Mechanism of action of Shaoyao-Gancao decoction in relieving chronic inflammatory pain via Sema3G protein regulation in the dorsal root ganglion.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of Shaoyao-Gancao decoction (SGD) on proteins with significant changes in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) in rats and to explore the role of the Semaphorin 3G (Sema3G) protein in the DRG and its downstream factors, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and CC-motif chemokine ligand 2(CCL2), in the treatment of chronic inflammatory pain (CIP). Methods: We created a CIP rat model using 100 µL of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) that was injected into the left posterior plantar of rats. Then, we administered SGD intragastrically. We tested the animals for behavioral changes and protein expression levels in DRG pre- and post-drug intervention. Results: Rats in the SGD group showed significantly increased paw withdrawal threshold (PWT), paw withdrawal latency (PWL), and relative expression levels of the Sema3G protein in the DRG (all P < 0.05), while the relative mRNA expression levels of IL-6 and CCL2 in the DRG of the rats were significantly decreased (P < 0.05) when compared with the model group. Conclusion: In this study, we found that Shaoyao-Gancao decoction was effective in improving the PWT and PWL of rats with CIP. It reduced CIP by upregulating the expression of Sema3G in the DRG and inhibiting the relative mRNA expression levels of IL-6 and CCL2.

[Visualization of research in treatment of vascular dementia by CiteSpace].

In light of the tremendous number of patients with vascular dementia in China, it is of great significance for the treatment of this disease to summarize related research focuses. In this study, articles on the treatment of vascular dementia, which were included in CNKI and Web of Science from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2021, were analyzed. Specifically, CiteSpace 5.7.R2 was employed to visualize nationalities of authors, author affiliations, authors, keywords, and journals, and dissect the status quo and trend of research on the treatment of this disease. On this basis, the research focuses and evolution were elucidated. The findings are expected to serve as reference for the future research. Finally, 2 579 Chinese articles and 453 English articles were included. The annual number of published articles showed an upward trend. Authors from China published most papers and England had the highest centrality value. HU Yue-qiang and LIU Cun-zhi respectively published the most Chinese and English articles. Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine and Capital Medical University respectively topped the author affiliations in the number of published Chinese and English articles. Among the English journals, Anal Biochem and Stroke separately boasted the highest centrality value and the highest cited frequency. The analysis of keywords in the Chinese articles suggested that most studies on the treatment of vascular dementia focused on the observation of patients' mobility after treatment. Moreover, as for the therapeutic method, western medicine, as well as the Chinese medicine and acupuncture frequently attracted the attention of scholars. Basic research highlighted the oxidative stress, angiogenesis, and apoptosis. According to the analysis result of keywords in English articles on treatment of vascular dementia, the focus was the improvement of the memory function of patients with vascular dementia. As to the therapeutic method, drug therapy was frequently studied compared with other methods. The basic research focused on autophagy, nerve regeneration, and oxidative stress. This study concludes that the future research trend might be the combination of Chinese and western medicine in the treatment of vascular dementia.

Parecoxib Reduced Postsurgical Pain and Facilitated Movement More Than Patient Controlled Analgesia.

Background: Postoperative pain management is an imperative issue for patients undergoing lumbar spinal fusion surgery. Delayed pain relief is associated with poor clinical outcomes. This study compared the effects of intravenously administered patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) with intravenous parecoxib, both commonly used methods for analgesic pain control after surgery. Methods: A non-randomized study was used to recruit 68 patients who were scheduled to receive lumbar spinal fusion surgery at a hospital in Taiwan from April through December of 2020. The group treated with parecoxib received an initial perioperative dose of parecoxib 40 mg during a 30-min period and then postoperative intravenous parecoxib at 40 mg per 12-h period, for 72 h. Those with PCA received morphine (0.4 mg/ml), droperidol (0.02 mg/ml), diphenhydramine (0.48 mg/ml), midazolam (0.02 mg/ml) and saline solution during the 3-day study course. Major outcomes, including visual scale pain score and Barthel index of activities of daily living, were collected via review of medical records at 4 times: 12, 24, 48 and 72 h after surgery. Comparative effects between two groups were assessed by the generalized estimating equations. Results: After adjusting for potential confounders, the administration of parecoxib was associated with a significant decrease in pain scores and an increase in the Barthel Index, when compared with the PCA group (all p < 0.05). Notably, both effects would maintain for 72 h after surgery. Discussion: This is the first trial of which the authors are aware, that supports intravenous parecoxib as significantly enhancing patient mobility, in addition to having pain control efficacy, when compared with PCA. This study could be used as a reference when instituting interventions to improve the adaptation process and clinical prognoses after lumbar spinal fusion surgery.

