Metabolites, gene expression, and gut microbiota profiles suggest the putative mechanisms via which dietary creatine increases the serum taurine and g-ABA contents in Megalobrama amblycephala.

A 90-day experiment was conducted to explore the effects of creatine on growth performance, liver health status, metabolites, and gut microbiota in Megalobrama amblycephala. There were 6 treatments as follows: control (CD, 29.41% carbohydrates), high carbohydrate (HCD, 38.14% carbohydrates), betaine (BET, 1.2% betaine + 39.76% carbohydrates), creatine 1 (CRE1, 0.5% creatine + 1.2% betaine + 39.29% carbohydrates), creatine 2 (CRE2, 1% creatine + 1.2% betaine + 39.50% carbohydrates), and creatine 3 (CRE3, 2% creatine + 1.2% betaine + 39.44% carbohydrates). The results showed that supplementing creatine and betaine together reduced the feed conversion ratio significantly (P < 0.05, compared to CD and HCD) and improved liver health (compared to HCD). Compared with the BET group, dietary creatine significantly increased the abundances of Firmicutes, Bacteroidota, ZOR0006, and Bacteroides and decreased the abundances of Proteobacteria, Fusobacteriota, Vibrio, Crenobacter, and Shewanella in the CRE1 group. Dietary creatine increased the content of taurine, arginine, ornithine, γ-aminobutyric acid (g-ABA), and creatine (CRE1 vs. BET group) and the expression of creatine kinase (ck), sulfinoalanine decarboxylase (csad), guanidinoacetate N-methyltransferase (gamt), glycine amidinotransferase (gatm), agmatinase (agmat), diamine oxidase1 (aoc1), and glutamate decarboxylase (gad) in the CRE1 group. Overall, these results suggested that dietary supplementation of creatine (0.5-2%) did not affect the growth performance, but it altered the gut microbial composition at the phylum and genus levels, which might be beneficial to the gut health of M. amblycephala; dietary creatine also increased the serum content of taurine by enhancing the expressions of ck and csad and increased the serum content of g-ABA by enhancing the arginine content and the expressions of gatm, agmat, gad, and aoc1.

Advances in clinical diagnosis and treatment of radiation enteritis / 国际肿瘤学杂志

Small bowel capsule endoscopy and double-balloon enteroscopy have become new methods for clinical diagnosis of radiation enteritis (RE) , especially for abnormal intestinal tissue. Targeted biopsy or interventional therapy is expected to achieve precision treatment of RE. The screening of molecular markers in biological samples has also become a new direction for RE diagnosis. Fecal microbiota transplantation has become one of the promising treatments for RE. In addition, mechanism studies based on traditional Chinese medicine, targeted cell death, and omics analysis provide rich strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of RE.

Research on dynamic on-line monitoring method of moisture attribute in three honey-processed Chinese herbal slice based on in-situ general model / 药学学报

Aiming at the hysteresis and destructiveness of off-line static detection of critical quality attribute of the moisture content of the raw material unit of the traditional Chinese medicine manufacturing process, honey-processed Tussilago farfara, honey-processed Astragalus and honey-processed Glycyrrhiza uralensis were used as the research carriers, and the drying method was used to measure the moisture content as a reference value. The moving stage was used to simulate the movement process of samples on the conveyor belt in the actual on-site production process, and near-infrared (NIR) spectra were collected, combined with machine learning, to establish NIR on-site dynamic detection model of moisture content in multi-variety honey-processed Chinese herbal slice. The results show that the second derivative method is used to preprocess the spectrum. The number of decision trees (ntree), the number of random features (max feature), and the minimum number of samples for generating leaf nodes (node size) are selected: 46, 76, and 8, respectively. The quantitative analysis model of moisture content has the best effect. The prediction coefficient of determination (the prediction coefficient of determination, R2pre) and the root mean square error of prediction (root mean square error of prediction, RMSEP) of the model were 0.903 2 and 0.330 2, respectively. The NIR quantitative model for the moisture content of multi-variety honey-processed Chinese herbal slice established in this study has good predictive performance, and can achieve rapid, accurate and non-destructive quantitative analysis of the moisture content of honey-processed Tussilago farfara, honey-processed Astragalus and honey-processed Glycyrrhiza uralensis at the same time, and provides a method for determining the moisture content of honey-processed Chinese herbal slice of the raw material unit of the traditional Chinese medicine manufacturing process.

