Investigating the cardioprotective effects of Fuzheng Yangxin recipe based on network pharmacology and experimental evaluation.

Background: Under Chinese medicine theory guidance, Fuzheng Yangxin Recipe (FZYX) is clinically effective for the treatment of heart failure (HF) caused by ischemic heart disease (IHD). This study aimed to investigate the mechanism of the myocardial protective effects of FZYX on HF. Materials and methods: The Gene expression omnibus database was used to identify differential genes of the IHD subtype. Through network pharmacological methods, the targets of the active components of FZYX were obtained. We also constructed IHD-induced HF model rats by ligating the left anterior descending coronary artery. Echocardiography, pathological section staining, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, western blotting, immunohistochemistry, and quantitative real-time PCR analyses were performed to verify the protective effects of FZYX on the myocardium. Results: We identified 53 active components and 37 potential targets of FZYX associated with the IHD subtype. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is a key protein in the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. A total of 146 biological processes, 10 cellular components and 40 molecular function subcategories were identified by Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis, and 18 signalling pathways, including apoptosis, were identified by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis. In vivo experiments showed that FZYX significantly inhibited cardiomyocyte apoptosis, promoted the expression and phosphorylation of STAT3, and improved cardiac function. Conclusion: FZXY improves cardiac function and protects cardiomyocytes from injury via multi-component, multi-target and multi-pathway action, especially its possible role in regulating STAT3 expression and anti-apoptotic effect.

Preclinical Evidence of Paeoniflorin Effectiveness for the Management of Cerebral Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Vessel recanalization is the main treatment for ischemic stroke; however, not all patients benefit from it. This lack of treatment benefit is related to the accompanying ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. Therefore, neuroprotective therapy for I/R Injury needs to be further studied. Paeonia lactiflora Pall. is a commonly used for ischemic stroke management in traditional Chinese medicine; its main active ingredient is paeoniflorin (PF). We aimed to determine the PF's effects and the underlying mechanisms in instances of cerebral I/R injury. Methods: We searched seven databases from their inception to July 2021.SYRCLE's risk of bias tool was used to assess methodological quality. Review Manager 5.3 and STATA 12.0 software were used for meta-analysis. Results: Thirteen studies, including 282 animals overall, were selected. The meta-analyses showed compared to control treatment, PF significantly reduced neurological severity scores, cerebral infarction size, and brain water content (p = 0.000). In the PF treatment groups, the apoptosis cells and levels of inflammatory factors (IL-1ß) decreased compared to those in the control groups (p = 0.000). Conclusion: Our results suggest that PF is a promising therapeutic for cerebral I/R injury management. However, to evaluate the effects and safety of PF in a more accurate manner, additional preclinical studies are necessary.

Mechanisms and Efficacy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Heart Failure.

Heart failure (HF) is one of the main public health problems at present. Although some breakthroughs have been made in the treatment of HF, the mortality rate remains very high. However, we should also pay attention to improving the quality of life of patients with HF. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has a long history of being used to treat HF. To demonstrate the clinical effects and mechanisms of TCM, we searched published clinical trial studies and basic studies. The search results showed that adjuvant therapy with TCM might benefit patients with HF, and its mechanism may be related to microvascular circulation, myocardial energy metabolism, oxidative stress, and inflammation.

Contrast ultrasound versus ultrasound elastography for diagnosis of breast lumps: A cross-sectional study.

Chinese women have dense and small breasts. Therefore, in China, contrast ultrasound and ultrasound elastography are commonly used for detection of the breast lumps. Purpose of the study was to compare the sensitivity and accuracy of ultrasound elastography with contrast ultrasound for the diagnosis of the breast lumps.A total of 1000 women with a damp in breast mass, breast pain, nipple discharge, and/or breast skin discharge were subjected to contrast ultrasound and ultrasound elastography. Women were subjected to stereotactic vacuum-assisted biopsy under B-mode ultrasonography (n = 750). The ultrasound examinations were graded on a 5-points scale method. Data were subjected to the Chi-square Independence test at 99% of confidence level.Ultrasound elastography was detected the same numbers of benign lesions (648 vs 651, P = .88), malignant lesions (90 vs 99, P = .53), and false positive lesions (5 vs 0, P = .07) as those detected by biopsies. However, diagnostic parameters for contrast ultrasound had a significant difference with those detected by biopsies (P < .0001 for all). For contrast ultrasound and ultrasound elastography, the working area to detect deformation in the image of the breast lesions at least 1 time were 0% to 45% and 5% to 100%.Ultrasound elastography is the most reliable diagnostic method for detection of the breast lumps.