Reduced SARS-CoV-2 infection risk is associated with the use of Seven-Flavor Herb Tea: A multi-center observational study in Shanghai, China / 中西医结合学报

OBJECTIVE@#Omicron, a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant, is responsible for numerous infections in China. This study investigates the association between the use of Seven-Flavor Herb Tea (SFHT) and the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection to develop precise and differentiated strategies for control of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).@*METHODS@#This case-control study was conducted at shelter hospitals and quarantine hotels in China. A total of 5348 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients were enrolled between April 1 and May 31, 2022, while 2190 uninfected individuals served as healthy controls. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data on demographics, underlying diseases, vaccination status, and use of SFHT. Patients were propensity-score-matched using 1:1 nearest-neighbor matching of the logit of the propensity score. Subsequently, a conditional logistic regression model was used for data analysis.@*RESULTS@#Overall, 7538 eligible subjects were recruited, with an average age of [45.54 ± 16.94] years. The age of COVID-19 patients was significantly higher than that of uninfected individuals ([48.25 ± 17.48] years vs [38.92 ± 13.41] years; t = 22.437, P < 0.001). A total of 2190 COVID-19 cases were matched with uninfected individuals at a 1:1 ratio. The use of SFHT (odds ratio = 0.753, 95% confidence interval: 0.692, 0.820) was associated with a lower risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to untreated individuals.@*CONCLUSION@#Our findings suggest that taking SFHT reduces the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This is a useful study in the larger picture of COVID-19 management, but data from large-sample multi-center, randomized clinical trial are warranted to confirm the finding. Please cite this article as: Zhang SX, Chen XX, Zheng Y, Cai BH, Shi W, Ru M, Li H, Zhang DD, Tian Y, Chen YL. Reduced SARS-CoV-2 infection risk is associated with the use of Seven-Flavor Herb Tea: A multi-center observational study in Shanghai, China. J Integr Med. 2023; 21(4):369-376.

Effect and Mechanism of Modified Si Junzitang Combined with Heat-sensitive Moxibustion on IL-17, IL-22, IL-1α and Cys-C in Serum and Exhale Breath Condensate of Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease at Stable Stage / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective::To observe the effect and mechanism of modified Si Junzitang combined with heat-sensitive moxibustion on interleukin-17(IL-17), interleukin-22(IL-22), interleukin-1α(IL-1α) and serum cystatin C(Cys-C )in serum and exhale breath condensate(EBC) of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at stable stage(COPD, Qi deficiency of lung and spleen). Method::Totally 120 cases of COPD(Qi deficiency of lung and spleen) treated in pulmonary department and thermal moxibustion department of Affiliated Hospital of Jiangxi University of traditional Chinese medicine from January 2019 to June 2019 were included and randomly divided into traditional Chinese medicine group, heat-sensitive moxibustion group and control group. The patients in traditional Chinese medicine group were treated with Si Junzitang, the patients in heat-sensitive Moxibustion group were treated with heat-sensitive moxibustion in addition to traditional Chinese medicine group, and the patients in control group were treated with placebo. All of the 3 groups were treated with oxygen and bronchodilator according to the guidelines. All groups received 3 consecutive courses of treatment, 20 days per course. After 3 courses of treatment, the clinical efficacy of the three groups, the forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), the forced expiratory volume in the estimated value in one second (FEV1%), the forced vital capacity (FVC), and IL-17, IL-22, IL-1α in serum and exhale breath condensate (EBC) were measured. Result::There were no statistically significant difference in general clinical data, lung function levels (FEV1, FEV1%, FVC), serum and EBC levels of IL-17, IL-22, IL-1α and Cys-C in the first three groups. The total clinical effective rate of traditional Chinese medicine group was better than the control group (P<0.05), the heat-sensitive moxibustion group was better than the traditional Chinese medicine group (P<0.05) and significantly better than the control group (P<0.01). Compared with the patients before treatment, the level of lung function was improved, while IL-17, IL-22, IL-1α and Cys-C in serum and EBC were reduced(P<0.05). The traditional Chinese medicine group was superior to that in the control group (P<0.05), the heat-sensitive moxibustion group was superior to that in the traditional Chinese medicine group (P<0.05) and significantly superior to that in the control group (P<0.01). Conclusion::Modified Si Junzitang combined with heat-sensitive moxibustion has an anti-inflammatory effect on COPD by stimulating bullishness of human body, improving body immunity, inhibiting inflammatory cytokines, reducing levels of inflammation cytokines IL-17, IL-22, IL-1α, and chronic inflammation markers serum Cys-C and inflammatory reaction, increasing the lung capacity, improving ventilation function and pulmonary function, so as to effectively relieve chest tightness asthma and other symptoms in COPD patients, and improve the clinical efficacy.

