Basic research of meridian-tendon based on fascia: review and prospects / 中国针灸

Meridian-tendon is a central concept in meridian theory of TCM, and its basic research has been increasingly emphasized. While there is no unified understanding of the essence of meridian-tendon, the concept that function of fascia could partially reflect the functions of meridian-tendons has reached consensus in the academic community. This article suggests that under the guidance of meridian-tendon theory, based on previous research foundation of fascia, focusing on adopting fascia research methods, the mechanisms of tender point hyperalgesia and abnormal proliferation related to meridian lesions should be adopted to explain yitong weishu (taking the worst painful sites of muscle spasm as the points), and the mechanisms of meridian intervention efficacy should be adopted to explain yizhi weishu (feelings from patients and acupuncture operators). Furthermore, this article provides an analysis of the future trends in basic research of meridian tendons.

Construction of jingjin differentiation system based on holistic concept / 中国针灸

As a diagnostic method to guide the treatment of sinew/fascia diseases, jingjin (muscle regions of meridians) differentiation is an important component of syndrome differentiation system of acupuncture and moxibustion. In clinical practice, because of the limitations of the ideological guidance of the holistic view, the systemic and dialectical thinking and the syndrome element collection, the system of diagnosis and treatment of sinew/fascia diseases is not comprehensive. Through combing the origin of the holistic view of jingjin, the paper expounds the differentiation framework of sinew/fascia diseases from 4 aspects of differentiation, i.e. the location of disease, etiology, nature of disease and condition of disease. It suggests to construct jingjin differentiation system by taking the holistic ideas as the core, the syndrome element research as the common method and the evidence-based medicine as the theoretical basis so that the thinking of syndrome differentiation and the diagnostic approaches based on jingjin theory can be enriched.

Study of the electrospun PLA/silk fibroin-gelatin composite nanofibrous scaffold for tissue engineering.

In this article, a nanofibrous composite scaffold of poly L-lactic acid(PLA)/silk fibroin(SF)-gelatin was fabricated by multilayer electrospinning. To investigate the feasibility of PLA/SF-gelatin use as scaffolds, the porosity and mechanical properties were examined; in particular, the biocompatibilities were evaluated in vivo and in vitro by the means of cell adhesion and cytotoxicity testing, short-term subcutaneous implantation testing, and acute hemolysis testing according to the requirements of ISO 10993. The results showed the scaffold achieved the desirable levels of pliability (elastic up to 7.3% strain) and the appropriate breaking strength (2.22 MPa). The porosity of the SF-gelatin layer was 87% and the pore diameter was 142 nm. After 12 days of cultivation, SEM observation demonstrated the scaffold was nontoxic, biocompatible, and capable of supporting 3T3 mouse fibroblasts attachment, spreading, and growth. The hemolysis test proved the scaffolds with hemolytic rates from 3.1 to 4.5%. The subcutaneous implantation test indicated minor inflammatory reactions surrounding the scaffolds and biodegradation were initially observed in about 3 months. The desired porous structure, strong and pliable properties, combined with the ability of PLA/SF-gelatin scaffold to support cell growth in vitro, especially excellent biocompatibility in vivo, suggested potential application for tissue engineering scaffolds.