Chinese Herbal Medicines Prevent and Treat Atopic Dermatitis by Improving Skin Barrier： A Review / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Atopic dermatitis is a chronic， refractory and inflammatory skin disease with the clinical manifestations of severe pruritus and recurrent attacks. It has a high incidence and is closely correlated with other allergic， autoimmune or infectious diseases， which can cause a variety of secondary diseases and mental and psychological disorders， seriously affecting the life quality of patients. Chinese herbal medicines have been used for the prevention and treatment of atopic dermatitis for thousands of years， and many Chinese herbal medicines （including compound prescriptions） effective for this disease have been recorded. These medicines generally have little adverse reactions and the treated patients have low recurrence rate of atopic dermatitis. According to the evidence of modern medicine， the onset of atopic dermatitis is related to the impairment of skin barrier function， abnormal immune response， and abnormal differentiation of mast cells， antigen-presenting cells， and eosinophils. Additionally， it is associated with mental， endocrine， metabolic and other factors. The defect of skin barrier function and the dysfunction of immune system are the main pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis. In recent years， scientists have achieved certain progress in improving skin barrier function with Chinese herbal medicines. This paper systematically summarizes the studies about the application of Chinese herbal medicines in regulating the expression of epidermal proteins， epidermal lipids， aquaporins， tight junction proteins， and antimicrobial peptides in recent 10 years， aiming to clarify the pathological mechanism and provide reference for the clinical research and application of Chinese herbal medicines in the treatment of atopic dermatitis.

Research Progress on Pharmacological Effect of Astragali Radix-Angelicae Sinensis Radix on Invigorating Qi and Activating Blood / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Astragali Radix-Angelicae Sinensis Radix （AA） is a basic pair of drugs mainly targeting the syndrome characteristics of Qi and blood diseases. LI Dong-yuan's Danggui Buxuetang （DBT） is composed of AA， which is mainly used to tonify Qi and generate blood， with main indications of Qi deficiency and blood deficiency， blood heat and so on. It is favored by doctors because of its refined prescription and remarkable curative effect. However， there are many compatibility ratios of AA in different prescriptions in ancient books， and their efficacy and indications are also slightly different. This research showed that DBT also had the effect of invigorating Qi and activating blood， and the previous study of the group showed that 3∶1 compatibility ratio of the two herbs in the total amount of 36 g had more obvious effect of invigorating Qi and activating blood. By consulting the relevant literature， it was found that the drug pair had a certain effect of invigorating Qi and activating blood in various compatibility ratios such as 1∶1， 3∶1， 1∶5， 3∶2， 2∶1， 5∶1. The corresponding pharmacological effect mainly included regulating the energy metabolism of substances， regulating immune function， reducing blood viscosity， anti-oxidation stress， anti-inflammation， lowering blood lipids， lowering blood sugar， protecting heart function， protecting blood vessel wall， intervening angiogenesis， fighting against organ tissue fibrosis and so on. Regardless of the AA single-medicine's activating blood effect and the theory that "Qi circulation leads to blood circulation" or the drug pair's manifestation in modern pharmacological effects， all of these have confirmed that AA's effect of invigorating Qi and activating blood does exist， and the difference of action performance caused by different ratios of AA is closely related to dosage and proportion， which needs further study. Based on the study focusing on the effect of tonifying Qi and generating blood， it is easy to ignore the effect of invigorating Qi and activating blood， which limits the clinical application of the latter. Therefore， the tonifying Qi and activating blood circulation effect of the drug pair is reviewed in this paper， so as to provide a theoretical basis for its clinical rational drug use and related research.

Effect of Astragali Radix Membranaceus in Promoting Blood Circulation and Its Modern Pharmacology Research / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Astragali Radix membranaceus is first recorded in Shennong Bencaojing, which has the effect in replenishing Qi and rising Yang, strengthening the body surface resistance, inducing diuresis to alleviate edema, and supporting for detoxication and tissue generation. As an essential medicine for invigorating Qi and invigorating the spleen, it is often used in diseases, such as Qi deficiency and fatigue, spleen deficiency diarrhea and so on, and has been well known by doctors. In recent years, scholars have a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms in replenishing Qi, invigorating spleen and promoting water. However, Tao Hongjing first recorded that Astragali Radix membranaceus can " clear the evil blood between the five organs" . In Bencaojing Jizhu, this herbal medicine has the effect in promoting blood circulation at the same time. At present, traditional Chinese medicine often explains the mechanism of this herbal medicine in promoting blood circulation based on the theory of " replenishing Qi and activating blood circulation" and " blood circulation due to Qi circulation" , which however is not equivalent to the fact that this herbal medicine has no blood circulation effect. By summarizing the records of Astragali Radix membranaceus in the herbal literatures of the previous dynasties, it was found that its promoting blood circulation effect was widely used. In summary of the applications of traditional prescriptions and modern prescriptions in promoting blood circulation, Astragali Radix membranaceus can remove obstruction and activate blood circulation, activate blood and promote diuresis, activate blood circulation and strengthen the body resistance, which can best reflect the effect in activating blood circulation of this medicine. Modern pharmacology shows that Astragali Radix membranaceus has a good regulatory effect on the molecular mechanism of blood stasis pathological indexes by activating blood circulation. Due to no in-depth research, there is still room for study. Therefore, this paper thoroughly explores the mechanism of action of Astragali Radix membranaceus in promoting blood circulation by summarizing the effects of Astragali Radix membranaceus in literatures of previous dynasties and modern pharmacological studies, in order to expand the clinical application of Astragali Radix membranaceus and provide theoretical guidance for clinical treatment.