Effect and Mechanism of Modified Buzhong Yiqi Tang and Pursed-lips Breathing on Serum TNF-α，IL-8，IL-6，IL-1β and Cys-C in Patients at Stable Stage of COPD / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective: To observe the effect and mechanism of modified Buzhong Yiqi Tang and pursed-lips breathing (PLB) on serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-8 (IL-8), IL-6, IL-1β and serum cystatin C (Cys-C) in patients of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at the stable stage. Method: Totally 120 cases of COPD treated at Affiliated Hospital of Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from September 2017 to March 2018 conformed to the inclusion criteria, and were randomly divided into treatment group (60 cases) and control group (60 cases). Cases of control group received Tiotropium (18 μg/time, qd). In addition to the therapy of control group, cases of treatment group were also given Buzhong Yiqi Tang and PLB. Both groups were treated for 6 months. Percent of forced expiratory volume in one second in predicted value (FEV1%), ratio of FEV1 to forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC), six-minute walk distance (6MWD),TNF-α, IL-8, IL-6, IL-1β and Cys-C were compared between both groups. Result: After treatment, the clinical efficacy rate of observation group was 93.33%, which was evidently higher than 86.67%of control group (Pa,IL-8, IL-6,IL-1β, Cys-C but increases in FEV1%, FEV1/FVC (Pa, IL-8, IL-6, IL-1β, Cys-C but increases in FEV1%, FEV1/FVC (PConclusion: Buzhong Yiqi Tang and PLB has an anti-inflammatory effect on COPD by reducing levels of inflammation cytokines TNF-α, IL-8,IL-6, IL-1β and chronic inflammation markers serum Cys-C and inflammatory reaction, and alleviating airflow obstruction, promoting the levels of FEV1%, FEV1/FVC, pulmonary function control inflammatory factors, so as to improve pulmonary function and the quality of life in patients with COPD.

Theoretical research and clinical application of large-diameter femoral head hip prosthesis / 中国组织工程研究

A computer-based online search was conducted in PUMMED, English Medical Current Contents (EMCC), China Journal Full-text Database (CJFD), and Wanfang Database to summarize application and research progress of large-diameter femoral head hip prosthesis from January 1995 to January 2008. There were 62 literatures in total. Previous studies reported that when diameter of femoral head hip prosthesis was>32mm, joint worn out remarkably. During recent years, more and more basic and clinical researches demonstrate that diameter of femoral head is not correlated with wear rate; in particular, diameter of femoral head is not related to wear rate of artificial joint made by high cross linked polyethylene, metal, and ceramics. The superiority of large-diameter femoral head hip prosthesis has been paid more attention because of stability and activity. With the enlargement of diameter of femoral head, dislocated incidence decreases remarkably, and improvement of head-neck ratio increases the activity of prosthesis and reduces collision between two prostheses. Recently, large-diameter femoral head hip prosthesis has been widely applied for metal-on-mental hip joint, in particular, for hip resurfacing arthroplasty; in addition, large-diameter femoral head hip prosthesis plays a distinct role in joint replacement.

Screening for pathogenesis-related genes of osteosarcoma using gene microarray / 中国肿瘤生物治疗杂志

Objective:To screen for the pathogenesis-related genes of osteosarcoma and to assess their roles for the de- velopment of osteosareoma.Methods:Total RNA was extracted from 3 ATCC osteosarcoma cell lines and an osteoblastic cell line and was used to synthesize biotinylated cRNAs;the latter were hybridized to Affymetrix~(?)GeneChip~(?)U133A ar- rays and a gene with more than 2 folds of change was selected.Ten of the differentially expressed genes were chosen and the primers were designed and the synthesized.Then SYBR~(?)Green real-time PCR(RT-PCR)method was used to detect the expression of the 10 genes in 9 fresh osteosarcoma specimens.ABI Prism 7 000 system was used to analyze the differ- ent expression between osteosarcoma cell line and osteoblastic cell line.Results:We identified 58 up-regulated and 142 down-regulated genes in the 3 osteosareoma cell lines.Many of the genes were firstly reported to be related to the patho- genesis of osteosarcoma.These differentially expressed genes were mainly involved in energy and material metabolism,on- cogene,signal transduction gene,transcription- related genes,cell cycle-related genes,cell apoptosis-related gene,im- mune response gene,tumor suppressor genes,etc.The array results of 10 randomly selected genes were further verified by the RT-PCR in 9 fresh osteosarcoma specimens.Conclusion:Many genes are involved in the pathogenesis of osteosarcoma. Gene microarray can help to discover the genes related to the pathogenesis of osteosarcoma,which may lay a foundation for studying the molecular mechanism of osteosarcom.

Video-assisted thoracoscopic extended thymectomy for myasthenia gravis: analysis of 107 cases / 中华外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the results of video-assisted thoracoscopic extended thymectomy for myasthenia gravis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We retrospectively reviewed data from 107 patients received thoracoscopic extended thymectomy from June 1995 to June 2004. All patients had confirmed diagnosis of myasthenia gravis by clinical manifestation and electromyogram. Thoracoscopic extended thymectomy as well as dissection of all fatty tissue anterior to the pericardium was performed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>During a follow-up of 1-98 months, symptom was significantly improved in 83% of patients, including 34 patients experienced complete remission. There was no postoperative mortality.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Favorable results of video-assisted thoracoscopic extended thymectomy can be achieved in patients with myasthenia gravis. The technique is safe and minimally invasive.</p>