Effects of traditional Chinese exercise therapy on pain scores, sleep quality, and anxiety-depression symptoms in fibromyalgia patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the effectiveness of traditional Chinese exercise therapy in alleviating pain, improving sleep quality, and reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression among fibromyalgia patients. METHODS: We conducted a comprehensive search across various databases, including PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, China National Knowledge, VIP database, and Wanfang, to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) examining the impact of Traditional Chinese Exercise (TCE) interventions on fibromyalgia. Two independent authors extracted data from the selected studies based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Meta-analyses were performed using RevMan 5.3. RESULTS: The analysis encompassed 15 RCTs, comprising 936 participants. The meta-analysis revealed that TCE significantly surpassed the control group in reducing pain scores for fibromyalgia patients, as evidenced by improvements in FIQ [MD = -3.30, 95% CI (- 5.37, - 0.69), z = 2.53, p = 0.01] and VAS [MD = -1.87, 95% CI (- 2.12, - 1.61), z = 6.98, p < 0.00001]. Additionally, TCE demonstrated notable enhancements in sleep quality (PSQI) [MD = -2.23, 95% CI (- 2.86, - 1.61), z = 6.98, p < 0.0001], as well as in alleviating symptoms of anxiety and depression [MD = - 0.59, 95% CI (- 0.80, - 0.39), z = 5.63, p < 0.0001]. CONCLUSION: Traditional Chinese Exercise (TCE) exhibits significant efficacy in ameliorating pain, enhancing sleep quality, and alleviating symptoms of anxiety and depression in fibromyalgia patients.

Caizhixuan hair tonic regulates both apoptosis and the PI3K/Akt pathway to treat androgenetic alopecia.

PURPOSE: Caizhixuan hair tonic (CZX) is a topical traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparation for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia (AGA). However, its active compounds and underlying mechanism for treating AGA are still unclear. The purpose of this study was to observe the effects of CZX on hair growth promotion in AGA mice and to explore the active components and mechanism. METHODS: Testosterone propionate was administered subcutaneously to mice to establish an AGA mouse model. The therapeutic effects of CZX on AGA were evaluated by observing skin colour changes, hair growth time, and average hair length; calculating the hair growth score; and performing skin histopathological analysis. Following that, CZX chemical components were analysed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS). Network pharmacology was used to predict the major effects and possible mechanisms of CZX for the treatment of AGA. Furthermore, RT-qPCR and Western blotting were performed to assess the expression of key genes and proteins involved in PI3K/Akt and apoptosis pathways in order to validate CZX's predicted mechanism in AGA. RESULTS: CZX promoted hair growth and improved the pathological morphology of hair follicles in the skin. In UPLC-Q-TOF/MS analysis, 69 components from CZX were isolated. Based on network pharmacology, CZX alleviated AGA by regulating PI3K/Akt and apoptosis pathways. According to RT-qPCR and Western blotting, CZX upregulated the expressions of PI3K, Akt, and Bcl-2, while downregulating that of Bax and caspase-3. CONCLUSIONS: CZX promotes hair growth to treat AGA by regulating the PI3K/Akt and apoptosis pathways.