Sleep problems among Chinese adolescents and young adults during the coronavirus-2019 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of insomnia symptoms among Chinese adolescents and young adults affected by the outbreak of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). METHODS: This cross-sectional study included Chinese adolescents and young adults 12-29 years of age during part of the COVID-19 epidemic period. An online survey was used to collect demographic data, and to assess recognition of COVID-19, insomnia, depression, and anxiety symptoms using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) questionnaires, respectively. The Social Support Rate Scale was used to assess social support. RESULTS: Among 11,835 adolescents and young adults included in the study, the prevalence of insomnia symptoms during part of the COVID-19 epidemic period was 23.2%. Binomial logistic regression analysis revealed that female sex and residing in the city were greater risk factors for insomnia symptoms. Depression or anxiety were risk factors for insomnia symptoms; however, social support, both subjective and objective, was protective factors against insomnia symptoms. Furthermore, anxiety and depression symptoms were mediators of social support and insomnia symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this study revealed a high prevalence of sleep problems among adolescents and young adults during the COVID-19 epidemic, especially senior high school and college students, which were negatively associated with students' projections of trends in COVID-19. The adverse impact of COVID-19 was a risk factor for insomnia symptoms; as such, the government must devote more attention to sleep disorders in this patient population while combating COVID-19.

Prevalence and socio-demographic correlates of psychological health problems in Chinese adolescents during the outbreak of COVID-19.

Psychological health problems, especially emotional disorders, are common among adolescents. The epidemiology of emotional disorders is greatly influenced by stressful events. This study sought to assess the prevalence rate and socio-demographic correlates of depressive and anxiety symptoms among Chinese adolescents affected by the outbreak of COVID-19. We conducted a cross-sectional study among Chinese students aged 12-18 years during the COVID-19 epidemic period. An online survey was used to conduct rapid assessment. A total of 8079 participants were involved in the study. An online survey was used to collect demographic data, assess students' awareness of COVID-19, and assess depressive and anxiety symptoms with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) questionnaire, respectively. The prevalence of depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and a combination of depressive and anxiety symptoms was 43.7%, 37.4%, and 31.3%, respectively, among Chinese high school students during the COVID-19 outbreak. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that female gender was the higher risk factor for depressive and anxiety symptoms. In terms of grades, senior high school was a risk factor for depressive and anxiety symptoms; the higher the grade, the greater the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms. Our findings show there is a high prevalence of psychological health problems among adolescents, which are negatively associated with the level of awareness of COVID-19. These findings suggest that the government needs to pay more attention to psychological health among adolescents while combating COVID-19.

[Research of characteristic spectrum of Qi deficiency syndrome based on literature mining technology].

As a basic syndrome of Chinese medicine, the study of characteristic syndrome spectrum of Qi deficiency syndrome is of great significance for the standardization of clinical diagnosis and modern material basis research. Suitable operators and algorithms were chosen to dig out the relationship between diseases, syndromes, symptoms, detection indicators and etiologist from the literature of Chinese clinical and basic research by literature mining method of frequency statistics, association rules and complex network analysis. Moreover, the information system of Institute of Information on Traditional Chinese Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences was taken as the tools of data mining. The objective was to study the characteristic spectrum of Qi deficiency syndrome and to explore the characteristics of Qi deficiency syndrome. The results showed that the syndrome of fatigue, dietary were the main factors. The main pathogenesis of coronary heart disease, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes and stroke the disease were Qi deficiency. The clinical features of Qi deficiency syndrome were fatigue, shortness of breath and pale tongue. The biological indicators of Qi deficiency related were blood lipids, ECG, blood rheology, inflammatory reaction, NO, ET and NF-κB signalling pathway. The Qi deficiency syndrome on the level of syndrome spectrum was studied by the method of literature mining, which would provide reliable characteristic guidance data for the research on the substantial basis of Qi deficiency, the research on standard of diagnosis, establishment of syndrome model, the study on combination of disease and syndrome and the mechanism of prescriptions.

[Quantitative proteomic research of biological basis of Buyang Huanwu decoction therapy for cerebral infarction combined with Qi-deficiency and blood-stasis syndrome].

Chinese medicine Buyang Huanwu decoction (BYHW) is widely used in treating cerebral infarction combined with Qi-deficiency and blood-stasis syndrome, but the pharmacological basis is still not clear. This study aims to uncover the biological basis of BYHW therapy for cerebral infarction combined with Qi-deficiency and blood-stasis syndrome using label-free proteomic technology. Using Qi deficiency and blood stasis rat cerebral infarction model as the research object, the protein expression of rat brain tissue was compared among the sham operation group, the model group and the drug group. Quantitative analysis of the 3 groups of tissue samples detected 3 959, 3 996 and 4 055 proteins in the sham operation group, the model group and the drug group, respectively. Take model group as the control group, 391 proteins were identified to be upregulated or downregulated for more than 2 folds. Biological analysis and functional enrichment of the differentially expressed proteins revealed that BYHW may treat cerebral infarction combined with Qi-deficiency and blood-stasis syndrome through energy metabolism, nervous system and several signal pathways. This study preliminarily revealed the pharmacological mechanism of BYHW at the protein level, and provided a molecular basis for clinical treatment and traditional Chinese medicine research on cerebral infarction combined with Qi-deficiency and blood-stasis syndrome.

