Sensitization characteristics of ragweed pollen in Beijing area / 临床耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

Objective:To investigate the sensitization characteristics of ragweed pollen in patients with allergic rhinitis（AR） and（or） allergic asthma in Beijing area, and to provide basis for the prevention and treatment of ragweed pollen sensitized population. Methods:Patients with allergic rhinitis and/or asthma from January 2017 to December 2019 in the outpatient department of Allergy Department of Beijing Shijitan Hospital were retrospectively analyzed in this study. Skin prick test（SPT） was performed with ragweed pollen allergen reagents to compare different ages, genders and respiratory diseases allergen distribution, and to observe the sensitization characteristics of its population. All of the analyses were performed using SAS software version 9.4. Results:A total of 9 727 patients were enrolled in the end. The total positive rate of ragweed pollen SPT was 45.50%（4 426/9 727）, the highest positive rate was 65.54% in 13-17 years old group; The positive rate of ragweed pollen SPT was 49.79% in allergic rhinitis combined with asthma patients, followed by 46.46% in allergic rhinitis patients, and the lowest rate was 19.42% in single allergic asthma patients. There were more females than males in both ragweed pollen sensitized and non-ragweed pollen sensitized groups（P<0.05）, and the proportion was higher in 30-39 years old than in other age groups（P<0.05）. Ragweed pollen sensitization was higher than non-ragweed pollen sensitization in the allergic rhinitis group（98.49% vs 94.76%, P<0.05）. Ragweed pollen with other summer and autumn pollen allergens in patients with positive SPT, the top three were Chenopodium pollen, Humulus pollen and Artemisia grandis pollen, with positive rates of 90.42%, 89.63% and 85.40%, respectively. Ragweed combined with other pollen sensitization accounted for 99.57%（4 407/4 426）. Allergic rhinitis was the main disease in patients sensitized with ragweed pollen alone or combined with other pollens, and there was no significant difference between the two groups（94.97% vs 98.50%, P>0.05）. Conclusion:Ragweed pollen is highly sensitized in Beijing area, single ragweed pollen sensitization is rare, often combined with multiple pollen sensitization, and allergic rhinitis is the main disease.

Multi-center Clinical Observation of Reyanning Mixture in Treatment of COVID-19 / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:In the early stage, in vivo experiments of coronavirus infection and pulmonary syndrome syndrome combined with mouse model verified that Reyanning mixture has a significant therapeutic effect on human coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). This study further evaluated the clinical efficacy of Reyanning mixture in the treatment of COVID-19, providing a basis for clinical medication. Method:Patients were collected from January 21, 2020 to February 24, 2020 in Xi'an No. 8 Hospital, Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Yan'an Second People's Hospital and Songzi People's Hospital. 54 common-type patients who met the diagnostic criteria of COVID-19 were enrolled in this study,5 patients of them were not included in the statistical analysis because they did not meet the requirements, including 26 cases in the treatment group using Reyanning mixture on the basis of chemical drug treatment, and 23 cases in the control group receiving chemical drug treatment only. The symptom disappearance rates (throat dryness, throat pain, cough, fever, fatigue, chest tightness, runny nose, nasal congestion, headache), time to complete fever clearance (d), the nucleic acid conversion rate and time to recovery on chest CT were compared between two groups. Result:After treatment, except cough and fatigue, other symptoms disappeared in the treatment group, and the disappearance rate of symptoms such as dry throat, cough, fatigue, chest tightness and headache was statistically significant compared with the control group (P<0.05). The median time to complete fever clearance in the treatment group was 3 days, which was 2 days shorter than that in control group. The remission rate of chest CT was 88.46% (23/26) in the treatment group, which was higher than 73.91% (17/23) in control group. The negative conversion rate of viral nucleic acid detection was 96.15% (25/26) in treatment group, higher than 60.87% (14/23) in control group (P<0.01). Conclusion:Reyanning mixture can improve the clinical symptoms of COVID-19 patients, promote the improvement of chest CT. Can shorten the duration of fever.Can improve the novel coronavirus nucleic acid conversion rate, providing a basis for clinical treatment.

Oestrogen inhibits invasion and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma MHCC97H cells by regulating the activity of AKT signaling pathway / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the inhibitory effect of estrogen against metastasis of human hepatocellular carcinoma MHCC97H cells and explore the molecular mechanism.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The inhibitory effect of estrogen on the migration and invasion of MHCC97H cells was evaluated with wound healing assay and Transwell assay. Western blotting was used for investigating the expression of MMP-2, MMP-9, AKT and p-AKT in the cells treated with estrogen.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Estrogen treatment significantly inhibited the migration and invasion of MHCC97H cells in a dose-dependent manner. Estrogen significantly down-regulated the protein expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9 and lowered the phosphorylation level of AKT.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The anti-metastatic effect of estrogen involves inhibition of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in MHCC97H cells probably by regulating AKT signal pathway.</p>

Comparison of entecavir and adefovir for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B

The results of several new clinical trials that compared the effectiveness of entecavir (ETV) treatment with that of adefovir (ADV) treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) were published in recent years. However, the numbers of patients included in these clinical trials were too small to draw a clear conclusion as to whether ETV is more effective than ADV. Therefore, a new meta-analysis was needed to compare ETV with ADV for the treatment of CHB. A search of the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CCTR), MEDLINE, the Science Citation Index, Embase, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and the Wanfang Database for relevant studies published between 1966 and 2010 was performed. Trials comparing the use of ETV and ADV for the treatment of CHB were assessed. Of the 2,358 studies screened, 13 randomized controlled clinical trials comprising 1,230 patients (ETV therapy, 621; ADV therapy, 609) were analyzed. The serum hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA clearance rate obtained in patients treated with ETV was significantly higher than that in patients treated with ADV at the 24th and 48th weeks of treatment (24 weeks: 59.6% vs. 31.8%, relative risk [RR], 1.82, 95% CI: 1.49-2.23; 48 weeks: 78.3% vs. 50.4%, RR, 1.61, 95% CI: 1.32-1.96). The serum HBeAg clearance rate, the HBeAg seroconversion rate, and the ALT normalization rate obtained for patients treated with ETV were also higher than the corresponding values for patients treated with ADV at the 48th week of treatment. The safety profiles were similar between patients treated with ETV and those treated with ADV. The evidence reviewed in this meta-analysis suggests that patients with hepatitis B have a greater likelihood of achieving a viral response and a biomedical response when treated with ETV than when treated with ADV.

