Technical points of human use experience of ethnic medicine / 中国中药杂志

Ethnic medicine has a rich history of application. Because of the large number of ethnic groups, wide geographical distribution, and unique medical systems in China, the research on the human use experience(HUE) of ethnic medicine should combine the characteristics of ethnic medicine, be based on practical experience, and respect folk practice and tradition. The clinical positioning of ethnic medicine should consider three factors, i.e., population region, dominant diseases, and clinical demand. We should consider the development of traditional preparations that meet the needs of ethnic regions and encourage the development of new drugs that can be popularized and used nationwide for the dominant diseases of ethnic medicines. Attention should be paid to the problems such as a large number of customary articles or substitutes of ethnic medicinal materials, the phenomena of foreign bodies with the same name and different names for the same substance, the different standards of medicinal materials, and the poor processing standards. The name, processing method, source, medicinal parts, and dosage of ethnic medicinal materials or decoction pieces should be determined, and resources should be carefully evaluated to ensure the safety of medicinal resources and ecology. The preparation of ethnic medicine is mostly in the form of pills, powder, ointment, etc., with simple processing technology. The problems of low-quality stan-dards of some preparations, different prescriptions with the same name, and inconsistent processing technology should be overcome, and the process route and main process parameters should be clarified to lay the foundation for the subsequent empirical research on HUE. In the collection and analysis of the HUE data of ethnic medicine, the core guiding ideology of "patient-centered" should be established, and the experience data of patients should be collected. The problems of weak links existing in the inheritance of ethnic medicine should be solved, and flexible and diverse methods should be adopted. Meanwhile, on the premise of complying with the requirements of the principles of medical ethics, we should respect the religion, culture, and customs of ethnic areas to obtain the key HUE information of ethnic medicine. On the basis of the patient preference information and differences in regional disease epidemiology, population characteristics, and medical practice, whether the HUE conclusions of ethnic medicine can be extrapolated to patients outside the region is evaluated from the aspects of clinical benefits, risk tolerance, risk acceptance, etc. The HUE research on ethnic medicine is carried out in a clear way to guide the research and development of new ethnic medicines.

Application of real world study and human use experience in research and development of new traditional Chinese medicine drugs / 中国中药杂志

Real world study(RWS) refers to the process of collecting real world data related to the health of research subjects in the real world environment for pre-set clinical problems and obtaining the status of drug use and potential benefits/risks through analysis. The data are derived from the hospital information system(HIS), medical insurance system, disease registration system, adverse drug reaction monitoring system, etc. Human use experience of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) is a new concept put forward by experts after summarizing the problems existing in clinical trials of new TCM drugs. The data come partially from the real world, and more importantly, such key elements as the formulated prescriptions of new TCM drugs, principles and methods, and clinical applications should be covered. RWS is mainly used for adverse drug reaction monitoring after marketing, benefit evaluation of listed drugs, decision-making of medical treatment and medical insurance, as well as supervision and approval of special medical devices and special drugs. It is complementary to randomized controlled clinical trials. Human use experience is suitable for the research and development of Chinese medicinal compound preparations and the expansion of functions and indications. There are no special provisions for clinical indications and target population. There exists a sequential relationship between the human use experience and clinical trials. Specifi-cally, the summarization of human use experience provides good support for the design and implementation of clinical trials, which is an important segment in the research and development of new TCM drugs. The correlation between real-world data and research results and their reliability should be ensured in RWS, and the unreality should be avoided. The key to summarizing the human use experience is to identify the clinical orientation, target population, course of treatment, usage and dosage of new TCM drugs, and it should be noted that human use experience does not only mean clinical experience. Experimental clinical trial(PCT), a type of study in the real world, has been commonly employed for the summary of human use experience. RWS and human use experience are different research designs targeting different clinical questions in the research and development of new TCM drugs, which can be flexibly selected depending on the actual situation.

