ABSTRACT
Fibrosis can occur in diverse tissue and organs and is the common outcome as multiple chronic diseases progress. It is characterized by over-activation of fibroblasts and excessive deposition of extracellular matrix. Targeting transforming growth factor-β （TGF-β）， a classical signaling molecule in fibrosis， is currently a routine strategy for drug therapy of this disease. The use of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） in the treatment of fibrotic diseases has been supported by mature theories. The theories emphasize that the internally-accumulated pathogens and mixed deficiency-excess underlie the shared pathology of fibrotic diseases. Qi stagnation， blood stasis， phlegm turbidity， and mass accumulation are key pathological factors. "Yin suppression by Yang" is the core thought for treatment with TCM of the disease. Pharmacological investigations reveal the scientific nature of TCM in treating fibrotic diseases， namely multilevelled and multitargeted. In other words， it refers to networked regulation of signaling activities of fibrosis-related molecules such as TGF-β/Drosophila protein homolog （Smad）， phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase （PI3K）/protein kinase B （Akt）， Hedgehog， Wnt/β-catenin， and inflammatory cytokines， so as to inhibit fibroblast function and provide a promising insight into novel anti-fibrotic drug. This paper summarized the conventional understanding of fibrotic disease treatment with TCM and its mechanism of action by reviewing ancient literature and modern research reports， which offers an idea for follow-up research in this field.
ABSTRACT
Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of herb-partitioned umbilicus fumigation in treating uterine descent. Method Forty patients diagnosed with uterine descent were randomized into two groups. Twenty subjects in the treatment group were intervened by herb-partitioned umbilicus fumigation, while 20 subjects in the control group were by biofeedback electrical stimulation. The therapeutic efficacy was evaluated 2 months later. Result The total effective rate was 90.0%in the treatment group versus 80.0%in the control group. Conclusion The two methods both can produce a content therapeutic efficacy in treating uterine descent, while the treatment group is superior to the control group.