Influence of therapeutic effect of acupoint sticking at Shenque (CV 8) for treatment of stroke patients / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the therapeutic effect of acupoint sticking therapy for treatment of stroke.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Two hundred and forty-six cases were randomly divided into a non-acupoint sticking group (control group, n=122) and an acupoint sticking group (n=124). The control group was treated with routine ward treatment of stroke (acupuncture combined with routine western medicine). The acupoint sticking group was treated with basis ward treatment of stroke (similar to the control group), and acupoint sticking therapy was applicated on Shenque (CV 8). The scores of Stroke-Specific Quality of Life (SS-QOL) and WHOQOL-100BREF were adopted to evaluate the therapeutic effects and the cysteine of patients were tested before and after treatment.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There were significant differences in scores comparison of SS-QOL and WHOQOL-100BREF before and after treatment in both groups (both P < 0.001); there was no significant difference after treatment between two groups (P > 0.05); there was a significant difference in thinking items of SS-QOL after treatment between two groups (P < 0.05), the acupoint sticking group was superior to that of control group; SS-QOL score of patients with abnormal cysteine of acupoint sticking group was superior to that of the control group after treatment, with a significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The acupoint sticking therapy can improve the thinking ability of stroke patients, and improve the life quality of high cysteine stroke patients.</p>

Angiogenesis inhibitory effect of saikosaponin-d on chicken embryo / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the inhibitory effects of saikosaponin-d (SSd) on angiogenesis in chicken embryos and its mechanism of action.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) model was established successfully in 86 chicken embryos. They were divided into 4 groups after fenestration: the three SSd treated groups (A, B and C) treated with high (20 microg/mL, n = 16), middle (10 microg/mL, n = 19) and low (5 microg/mL, n = 25) dose of SSd respectively, and the control group treated with 0.01 mol/L PBS (n = 26). The drug or reagent was administered by grafting 20 microL onto the surface of CAM. After incubation for 3 days, the vessel growth was recorded by digital photography; inflammatory cells were counted under light microscope with HE staining, and the positive rate of angiogenesis reaction was calculated by Leica image analyzer.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>On the 6th day of the embryonic age, vessels in the chicken embryo CAM showed a radial growing in spok-wheel pattern around the gelatin sponges with lateral axis running through it. Whereas after 3 days of SSd treatment, the angiogenesis reduced significantly with vague microvessels around the sponge, and vascular truncation and absence revealed. Microscopic examinations showed that the number of microvessels and infiltrated inflammatory cells in the sponge and peripheral CAM mesenchyme in the SSd groups were less than those in the control group, especially on vessels of medium and small size (P < 0.05, P < 0.01, respectively), but was insignificant on great vessels (P > 0.05). Correlation analysis revealed no correlation between the number of the great vessels in CAM and the infiltrated inflammatory degrees (r = 0.117, P > 0.05), but the increase of small vessels in CAM was positively correlated with that of inflammatory cells (r = 0.971, P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>SSd could inhibit the physiological angiogenesis of chicken embryoe, especially for the medium and small vessels, while there was no significant effect on great vessels (P > 0.05). Its mechanism of action may be related to its inhibition on leukocyte migration and activation.</p>

Protective effects of emodin and astragalus polysaccharides on chronic hepatic injury in rats / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Chinese medicine plays an important role in hepatoprotective treatment. This study was conducted to investigate the protective effects of emodin and astragalus polysaccharides (APS) in a rat model of chronic hepatic injury.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Chronic hepatic injury was induced by hypodermic injection of an olive oil solution containing 40% carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4)) twice a week, in addition to a diet of 79.5% maizena, 20% fat, 0.5% cholesterol, and 10% alcohol in the drinking water ad libitum for 12 weeks. Meanwhile, the rats were exposed to different concentrations of emodin (40 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1)), APS (200 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1)), combination drug (emodin 40 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1) combined with APS 200 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1)) and colchicine (0.1 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1)) in parallel by oral gavage (once a day for 12 weeks). At the end of 12 weeks, blood serum and liver tissue were taken. Serum was collected to determine the levels of total bilirubin (TBIL), alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminose (AST), and albumin (ALB). Liver and spleen indexes were assayed, followed by the measurements of the liver associated enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA). Histopathological changes were studied using optical microscopy.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Splenohepatomegalia was alleviated and serum levels of TBIL and ALT were reduced in the groups treated with emodin and APS when compared to the control group. In addition, the ALB level in the APS and combination groups was higher. Similarly, the SOD activity of liver homogenates was significantly higher in the groups treated with emodin and APS, while administration of the herbal derivatives prevented the elevation in MDA levels. Histological analysis showed that the APS and combination groups significantly ameliorated the hepatic injury.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Co-administration of emodin and APS demonstrated a synergistic action in reducing ALT and restoring ALB in the serum from a rat model of chronic hepatic injury. Emodin and APS may ameliorate the CCl(4)-induced hepatic injury in rats by elevating antioxidant-enzyme activities and reducing lipid peroxidation.</p>