Efficacy and safety of Re-Du-Ning injection in the treatment of seasonal influenza: results from a randomized, double-blinded, multicenter, oseltamivir-controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy and safety of RDNI in the treatment of seasonal influenza. RESULTS: 1575 participants were screened and 229 completed the study and had a RT-PCR laboratory confirmation of influenza virus infection. Fever alleviation time was 2 and 6 hours, and fever clearance time was 27 and 47 in RDNI and oseltamivir, with significant difference between two groups. Total scores of influenza symptoms descended more in RDNI than oseltamivir on day 2 and day 3. Single symptom such as fever, aversion to cold, sore throat and nasal obstruction score descended more in RDNI than oseltamivir on different days. 20 subjects used aspirin during the trial, and there was no significant difference between two groups. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, oseltamivir controlled clinical trial. Patients with a positive influenza rapid test diagnosis were enrolled and randomized to receive RDNI or oseltamivir. Primary outcome was the median fever alleviation and clearance time. Secondary outcomes were total 8 influenza symptom scores, the single influenza symptom score, and the frequency of aspirin usage. CONCLUSIONS: The effect of RDNI was not worse than oseltamivir on the alleviation of influenza symptoms. RDNI was well tolerated, with no serious adverse events noted during the study period.

[High-density lipoprotein attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury in mice].

High-density lipoprotein (HDL), an abundant plasma lipoprotein, has been thought to be anti-inflammatory in both health and infectious diseases. It binds lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and neutralizes its bioactivity. The present study aimed to investigate the potential role of HDL, which was separated from human plasma, in LPS-induced acute lung injury in mice. Kunming mice (18-22 g) were treated with either HDL (70 mg/kg body weight, via tail vein) or saline 30 min after LPS administration (10 mg/kg body weight, intraperitoneally) and were decapitated 6 h after LPS challenge. The arterial blood was collected and analyzed for blood gas variables (PaO(2), pH, and PaCO(2)). The bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) samples were analyzed for total protein concentration, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity, and white blood cell (WBC) count. The lung samples were taken for histopathological evaluation and for determination of lung wet-to-dry weight ratio (W/D), malondialdehyde (MDA) content, myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) content. Arterial blood gas analysis showed that after LPS challenge, HDL-treated mice exhibited a higher PaO(2), and pH, but a lower PaCO(2) than HDL-untreated ones (P<0.01). LPS-induced increases in total protein concentration, WBC number and LDH activity in BALF were significantly attenuated in HDL-treated mice (P<0.01). HDL treatment also resulted in a significant protection of lung tissues against LPS-induced acute lung injury via decreasing W/D ratio, MPO activity, MDA content, and the content of the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-α (P<0.05, P<0.01). Histological examination revealed that HDL treatment resulted in significantly lower scores of acute lung injury induced by LPS, with reduced hemorrhage, intra-alveolar edema and neutrophilic infiltration (P<0.01). It is suggested that HDL plays a protective role in attenuating LPS-induced acute lung injury in mice.