[Study on establishment of an animal model of Qi deficiency syndrome base on theory of over exertion leading to Qi consumption in traditional Chinese medicine].

Based on the theory of "overexertion leading to Qi consumption", this study aimed to compare the intervention factors of nervous and physical fatigue to establish a rat model of Qi deficiency syndrome, moreover, the systematic evaluationsystem was necessary with the standard of syndrome diagnosis of Qi deficiency. According to the clinical-mimetic principle the Qi deficiency syndrome animal model is established by the factors of sleep deprivation(SD) and exhaustive swimming(ES). Rats were randomly divided into four groups, normal group, SD group, ES group and compound group (exhaustion swimming complex sleep deprivation). The method of ES was force rats to swim until the exhaustion with 5% of weight, and the SD method by using multi-platform sleep deprivation of water environment randomly 14-16 h daily, and the complex set by using of two methods was combined. The movement distance, average speed, activity time and numbers into the central area were detected by open field test, swimming exhaustion time was detected by swimming exhaustion method, the cardiac function (LVEF, CO, FS, LVDd) was detected by echocardiography, tongue imaging analysis and pulsedistention as the index of tongue and pulse diagnosis, the content of ATP and ADP in serum was detected by ELISA, the blood coagulation indexes for blood stasis syndrome as the additional. These results indicated that independent activity, body weight and exercise capacity were decreased significantly, the neurological function injured significantly, heart function was decreased significantly, the tongue surface color was pale white, and the pulse distention was decreased significantly. The content of ATP decreased significantly and the ADP increased significantly. By the method of four-diagnostic evaluation system to compare the factors of SD and ES, the Qi deficiency syndrome animalmodel could be successfully established by sleep deprivation method.

[Preliminary study on two analytical methods for evaluation of traditional Chinese medicine syndromes model in rats with blood stasis due to sleep deprivation].

The comparison on evaluating blood stasis syndrome in sleep deprived rats was carried out by using R, G, B image analysis of Tongue and palm as well as auricle, palm surface laser Doppler flow perfusion. The experiment was performed by means of a small platform on the water environment for sleep deprivation. The rats were weekly weighed at fixed time, and their macroscopic signs were observed; and their tongue and palm images of the control and model group were respectively collected by the SLR camera at the 2nd, 4th and 6th week. Then the color saturation analysis was performed by means of proofreading with the standard colorimetric card. At the same time, the laser dopper flowmetry was used to analyze the perfusion of auricle and foot flow in rats. It turned out that there was no significant difference in the R,G,B value of the tongue and palm in rats between normal group and model group at the first stage(at the 2nd week), so were the perfusion of auricle and foot flow in rats. But at the second stage (at the 4th week), the R value of tongue in model group rats was obviously lower than that in normal group(P<0.01), and the other value (G,B) of tongue in module rats had a decease tendency, but there was no statistical significance. However, the perfusion of left and right auricle flow in model group rats were dramatically decreased as compared with the normal group(P<0.01); there was still no significant difference in the perfusion of the palm between two groups. It was found that R,G,B value in model group had a lower trend as compared with the control group of the tongue and palm images at the third stage (at the 6th week), but no statistically significant difference. The perfusion of left and right auricle flow in model group was constantly decreased as compared with the normal group(P<0.01).Right and left foot blood flow was lower than the normal group, but no statistically significant difference. We can safely conclude that the results of the R, G, B values of the tongue in rats could objectively reflect the characteristics of the rats with blood stasis syndrome, which were consistent with the diagnosis of clinical tongue image. As a method of microcirculation evaluation, the surface laser doppler perfusion of auricle can exhibit the characteristics of blood stasis in model rats, but also was more objective and reproducible. Therefore, the combination of R, G, B value of tongue as well as auricle laser doppler blood flow is more beneficial to the objective evaluation of index in the later study of traditional Chinese medicine blood stasis syndrome model.

[Comparative study of barium enema, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging in preoperative diagnosis of colorectal carcinoma].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the diagnostic value of barium enema (BE), computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) in primary colorectal carcinoma. METHODS: A total of 64 patients with suspected colorectal carcinoma received BE (n=39), spiral CT (n=31) and MRI (n=42). The detective results were compared with the surgical results. RESULTS: Among 64 patients, 54 cases were pathologically proved as colorectal carcinoma. The diagnostic sensitivity of BE,CT and MRI was 96.9% ,96.2% and 97.1% ,and the overall accuracy was 92.3% 83.9 % and 90.5% respectively. The overall accuracy of CT and MRI for tumor T staging was 73.1% and 82.9% respectively. CONCLUSION: BE can be considered as a primary approach for diagnosing colorectal carcinoma, CT and MRI be necessary diagnostic approaches. Combined BE with MRI is the best choice for diagnosing of colorectal carcinoma.