Effects of Buyang Huanwu Decoction on Intestinal Barrier, Intestinal Flora, and Trimethylamine Oxide in Rats with Heart Failure / 中国结合医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the mechanisms of Buyang Huanwu Decoction (BYHWD) modulating the gut microbiome and trimethylamine oxide (TAMO) to exert cardioprotective effects.@*METHODS@#Ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery was performed in rats to induce heart failure (HF). Except for the sham-operation group (n=10), 36 operation-induced models were randomized into 3 groups using a random number table (n=12 in each group): the model group, the BYHWD group (15.02 g/kg BYHWD), and the positive group (4.99 g/kg metoprolol succinate). After 4-week treatment (once daily by gavage), echocardiography was applied to evaluate the cardiac function and the Tei index (the ratio of ventricular isovolumic contraction time (IVCT) and isovolumic diastolic time (IVRT) to ejection time (ET)) was calculated; hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining was observed to characterize the pathology of the myocardium and small intestinal villi. D-lactic acid was detected by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Expressions of occludin, claudin-1, and zonula occludens (ZO-1) were detected by Western blot. 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (16S rRNA) sequencing was used to explore the changes in the intestinal flora. TMAO was detected via liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).@*RESULTS@#In the echocardiography, the Tei index was considerably lower in the positive and BYHWD groups compared with the model group (P<0.05). Besides, BYHWD improved the pathology of myocardium and small intestine of HF rats and lowered the D-lactic acid content in the serum, when compared with the model group (P<0.05). BYHWD also improved the expression of occludin and claudin-1 (P<0.05); in the gut microbiota analysis, BYHWD slowed down modifications in the structure distribution of gut microbiota and regulated the diversity of intestinal flora in HF rats. The content of TMAO in the serum was significantly lowered by BYWHT compared with the model group (P<0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#BYHWD may delay progression of HF by enhancing the intestinal barrier structure, and regulating intestinal flora and TAMO.

A study of Tai Chi and Qigong popularity in the United States based on the NHIS data / 国际中医中药杂志

Tai Chi and Qigong (TCQ) are regarded as major therapies of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), and welcomed by increasing practitioners worldwide for their efficacy in various health issues. To better learn about the popularity of TCQ in the United States, the related data collected from 2007, 2012 and 2017 questionnaires of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) were examined and analyzed. The result showed that adult TCQ practitioners in the US increased substantially from 2007-2017, the percentage of Tai Chi practitioners in adult population was 1.0% in 2007, and Qigong practitioners 0.3%; Tai Chi practitioners was 1.1% in 2012, and Qigong practitioners 0.3%; in 2017, Tai Chi practitioners was 1.5%, and Qigong practitioners 0.5%. The top three reasons for using TCQ were: 82.4% for general wellness or disease prevention, 64.6% to improve or enhance energy, and 35.1% recommended by family, friends or co-workers. The health benefits of TCQ, the demand for complementary therapies and increasing research evidences were positive factors for the growth, while there are also challenges including insufficiencies in scientific researches and lacking of standardized teaching system. To promote the future development of TCQ in the US and oversea countries, we should optimize the research methods and standardize the teaching system, encourage the exchange and training of TCQ related professionals, and promote the integration of TCQ into conventional medical system and other related industries.

Development and strategy analysis of Chinese herbal medicine in Germany / 国际中医中药杂志

Germany owns the largest herbal market in Europe and has the world's leading R&D capabilities for herbal medicine products. Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) spreaded to Germany hundreds of years ago. Since the beginning of the 20th century, China and Germany have signed a series of agreements to support traditional medicine cooperation, and the exchange of herbs between China and Germany has become more frequent, bringing opportunities for CHM to enter into Germany. In recent years, China and Germany have gained progress in the fields of CHM research and trade, etc. However, there are differences in the understanding of herbal medicines, quality standard evaluation, usage, and medication rules between the two countries. By doing SWOT analysis of the development of CHM in Germany, this paper suggested to promote Sino-German medical exchanges and build a community of common health for mankind through strengthening the clinical application of CHM, finding new ways of CHM entering into German market, and building an international talent team of traditional Chinese medicine.

