Herbal textual research on Chuanxiong Rhizoma in Chinese classical prescriptions / 中国中药杂志

Fourteen classical prescriptions in the Catalog of 100 Ancient Classical Prescriptions(First Batch) promulgated in 2018 contain Chuanxiong Rhizoma, which reveals the high medicinal value and wide application of Chuanxiong Rhizoma. This paper systematically reviews the ancient herbal books and modern literature to explore the name, origin, genuine producing area, medicinal part, harvesting, and processing of Chuanxiong Rhizoma, thus facilitating the development of classical prescriptions containing Chuan-xiong Rhizoma. It is confirmed that Chuanxiong Rhizoma, formerly known as "Xiongqiong" in Chinese, was first called "Chuanxiong" in late Tang Dynasty, which has been gradually accepted as its official name due to the rise of the status of Chuanxiong Rhizoma produced in Sichuan. The main original plant of Chuanxiong Rhizoma in past dynasties has always been deemed to be Ligusticum chuan-xiong(Umbellifera), whose rhizome serves as the medicinal part. In general, it is best harvested in summer but the harvesting time can vary with different growth environments. Since the Song Dynasty, Sichuan province has been recognized as the genuine producing area of Chuanxiong Rhizoma in light of the high yield and good quality. It is suggested that Chuanxiong Rhizoma from Sichuan be used preferentially in the development of classical prescriptions. There are multiple processing methods of Chuanxiong Rhizoma recorded in ancient medical classics, and the raw(after purifying and slicing) or wine-processed or stir-fried Chuanxiong Rhizoma is still in use today. In the development of classical prescriptions containing Chuanxiong Rhizoma, Chuanxiong Rhizoma is advised to be processed in accordance with current processing standards if the specific processing method is described in the medical classics. If not, the raw Chuanxiong Rhizoma is preferred and then processed following the processing standards of Chuanxiong Rhizoma decoction pieces in Chinese Pharmacopoeia.

Association between marital quality and hypertensive disorder in pregnancy / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the sociopsychological basis of hypertensive disorder in pregnancy (HDP) and explore a new pathway for etiological study of HDP.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A prospective investigation was conducted in 1154 women in second trimester pregnancy and 9 factors were surveyed using Olson marital quality questionnaire (ENRIC). The discrepancy between the norms and factor scores of ENRIC was analyzed, and the scores of ENRIC were compared between normal gravidas and patients with HDP. The correlation between ENRIC scores and the severity of the condition was also evaluated.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The score of the 1124 gravidas for marital satisfaction was significantly higher than the norm (P<0.05), but the scores for relationship with relatives and sexual life were significantly lower (P<0.05). The other 6 factors had similar scores with the norms (P>0.05). Patients with HDP had significantly lower scores for 7 factors than the normal gravidas (P<0.05), but had comparable scores for financial arrangement and sexual life (P>0.05). The severity of HDP was not found to associate with variation of the scores for the 9 factors (P>0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Marital quality is an important social and psychological basis of HDP, and this study provides some evidence for the social and psychological investigation of the etiology of HDP.</p>

Characteristics of uterine contraction and stages of labor under continuous epidural block anesthesia / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the characteristics of uterine contraction and stages of labor during delivery under continuous epidural block anesthesia.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Totaling 213 parturients in spontaneous labor under epidural block anesthesia with dilated cervical orifice of 3 cm were monitored for the contraction cycle, duration, intensity and curve types of uterine contraction, and recordings were made for 30 min before and 30, 60 and 120 min after the anesthesia took effect, respectively. The duration of the active phase in the first, second and third stages of labor was compared between 421 cases with anesthesia and 237 without anesthesia.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Significant difference was noted in the objective indexes of uterine contraction recorded after anesthesia had taken effect (P<0.05) in comparison with those before anesthesia, suggesting significantly attenuated uterine contraction after anesthesia, whereas these indexes underwent no significant further variation as compared between different time points after anesthesia (P>0.05). The average active phase in the first stage was significantly shorter in anesthesia group than that in the control group (P<0.05), but the average duration of the second and third stages of labor differed little between the two groups with appropriate use of oxytocin under strict monitoring (P>0.05). The rates of obstetric forceps utilization and use of oxytocin were higher in anesthesia group than in the control group (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Epidural block anesthesia produces certain influences on uterine contraction and stages of labor during delivery, for which appropriate treatment measures may prove beneficial.</p>