Preventive and therapeutic effects and mechanism of Xiaoer Feike Granules on chronic bronchitis induced by lipopolysaccharide in rats / 中国中药杂志

The aim of this paper was to investigate the preventive and therapeutic effects of Xiaoer Feike Granules(XEFK) on chronic bronchitis in rats and its mechanism. Except for 10 rats in the blank group, the remaining 50 of the 60 SD rats were used to establish a model of chronic bronchitis induced by LPS. On the 22 nd day, the model rats were randomly divided into 5 groups according to their body weight, and administrated with purified water, Keteling Capsules 0.11 g·kg~(-1), XEFK 3.2, 1.6 and 0.8 g·kg~(-1)(the dosing concentrations were 0.32, 0.16, 0.08 g·mL~(-1), respectively). These rats took the corresponding drug orally once a day, for consecutive 21 days. The rats were anesthetized 1 hour after the last administration, and the lavage bronchus and alveoli were collected. Then, after the fixation of the smear, neutrophils were counted microscopically, and the contents of glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px), superoxide dismutase(SOD) and malondialdehyde(MDA) in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF) were detected by colorimetric method. Flow cytometry was used to detect the content changes of T cell subsets CD4~+, CD8~+, CD4~+/CD8~(+ )in serum. Hemorheology related indexes were detected by automatic hemorheology. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was used to detect the contents of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), interleukin-1β(IL-1β), IL-2, IL-6 and IL-10 in serum. The expression of TNF-α and IL-10 mRNA in lung was detected by Real-time quantitative PCR(RT-qPCR). HE staining was used to observe the pathological changes in the bronchitis tissues. Compared with the model group, XEFK high and medium dose groups could significantly reduce the contents of neutrophils and MDA in bronchial lavage fluid, and increase the activities of GSH-Px and SOD in BALF, and repair the chronic inflammatory cell infiltration and lymphoid tissue hyperplasia in the bronchial mucosal layer and submucosal layer. The high-dose group could reduce the plasma viscosity of rats, but there was no statistical difference in other hemorheological indexes. CD4~+, CD8~+, CD4~+/CD8~+, IL-2 and IL-10 contents in each dose group were significantly increased, and TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 contents were significantly decreased in serum. Each dose group could significantly down-regulate the expression level of TNF-α mRNA in the lung and increase the expression of IL-10 mRNA. XEFK could reduce lipid peroxidation, increase the content of peripheral blood T cell subsets, regulate the release and secretion of inflammatory factors, and repair the morphological and pathological changes of bronchial tissue. Its mechanism might be related to the improvement of inflammatory response and the enhancement of immune function.

Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials on effect of Tanreqing Injection combined with Western medicine on acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis / 中国中药杂志

To systematically review the effectiveness and safety of Tanreqing Injection in treating acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis( AECB). CNKI,Wan Fang,VIP,CBM,Medline,Cochrane Library,EMbase and Web of Science were retrieved,and randomized controlled trials for the effect of Tanreqing Injection in the treatment of acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis were screened. The quality of the included studies was evaluated according to the Cochrane Handbook's evaluation criteria. The data was analyzed by RevMan 5.3. Totally 23 RCTs involving 1 901 patients were included,including 952 in the experimental group and 949 in the control group. The Meta-analysis demonstrated that in terms of the disappearance time of fever,the group of Tanreqing Injection combined with the conventional therapy was superior to conventional therapy group( RR =-1. 03,95%CI[-1. 45,-0. 62],P<0. 000 01); compared with the conventional therapy group,the group of Tanreqing Injection combined with conventional therapy had a higher cure rate for AECB( RR = 1. 17,95% CI[1. 13,1. 23],P < 0. 000 01). The group of Tanreqing Injection combined with levofloxacin had a higher cure rate for AECB than the levofloxacin group( RR = 1. 23,95% CI[1. 08,1. 41],P = 0. 002). The group of Tanreqing Injection combined with cefuroxime had a higher cure rate for AECB than the cefuroxime group( RR = 1. 22,95%CI[1. 05,1. 42],P = 0. 01).The group of Tanreqing Injection combined with cefoperazone sodium and sulbactam sodium had a higher cure rate for AECB than the group of cefoperazone sodium and sulbactam sodium( RR = 1. 22,95% CI[1. 04,1. 44],P = 0. 02). The outcomes of disappearance time of cough and expectoration had a huge heterogeneity,so were used for descriptive analysis. The adverse reactions mainly included skin rash,dizziness,gastrointestinal reactions. Based on the available data and the results of the analysis,the group of Tanreqing Injection combined with Western medicine has a higher cure rate for acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis,and the effect in reducing symptoms disappearance time. In view of the limited number of included studies,small sample size and low methodological quality,the results of this study need to be confirmed with high-level clinical trials.

Cost-effectiveness of hypertension treatment: a population-based study

CONTEXT: The cost-effectiveness of the treatment of hypertension has scarcely been investigated in population-based studies. Most data come from secondary analysis of clinical trials and administrative sources. OBJECTIVE: To describe the healthcare costs for outpatient hypertension treatment in comparison with diabetes mellitus and chronic bronchitis, and to examine the cost-effectiveness of different classes of antihypertensive drugs. DESIGN: Cross-sectional population-based study. SETTING: Urban area of Pelotas, southern Brazil. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals aged 20-69 years, identified through multi-stage probability sampling. METHODS: Participants were interviewed at home. Demographic data, education, income, smoking, previous morbidity, use of medicine and other characteristics were assessed via a pre-tested questionnaire, and blood pressure while seated was measured in a standardized way. RESULTS: Approximately 24 percent of the participants had high blood pressure or were taking antihypertensive drugs, and among these, 33 percent had had a physician consultation during the month preceding the interview. The monthly mean costs of care for hypertension (R$ 89.90), diabetes (R$ 80.64) and bronchitis (R$ 92.63) were similar. Treatment of hypertension consumed 22.9 percent of the per-capita income, corresponding to R$ 392.76 spent per year exclusively on antihypertensive drugs. Most of the direct costs associated with hypertension and diabetes were spent on drugs, while patients with bronchitis had greater expenditure on appointments. The cost-effectiveness relationship was more favorable for diuretics (116.3) and beta blockers (228.5) than for ACE inhibitors (608.5) or calcium channel blockers (762.0). CONCLUSION: The costs of hypertension care are mainly dependent on the expenditure on blood pressure-lowering drugs. Treatment of hypertension with diuretics or beta blockers was more cost-effective than treatment with ACE inhibitors and calcium channel blockers