Intensive phototherapy vs. exchange transfusion for the treatment of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia: a multicenter retrospective cohort study / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

BACKGROUND@#Intensive phototherapy (IPT) and exchange transfusion (ET) are the main treatments for extreme hyperbilirubinemia. However, there is no reliable evidence on determining the thresholds for these treatments. This multicenter study compared the effectiveness and complications of IPT and ET in the treatment of extreme hyperbilirubinemia.@*METHODS@#This retrospective cohort study was conducted in seven centers from January 2015 to January 2018. Patients with extreme hyperbilirubinemia that met the criteria of ET were included. Patients were divided into three subgroups (low-, medium-, and high- risk) according to gestational week and risk factors. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to balance the data before treatment. Study outcomes included the development of bilirubin encephalopathy, duration of hospitalization, expenses, and complications. Mortality, auditory complications, seizures, enamel dysplasia, ocular motility disorders, athetosis, motor, and language development were evaluated during follow-up at age of 3 years.@*RESULTS@#A total of 1164 patients were included in this study. After PSM, 296 patients in the IPT only group and 296 patients in the IPT plus ET group were further divided into the low-, medium-, and high-risk subgroups with 188, 364, and 40 matched patients, respectively. No significant differences were found between the IPT only and IPT plus ET groups in terms of morbidity, complications, and sequelae. Hospitalization duration and expenses were lower in the low- and medium-risk subgroups in the IPT only group.@*CONCLUSIONS@#In this study, our results suggest that IPT is a safe and effective treatment for extreme hyperbilirubinemia. The indication of ET for patients with hyperbilirubinemia could be stricter. However, it is necessary to have a contingency plan for emergency ET as soon as IPT is commenced especially for infants with risk factors. If IPT can be guaranteed and proved to be therapeutic, ET should be avoided as much as possible.

Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine in India / 国际中医中药杂志

India is a parliamentary republic country located in South Asian. Its medical and healthcare insurance is paid by the state government and it has the world’s largest "free medical" service system. India has a long history of traditional medicine (TM) represented mainly by Ayurveda, Naturopathy, Yoga etc. As early as the 2nd century BC, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) was introduced to India along with religious exchanges and trade activities. At present, acupuncture has achieved independent legal status in India and there are many acupuncture clinics and associations. However, non-acupuncture TCM treatments lack development in India, but the application of acupuncture lacks of systematic standards.

Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Mongolia / 国际中医中药杂志

Mongolia is a parliamentary republic country in the north of our country. Healthcare system is mainly composed of three parts: state-owned medical institutions, private clinics and mixed-ownership medical institutions, characteris by the wide coverage but uneven resources. Due to the folk customs and climate, diseases of the digestive system are more common, and the main diseases that cause deaths of Mongolian residents are ischemic heart disease, stroke, and liver cancer. Mongolia is located by and culturally related to China, so the development and dissemination of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is likely acceptable to the public. Mongolia’s traditional medicine and TCM have long-term exchanges and influences, promoting each other’s development, which also are protected by Mongolian laws. The concerns such as the inheritance, study and protection of Mongolian traditional medicine, the promotion of non-medicinal therapies restrict the development Mongolian and Chinese traditional medicine. It is recommended that Mongolian and TCM jointly promote the development and dissemination of traditional medicine in the world by cultivating high-level medical talents, increasing research and protection of herbal medicines, and expanding the application of non-drug therapies.

Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Iraq / 国际中医中药杂志

Iraq is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious federal country located in southwest Asia and northeast of the Arabian Peninsula. Medical insurance is based on the primary health care model, supplemented by private medical care. Traditional medicine in Iraq is dominated by Islamic medicine. With the support of the Chinese government, the first Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) center was established in 2000. However, due to safety issues, the management of the center had problems such as insufficient staff, limited medical experience, and non-persistentsupport. At present, TCM has not been included in the Iraqi medical insurance system, which has affected the people’s medical choice and hindered the development of TCM. It is recommended to strengthen the construction of existing TCM centers, improve the accessibility of TCM education, and strengthen the cooperation and exchanges of traditional medicine between the two countries to promote the spread and development of TCM in Iraq.

Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine in South Africa / 国际中医中药杂志

South Africa is an ethnically and culturally diverse presidential republic country. The medical and health system consists of public and private medical care. AIDS, lower respiratory infections, neonatal diseases, and interpersonal violence and road injuries are the leading causes of adult death. South Africa has rich herbal resources, and a long history of traditional medicine, which is mainly black African traditional medicine. Until the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Africa in 1998, the development of TCM was significantly improved, and legislation of TCM was adopted by the government in 2000. Chinese herbal medicine has not yet formed industrial standardization, the TCM application and TCM education are insufficient. Therefore, it is suggested to accelerate the standardization of TCM, to strengthen the TCM education for professional TCM practitioners, and to form a large-scale, industrial and standardized development model. Only in these ways can TCM provide good medical services for residents in South African.

Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Egypt / 国际中医中药杂志

Egypt’s medical insurance is mainly covered by government and commercial insurance. The low coverage of commercial insurance and the quality of medical services needs more improvement in Egypt. Recently, the incidence rate of diabetes, chronic kidney disease, hypertensive heart disease, COPD and liver cancer is rising. Traditional Egyptian medicine is similar to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and its modern traditional medicine is mainly Arabian medicine. Acupuncture, as the main form of TCM, was introduced into Egypt in the 1970s, but it has not been covered by the medical insurance system. The development of TCM in Egypt needs improvement. It is suggested that further explorated fields should be focused on the acupuncture therapy, TCM education and TCM treatment of keeping health in Egypt.

Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Algeria / 国际中医中药杂志

The Algerian medical health system provides free medical care. The incidence of non-communicable diseases, such as ischemic heart disease, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease, are high. Acupuncture has become a popular treatment recognized by the public with certain influence. However, some problems restrict the development of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in Algeria, like insufficient training of TCM talents; lack of TCM related knowledge, and medical insurance policy uncoving TCM. Based on the status quo of TCM, we suggested promotion and dissemination of TCM development in Algeria, including breaking through education limitation to expand the talent team, carrying out targeted publicity to expand the influence of TCM, promoting the inclusion of TCM in medical insurance and government legislative protection. Only in these ways, could we increase and expand the strength and scope of TCM influence, and promote the development of TCM in Algeria.

The development status and analysis of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Turkey / 国际中医中药杂志

Turkey is a presidential republic country located in the Eurasian continent, which has a universal health coverage since the health reform in 2003. The leading causes of death in this country are ischemic heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer. Besides, lower respiratory infections, chronic kidney disease, and hypertensive heart disease are the diseases which have a fastest growing rate. Chinese acupuncture was officially recognized by Turkey in 1991 with the promulgation of Acupuncture Treatment Legislation. At present, only trained practitioners and dentist could conduct acupuncture treatment, which was stated in Regulation of Tradition and Complementary Medicine Practice. The application of Turkish acupuncture and moxibustion is still applied in a simplified way that lack of TCM theory. Moreover, Chinese herbal medicine is still not officially recognized and still under control of the Ministry of Agriculture. Therefore, it is suggested to introduce TCM theory in the spread of acupuncture, to promote acupuncture research and clinical practice, to clarify the different standards between the two countries, and to cooperate in Chinese medicine researches, especially those related to the local high incidence and refractory disease so as to promote the development of TCM in Turkey and provide medical services for local residents.

