embodiment， target screening， result verification， efficacy network building， and homogenization avoiding of network pharmacology research results. Finally， the future development directions are prospected. This article is expected to provide a reference for exploring the modern biological basis of the efficacy of TCM and compound prescriptions and for the clinical application and theoretical research of TCM.
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Screening and evaluating the diseases responding specifically to traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） will help to highlight the advantages of TCM treatment， and the evaluation method should be standardized with consideration to the unique characteristics of the diseases. The incidence of Sjögren's Syndrome （SS） is increasing year by year， while the pathogenesis of this disease remains unclear. Modern therapies for this disease include biological agents and immunosuppressants， which generally have unsatisfactory efficacy. The TCM treatment of SS focuses on the harmony of the physical and mental health. The Rheumatology Branch of the China Association of Chinese Medicine organizes experts in TCM， Western medicine， and evidence-based medicine to form working groups. Delphi method and bibliometric method were used for analysis， and SS was selected as a disease responding specifically to TCM. Furthermore， the evaluation system was established for this disease， and the consensus regarding this disease was reached after seminar discussion. This paper summarized the whole process of the evaluation of the advantages of TCM treatment of SS. First， because TCM atomization is widely used in clinical practice and enriches TCM administration methods， this therapy is included after other non-drug therapies were taken as characteristic therapies. Second， the evaluation indicators of therapeutic effect should be determined with consideration to international acceptance and the current research status. Third， the expression method should be accurate， standardized， and objective， highlight the natural advantages of TCM， and avoid arbitrary extension. This paper provides a reference for clinicians to explore other diseases responding specifically to TCM.
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ObjectiveTo explore the effect of Tanreqing injection combined with Ceftazide on the clinical efficacy， lung function， and laboratory inflammatory index of patients suffering from phlegm heat obstructing lung syndrome in acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease （AECOPD）. MethodFrom June 2021 to June 2023， 76 patients diagnosed with phlegm heat obstructing lung syndrome in AECOPD were enrolled in the respiratory and critical medical department of Jieshou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. They were randomly divided into a control group and an observation group with 38 cases each. The control group used Ceftazidime intravenous drip and other conventional oxygen inhalation and antispasmodic treatment measures of western medicine. The observation group received Tanreqing injection intravenous drip based on the treatment of the control group， with a course of 10 days. The changes of laboratory indicators such as hs-CRP， calcitonin （PCT）， and interleukin-6 （IL-6） before and after treatment were analyzed， and the improvement of forced expiratory volume in the first second （FEV1）， forced vital capacity （FVC）， one second rate （FEV1/FVC）， assessment and improvement of the British Medical Research Society’s dyspnea index （mMRC）， self-evaluation test of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients （CAT）， and traditional Chinese medicine syndrome score was compared. In addition， the total effective rate between the two groups after treatment was compared. ResultAfter treatment， the hs-CRP， PCT， IL-6， FEV1， FVC， FEV1/FVC， mMRC， CAT scores， and traditional Chinese medicine syndrome evaluation of both groups improved （P<0.01）. After treatment， compared with the control group， the observation group showed more significant improvements in hs-CRP， PCT， IL-6， FEV1， FVC， FEV1/FVC， mMRC， CAT scores， and traditional Chinese medicine syndrome evaluation， and the difference was statistically significant （P<0.05，P<0.01）. The total clinical effective rate of the control group was 86.84% （33/38）， while that of the observation group was 94.74% （36/38）. The therapeutic effect of the observation group was better than that of the control group （χ2=8.471， P<0.05）. ConclusionTanreqing injection combined with Ceftazidime has obvious efficacy in the treatment of phlegm heat obstructing lung syndrome in AECOPD， which is better than the treatment of Ceftazidime antibiotics alone. It can reduce the risk of acute exacerbation， alleviate clinical symptoms， and delay the decline of lung function.
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Gastric cancer （GC） is a common malignant tumor of the digestive tract. T helper cells 17 （Th17） and T regulatory cells （Treg） are differentiated subsets of CD4+T cells. Th17/Treg imbalance has been shown to be closely related to the progression of GC. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） can not only improve the survival prognosis of GC patients， but also play a role in enhancing the efficacy and reducing the toxicity of postoperative chemotherapy for GC. This paper systematically sorted out the action rules of TCM in the intervention of GC by regulating Th17/Treg balance. The results showed that the TCM compound could regulate the balance of GC Th17/Treg by invigorating the spleen and invigorating Qi， warming Yang， removing blood stasis and detoxifying. The mechanism of regulating Th17/Treg balance in the intervention of GC is mainly to inhibit the excessive differentiation of Th17 and Treg and the overexpression of transcription factors and cytokines， reverse the excessive drift of GC Th17/Treg balance to Th17 or Treg， and thus restore the immune balance of GC Th17/Treg.
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OBJECTIVE To construct the simulated traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy based on virtual simulation technology， and assist in the development of the new mode of traditional Chinese medicine dispensing education training. METHODS The field research and questionnaire surveys were conducted to identify the needs of Chinese medicine students and practitioners for the content and presentation of knowledge on the construction of simulated traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy. Taking the laws and regulations on the construction of traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy and the related teaching materials and literature on traditional Chinese medicine preparation as the knowledge source， the virtual simulation technology was applied to build a simulated traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy so as to achieve the functions of browsing the traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy， learning the knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine preparation and practical skills training. A multi-site simulated traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy evaluation scale study was conducted based on platform operational testing. RESULTS A simulated traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy was constructed， consisting of four core modules： video teaching， animation video， simulated pharmacy， and simulated experience. The overall score of evaluation scale was 93.31， with all entries scoring above 80； the ones with evaluation scales above 90 accounted for 92.31% （60/65）. CONCLUSIONS Simulated traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy based on virtual simulation technology meets the learning needs of users and enhances the teaching effect of traditional Chinese medicine dispensing technology training.