Efficacy and safety of Chinese medicine combined with acupuncture in the treatment of chronic urticaria: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Increasing studies have shown that Chinese medicine combined with acupuncture has a significant effect on chronic urticaria, which can treat both symptoms and root causes. This meta-analysis aims to compare the efficacy and safety differences between acupuncture combined with conventional Western medicine, so as to provide guidance for the clinical treatment of chronic urticaria. METHODS: We searched Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wanfang, CQVIP, and CBM from the establishment of the database to August 2021. We included randomized controlled trial study that the experimental group was acupuncture combined with traditional Chinese medicine, while the control group was treated with conventional Western medicine. We excluded repeated publication, researches without full text, incomplete information, or inability to conduct data extraction and animal experiments, reviews, and systematic reviews. STATA 15.1 was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The pooled results show that total effective rate of acupuncture combined with traditional Chinese medicine group was significantly higher than that in the conventional Western medicine group (ratio rate [RR] = 1.29, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.2-1.38). Additionally, the pooled results show that Urticaria Activity Score (standardized mean difference = -1.51, 95% CI: -2.24 to -0.78) and pruritus score (standardized mean difference = -1.09, 95% CI: -1.71 to -0.47) of acupuncture combined with traditional Chinese medicine group was significantly lower than that in conventional Western medicine group, while there is no significant difference in wheal score between acupuncture combined with traditional Chinese medicine group and conventional Western medicine group. Importantly, the pooled results show that recurrence rate (RR = 0.35, 95% CI: 0.19-0.64) and the incidence of adverse events (RR = 0.27, 95% CI: 0.10-0.75) of acupuncture combined with traditional Chinese medicine group were all significantly lower than that in conventional Western medicine group. CONCLUSION: Our research results found that traditional Chinese medicine combined with acupuncture has a more significant effect than conventional Western medicine and can significantly reduce the recurrence rate and the incidence of adverse reactions. The application of traditional Chinese medicine combined with acupuncture in the treatment of chronic urticaria should be further promoted.

A Dual Target-Directed Single Domain-Based Fusion Protein Against Interleukin-6 Receptor Decelerate Experimental Arthritis Progression Via Modulating JNK Expression.

The currently used anti-cytokine therapeutic antibodies cannot selectively neutralize pathogenic cytokine signalling that cause collateral damage to protective signalling cascades. The single domain chain firstly discovered in Camelidae displays fully functional ability in antigen-binding against variable targets, which has been seemed as attractive candidates for the next-generation biologic drug study. In this study, we established a simple prokaryotic expression system for a dual target-directed single domain-based fusion protein against the interleukin-6 receptor and human serum, albumin, the recombinant anti-IL-6R fusion protein (VHH-0031). VHH-0031 exhibited potent anti-inflammatory effects produced by LPS on cell RAW264.7, where the major cytokines and NO production were downregulated after 24 h incubation with VHH-0031 in a dose-dependent manner. In vivo, VHH-0031 presented significant effects on the degree reduction of joint swelling in the adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) rat, having a healthier appearance compared with the dexamethasone. The expression level of JNK protein in the VHH-0031 group was significantly decreased, demonstrating that VHH-0031 provides a low-cost and desirable effect in the treatment of more widely patients.

Codonopsis pilosula polysaccharide attenuates Aß toxicity and cognitive defects in APP/PS1 mice.

Codonopsis pilosula Polysaccharides (CPPs), a traditional Chinese medicine used for thousands of years, is a potential neuroprotective polysaccharide via a relatively poorly understood mechanism. We previously reported that CPPs attenuated tau pathology in hTau transfected mice and therefore in the current work investigated the effect of CPPs on Aß toxicity and cognitive defects in APP/PS1 mice model. It was found that one-month intragastric administration of CPPs significantly ameliorated cognitive defects in APP/PS1 mice. In addition, CPPs treatment mitigated the loss of the synaptic plasticity and increased the synaptic proteins including synaptotagmin and PSD95. The expression of Aß42 and Aß40 was remarkably decreased in the hippocampus of APP/PS1 mice after CPPs treatment. We also found that CPPs coincubation significantly reduced the amount of APPß and Aß42 expression in cells. Intriguingly, the activity of BACE1 was decreased following CPPs treatment in both the hippocampus of APP/PS1 mice and in vitro experiments. Collectively, these results indicated that CPPs attenuated Aß pathology in APP/PS1 mice, and down-regulating BACE1 might be the underlaying mechanism which could be a therapeutic target for alleviating cognitive defects in AD pathology.