The development status and analysis of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Indonesia / 国际中医中药杂志

Indonesia is an island country in Southeast Asia. In 2014, Indonesia established the National Health Insurance System (NHIS), and until 2019, the NHIS hadcovered 82% residents. The leading causes of death in Indonesia were stroke, ischemic heart disease, diabetes, tuberculosis and cirrhosis. In 1996, the Indonesian Ministry of Health allowed acupuncturists to enter Indonesian medical institutions to practice acupuncture. After that acupuncture was included in college education as a major course. However, there are still some problems, such as insufficient policy and legislation support of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), imperfect education and talent training system of TCM, and low acceptance of TCM theories. Therefore, it is recommended that the local societies and organizations could actively promote the government’s legislation on TCM; local TCM schools could build a team of excellent teachers, improve teaching quality, and cultivate local TCM talents; strengthen the cooperation and exchanges of traditional medicine between the two countries to promote the spread and development of TCM in Indonesia.

Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Serbia / 国际中医中药杂志

Serbia is a parliamentary republic country in Southeast Europe. It implements a health security system with social insurance as the mainstay and social assistance as a supplement. Ischemic heart disease, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease are the major causes of death, and the mortality rates of cardiomyopathy and chronic kidney disease are increasing. Serbia has relevant legislation on traditional medicine. Acupuncture, as the main form of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), has been introduced to Serbia in an early stage. Acupuncture was recognized as a legal medical method in 2005, and then the corresponding educational institutions of TCM were established soon. However, the limitation of acupuncture treatment application, difficulty in access to Chinese medicine, and undeveloped of TCM education system, all of them restrict the development of TCM in Serbia. It is recommended to improve the development and dissemination of Chinese medicine in Serbia, like to increase the promotion of acupuncture, pay attention to the Chinese medicine for preventive health care, and strengthen TCM education.

The development status and analysis of Traditional Chinese Medicine in USA / 国际中医中药杂志

American medical insurance is mainly composed of public medical insurance borne by the government and private medical insurance. The main cause of death in this country are ischemic heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and lung cancer. The motality rate mainly caused by drug use disorders, chronic kidney disease and Alzheimer’s disease. The development of Chinese herbal medicine is relatively slow and difficult. The education system has covered Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). However, there still exist certain challenges of the development of TCM acupuncture faces the challenge of localization; Chinese herbal medicine still lacks standardization and TCM education needs to be standardized. Based on the current situation, it is suggested to focus on the development of acupuncture and moxibustion, to promote the registration and declaration of Chinese herbal medicine products for treating difficult diseases, and to strengthen the international exchange of TCM education, so as to promote the development and spread of TCM in the United States.

The development status and analysis of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Brazil / 国际中医中药杂志

The medical insurance is provided by the Unified Health System (SUS) covering most of Brazilians and alsocombined with private insurance, and every Brazilan could get access to basic health services. The major diseaseas leading to death in Brazil are ischemic heart disease, stroke and lower respiratory infection. The incidence of AD, chronic kidney disease and diabetes are increasing in recent years. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which was represented by acupuncture, was introduced to Brazil in the early 19th. At present, acupuncture has been widely accepted and used, which was included in SUS. A number of universities have acupuncture courses. However, the specialities and advantages of TCM needs to be strengthened, the local practioners lack the understanding of TCM theory, the appropriate use of herbal medicine, and there lacks TCM education standards, all these limit the development of TCM. Thus, in order to promote the development and dissemination of TCM in Brazil, it is suggested to give full play of the characteristics of TCM in preventing disease, increase the research and development input of herbal medicine, standardize the education stystem of TCM, etc.

The development status and analysis of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Panama / 国际中医中药杂志

The popularization of medical insurance in Panama has been basically completed. The coverage of health insurance is high, but with the problem of polarization. The major causes of death in Panama are is chemic heart disease, stroke, AD and diabetes. In recent years, the chronic kidney disease and COPD are increasing significantly. Panamanian native medicine, considered as complementary and alternative medicine, is recognized by local laws and usedby most of indigenous groups and rural people. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in Panama is at the starting stage, and there is no relevant legislation. However, this country attaches great importance to indigenous traditional medicine, and more and more people gradually accept it. TCM has great development potential in this country. It is suggested to promote the development of TCM in Panama. By culture as the pathway, exploring various forms of cooperation and exchange, taking the research and development of traditional herbal medicine as the breakthrough point, and increasing the spead of acupuncture usage, etc.