ABSTRACT
Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is the common chronic complication of diabetes, which can lead to foot ulcers, gangrene, and amputation in severe cases, seriously affecting their quality of life. DPN belongs to the category of "arthralgia", "hemorrhoids" and other categories of TCM, and the main pathogenesis is the deficiency of qi and blood, yin and yang, and the obstruction of the meridians by phlegm and stasis. Clinically, DPN is more common with qi deficiency and blood stasis syndrome. Based on the theory of "qi meridian constant communication" in the Huang Di Nei Jing, this article proposed that for patients with DPN with qi deficiency and blood stasis syndrome, the treatment should be based on the principle of "invigorating qi and activating blood circulation, dissolving stasis and arthralgia", so that the patients' qi meridian can be accessible, delay the disease progression, and provide reference for the TCM treatment of DPN.
ABSTRACT
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis(IPF)is a chronic and fatal interstitial lung disease that poses a serious threat to human health and life,and currently there is no specific treatment for it except lung transplantation.The theory of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)holds that Qi deficiency and blood stasis are the critical pathogenesis of IPF,so the therapy of invigorating Qi and activating blood circulation is established as the important method for the treatment of IPF.Studies have found that the prescriptions for invigorating Qi and activating blood have definite efficacy in improving the clinical symptoms of patients with IPF and delaying the progression of the disease.Based on its clinical effectiveness,a large number of researches have been carried out on the relevant mechanism of invigorating Qi and activating blood circulation in the treatment of IPF in recent years.In this paper,we systematically reviewed the relevant literature,and made a review on the mechanism of Qi-invigorating and blood-activating therapy in the treatment of IPF from the aspects inhibiting inflammation,improving the metabolism of extracellular matrix,intervening epithelial/endothelial-mesenchymal transformation,resisting oxidative stress,reducing angiogenesis,activating cellular autophagy,regulating immune balance and fibrinolytic activity,so as to reveal the scientific connotation of Qi-invigorating and blood-activating therapy and provide a theoretical basis for the clinical application of this therapy in the treatment of IPF.
ABSTRACT
Metastasis is the main cause of poor prognosis of malignant tumors， and intervention with metastasis is the key measure in the treatment of malignant tumors. Hematogenous metastasis， the most common tumor metastasis， falls into the category of "Chuanshe" in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， with Qi deficiency and blood stasis as the critical pathogenesis. In the fight against malignant tumors， TCM emphasizes the reinforcement of healthy Qi and the elimination of pathogenic factors， exhibiting its action advantages of multiple targets， multiple mechanisms， and multiple levels. Extensive clinical evidence has shown the exact efficacy of Chinese herbal compounds designed for invigorating Qi and activating blood in delaying the progression of tumor disease and prolonging the survival period of patients. In view of the important role of hematogenous metastasis in the prognosis of tumors， more and more studies have explored the effects and mechanisms of Chinese herbal compounds capable of invigorating Qi and activating blood in intervening in hematogenous metastasis. This paper summarized the relevant literature reports in China and abroad on the intervention of Chinese herbal compounds capable of invigorating Qi and activating blood in the hematogenous metastasis of malignant tumors， in order to provide a theoretical basis for the clinical application of Qi-invigorating and blood-activating therapy in the treatment of malignant tumors. It has been found that Chinese herbal compounds formulated for invigorating qi and activating blood are effective in hindering several key steps in hematogenous metastasis through various mechanisms， including regulating the expression of cell adhesion molecules， inhibiting extracellular matrix degradation and angiogenesis， enhancing the killing effect of immunity， and improving blood hypercoagulability and hyperviscosity. Furthermore， the combination of invigorating Qi and activating blood targets the pathogenesis essence （Qi deficiency and blood stasis， characterized by sthenia in origin and asthenia in superficiality） of malignant tumor much better. Some comparative studies have demonstrated that the anti-metastasis effect of Qi-invigorating and blood-activating therapy is significantly stronger than that of the Qi-invigorating or blood-activating therapy alone， and such combination avoids the possible risk of the metastasis of malignant tumors triggered by the use of either of them. This study has provided some reference for the current clinical application of TCM for improving the prognosis of malignant tumors.
ABSTRACT
Stroke is the leading cause of death and disability. Therefore， it is critical to develop the approaches for improving recovery and neural repair after stroke. Recovery after stroke involves complex interrelated systems of neural repair. The whole process of neural repair requires a series of coordinated interactions， such as response of neuronal cell body to traumatic stimuli， neural stem cell proliferation and migration， axoplasmic transport of signaling molecules， construction of cytoskeleton， and formation of axonal growth cone， to achieve regeneration and growth. As a potential new target for the treatment of neurologic defects， neural remodeling has important research significance in both the specific mechanism of neural repair and the clinical treatment of neurologic defects. After brain injury， single therapy is often ineffective due to the complex mechanism of internal repair， and thus comprehensive therapy becomes the development direction to improve the brain repair. Invigorating qi and promoting blood can promote nerve function remodeling after injury through neural protection， angiogenesis， neurogenesis， loop reconstruction， and cytokine regulation， playing a key role in nerve repair after stroke. Its mechanism is associated with autophagy， immunomodulation， and microRNA regulation， which fully embodies the multi-pathway， multi-target， and overall regulation characteristics of invigorating Qi and activating blood. Therefore， it is of theoretical and guiding significance to study the brain function rehabilitation after stroke by invigorating qi and activating blood.