Screening baseline characteristics of early lung cancer on low-dose computed tomography with computer-aided detection in a Chinese population.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated appropriate baseline characteristics for screening a Chinese population at high risk of early lung cancer, assisted by low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) with computer-aided detection (CAD). Included is a discussion of the viability of using LDCT in the screening guideline and optimizing the guideline. METHODS: In 2014, 1016 individuals from Sichuan Province were enrolled who satisfied the criteria for high risk according to the 2013 National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Guidelines for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. From 2014 to 2018, each subject was followed using LDCT with CAD, and pathologically confirmed lung cancers and baseline nodule characteristics (size and density) were recorded. Positive risk was considered a non-calcified solid or part-solid nodule on LDCT with diameter ≥5 mm and ground-glass nodule ≥8 mm, as newly recommended by the China National Lung Cancer Screening Guideline. RESULTS: From 2014-2018, 13 cases of lung cancer were detected; 5 of these were early stage (38.5%). According to the NCCN criteria, 54 women were included and one of these (1.8%) developed lung cancer. The prevalence of lung cancer was 0.7% at baseline. For the entire population (excluding subjects with a tumor mass at baseline, n = 4), the rate of positivity was 20.4% at baseline; applying the Chinese criteria, the false positive rate was 19.5% (197/1012). CONCLUSIONS: Further studies are warranted to establish appropriate eligible criteria and management strategies for Chinese populations.

Codonopsis pilosula Polysaccharide Attenuates Tau Hyperphosphorylation and Cognitive Impairments in hTau Infected Mice.

Codonopsis pilosula polysaccharide (CPPs), a natural products with potentially lower toxicity and better bioavailability has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for 1000s of years and a neuroprotective polysaccharide mitigates tau pathology in Alzheimer's disease (AD) mouse model. However, whether CPPs can relieve AD pathology and cognitive defects remains poorly understood. Here we reported that CPPs remarkably increased the cell viability and PP2A activity, decreased tau phosphorylation in HEK 293/tau cells. Next, we employed an adeno-associated virus serotype 2 (AAV2)-induced expression of human full length tau (hTau) in C57/BL6 mice to mimic AD tau pathology. One month intragastric administration of CPPs significantly increased PP2A activity and reduced tau phosphorylation at Ser199, Ser202/Thr205 (AT8) and Thr231 in hippocampus of AAV2-hTau infected mice. Furthermore, behavioral tests revealed that CPPs rescued hTau overexpression induced cognitive defects while CPPs significantly increased the fEPSP slope and synaptic proteins including synaptotagmin and synaptophysin. Together, our data suggest that CPPs might prevent AD-like tau hyperphosphorylation via activation of PP2A and attenuates AD-like cognitive impairments through restoring the synaptic plasticity and synaptogenesis. In conclusion, our findings suggest that CPPs might be a potential candidate compound for the treatment of tau related diseases.

Trillium tschonoskii maxim extract attenuates abnormal Tau phosphorylation.

Large-scale epidemiological studies have found that hyperhomocysteinemia is a powerful, independent risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. Trillium tschonoskii maxim is a traditional Chinese medicine that is used to promote memory. However, scientific understanding of its mechanism of action is limited. This report studied the potential neuroprotective effects of Trillium tschonoskii maxim extract against homocysteine-induced cognitive deficits. Rats were intravenously injected with homocysteine (400 µg/kg) for 14 days to induce a model of Alzheimer's disease. These rats were then intragastrically treated with Trillium tschonoskii maxim extract (0.125 or 0.25 g/kg) for 7 consecutive days. Open field test and Morris water maze test were conducted to measure spontaneous activity and learning and memory abilities. Western blot assay was used to detect the levels of Tau protein and other factors involved in Tau phosphorylation in the hippocampus. Immunohistochemical staining was used to examine Tau protein in the hippocampus. Golgi staining was applied to measure hippocampal dendritic spines. Our results demonstrated that homocysteine produced learning and memory deficits and increased levels of Tau phosphorylation, and diminished the activity of catalytic protein phosphatase 2A. The total number of hippocampal dendritic spines was also decreased. Trillium tschonoskii maxim extract treatment reversed the homocysteine-induced changes. The above results suggest that Trillium tschonoskii maxim extract can lessen homocysteine-induced abnormal Tau phosphorylation and improve cognitive deterioration such as that present in Alzheimer's disease.