Correlation Research between Pharmacological Method State and Natural Attribute of Chinese Herbs / 中国中西医结合杂志

Pharmacological method state is a method to explain the principle of Chinese herb according to its external phenomenon such as shape, color, texture, features, and so on. The natural attribute of Chinese herb include shape, color, texture, smell, harvesting time, medicinal parts, chemical components, and so on. Though both of them have different key points, the natural attribute of Chinese herb can also be used to explain its medicinal mechanism. Therefore, the correlation research between pharmacological method state and the natural attribute of Chinese herb has some significance.

Effects of Radix aconiti lateralis preparata and Rhizoma zingiberis on energy metabolism and expression of the genes related to metabolism in rats / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the influence of Radix aconiti lateralis preparata and Rhizoma zingiberis, two species of Chinese medicinal herbs with hot property, on energy metabolism and gene expression spectrum, and to analyze the possible mechanism of their effects.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty-eight specific pathogen free Wistar rats were randomly divided into a Radix aconiti lateralis preparata group, a Rhizoma zingiberis group, and a control group. They were intragastrically treated with concentrated decoction of Radix aconiti lateralis preparata, Rhizoma zingiberis and normal saline respectively for 20 days. Toe temperature (TT), energy intake (EI), digestible energy (DE), and metabolizable energy (ME) were measured. The content of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and energy charge (EC) in hepatic tissue were measured with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The activity of ATPase and succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) in the liver were detected with chemical colorimetry. The gene expression in the liver was detected with Illumina's rat Ref-12 gene array. The differential expression genes were selected, annotated and classified based on Gene Ontology (GO). Real-time quantitative reverse-transcriptase PCR (Q-RT-PCR) was used to test the accuracy of results.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the control group, the TT on the 10(th) day after the beginning of administration and ATP in the Radix aconiti lateralis preparata and Rhizoma zingiberis groups increased significantly (P<0.05). EI/body mass (BM), DE/BM, ME/BM, the hepatic EC and the activity of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase, Ca(2+)-Mg(2+)-ATPase and SDH of liver increased significantly only in the Radix aconiti lateralis preparata group (P<0.05). There were 592 differential expression genes in the Radix aconiti lateralis preparata group and 1 159 in the Rhizoma zingiberis group compared with the control group. Among the differential expression genes, genes related to metabolic processes were the most significant based on GO analysis. There were 337 strips of gene differential expression in common in both Radix aconiti lateralis preparata and Rhizoma zingiberis groups compared with the control group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Herbs with hot property such as Radix aconiti lateralis preparata and Rhizoma zingiberis could improve the energy metabolism in rats, through influencing the metabolic process of sugar, lipid, and amino acid. It could also promote the production, storage, and utilization of energy by regulating the gene expression related to metabolism, which may be the main molecular mechanism of warming yang and dispelling cold for the treatment of the cold syndrome according to Chinese medicine theory.</p>

Safety and efficacy of T-614 in the treatment of patients with active rheumatoid arthritis: a double blind, randomized, placebo-controlled and multicenter trial / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>A novel anti-rheumatic drug, T-614, has been shown to have an anti-inflammatory effect and to improve abnormal immunological findings in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). To assess the safety and efficacy of T-614 versus placebo in patients with active RA we conducted a 24-week clinical study in 280 Chinese patients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>In a multicenter, randomized, double blind, placebo controlled study, 280 patients were randomly assigned to receive placebo (n = 95) or T-614 at 50 mg (n = 93) or 25 mg (n = 92) daily. Active disease was defined by 4 of the following 5 criteria: >or= 5 tender joints, >or= 3 swollen joints, morning stiffness lasting for >or= 60 minutes, and Westergren erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) >or= 28 mm/h, the assessment of pain at the rest by patient as moderate or severe. Clinical and laboratory parameters were analyzed at baseline, 2, 4, 6, 12, 18 and 24 weeks. The primary efficacy variable at week 24 was the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) response rate using the intent-to-treat population.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The ACR response rate was significantly higher in the T-614 treatment group compared with the placebo group within 8 weeks after the initiation of treatment. After 24 weeks, the 25 mg/d and 50 mg/d dosage groups and the placebo group showed 39.13%, 61.29% and 24.21% in ACR20 and 23.91%, 31.18% and 7.37% in ACR50, respectively. A time-response in ACR response was observed, with clear superiority for the 25 mg/d and 50 mg/d dosage groups compared to placebo (P < 0.0001), and the 50 mg/d dose compared to the 25 mg/d dose (P < 0.05) when using the ACR response analyses after 24 weeks. ESR and c-reactive protein (CRP) were significantly different in the treatment groups after 24 weeks. The incidence of adverse events (AEs) was not significantly higher with T-614 than with placebo, but upper abdominal discomfort, leucopenia, elevated serum alanine aminotransferase (sALT), skin rash and/or pruritus were more common in the 50 mg and 25 mg dosage groups.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>T-614, a new slow-acting drug, is effective in treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and is well tolerated.</p>

Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with T-614:a multicenter,randomized,double blind,placebo-controlled trial / 中华风湿病学杂志

Objective To study the efficacy and safety of T-614 in treating rheumatoid arthritis(RA). Methods Two hundred and eighty patients with active RA were randomly allocated to 3 groups:T-614 50 mg each day,25 mg each day or placebo.Clinical and laboratory parameters were analyzed at baseline,2,4,6,12, 18 and 24 weeks.Results The ACR response rate was significantly higher in the T-614 treatment group com- pared with the placebo group during the first 6 weeks.After 24 weeks,25 mg/d,50 mg/d dosage group and the placebo group showed 39.1%,61.3% and 24.2% in ACR20,23.9%,31.2% and 7.4% in ACR50 respectively.A time-response in ACR response after 24 weeks was observed,with clear superiority of the 25 mg/d and 50 mg/d dosage groups compared to the placebo,and 50 mg/d dosage group compared to 25 mg/d dosage group(P