Application of add-on-design in post-marketing evaluation of traditional Chinese medicine / 中国中药杂志

Post-marketing evaluation of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) is an important research stage in the life cycle of a drug, and the add-on-design is a common method for its post-marketing evaluation. This article introduces the basic concept of add-on-design, and points out that it is suitable for use based on the principles of medical ethics when the standard treatment should not be interrupted. The post-marketing evaluation of TCM should be carried out based on human experience and in compliance with regulations and ethics. The clinical values of TCM, such as the therapeutic effect for disease, improvement of disease symptoms, improvement in quality of life, as well as the synergism and toxicity attenuation of combined use of TCM and chemical drugs, should be fully reflected through the clinical trials designed with add-on-design. The key points of add-on-design are accurate clinical positioning, scientific estimation of sample size, and rigorous standard treatment. Standard treatment should be a recognized one, consistent and stable; appropriate and recognized efficacy indicators and targeted safety indicators should be selected; the design and operation of clinical research scheme should meet the requirements of randomization and blind method, with special emphasis on the production of qualified placebo. The add-on-design has the advantages that the rights and interests of the subjects are adequately protected. Besides, the research conclusions are easily put into clinical application. But there are also many difficulties, such as the influence of confounding bias, the "ceiling" effect of clinical efficacy, and the difficulty of interpretation of adverse events. Therefore, a rigorous research quality assu-rance system should be established, and the quality control of evaluation consistency of researchers should be emphasized to ensure strict quality control in the research process.

Development of clinical trial of new drugs of traditional Chinese medicines / 中国中药杂志

The relevant laws and regulations of drug clinical trials were introduced in this paper. It is pointed out that with drug re-gulatory laws and technological advances, clinical trials have become an important link in the development of new drugs of traditional Chinese medicines(TCM). Clinical trials of new drugs of TCM must comply with the requirement of "Good Clinical Practice for Trial on Medicinal Products". In view of the particularities of clinical trials of new drugs of TCM, China has established an ethical review system for clinical research in TCM and carried out ethical review and certification of TCM research. In order to guide the development of clinical trials of new drugs of TCM, relevant departments have promulgated a series of guidelines for clinical trials of it, and established a new review system and technical requirements for clinical trials. Since 1983, the "national clinical pharmacology base" has been established. At present, there are 96 drug clinical trial institutions and 32 phase I clinical research wards in TCM hospitals, which can meet the development of clinical trials of new drugs of TCM. In the long-term practice, the technical team has continued to grow and develop, the research experience and technical strength have been significantly improved, and a large number of experts have become the backbone of clinical research in Chinese medicine. It is pointed out that we should attach importance to risk and benefit assessment, human experience, select scientific, objective and appropriate effectiveness indexes, evaluate the efficacy of TCM syndromes, and encourage the use of electronic methods in clinical research of new drugs of TCM. Based on the analysis of clinical trials of TCM in recent five years, it is pointed out that the active degree of clinical trials of new drugs of TCM is not high, the innovation ability of it is insufficient and the ability and enthusiasm of all aspects need to be improved. It is of great significance to carry out clinical trials of new traditional Chinese medicines to upgrade the TCM industry and produce high-level evidence-based medicine evidences. The high quality development of TCM can be promoted by strengthening clinical trials of new drugs of TCM.

Theoretical thinking on guiding research and development of new drugs of traditional Chinese medicine / 中国中药杂志

This article proposes that the research and development of new Chinese medicines should be based on the clinical values of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM), and expounds the multiple clinical values of new Chinese medicines such as therapeutic effects, adjuvant treatment effects, improvement of disease symptoms, improvement of quality of life, prevention of diseases, etc., so as to broaden the clinical indications of new Chinese medicines. It is pointed out that the clinical value of TCM determines the clinical efficacy evaluation method of new Chinese medicines, so as to construct a clinical evaluation system of new Chinese medicines with the characteristics of TCM. It is proposed that the clinical value of new Chinese medicines should be found under the guidance of TCM theo-ry and clinical practice, and the theoretical innovation of TCM should be emphasized. There is no difference in the clinical value of drugs, and the key is to meet the clinical needs of patients. The research and development of new Chinese medicines ignores the theoretical guidance of Chinese medicine, and relying solely on animal experiment data may lead to failure of clinical trials. Different from the individualized treatment of TCM clinical syndrome differentiation, summarizing the core pathogenesis of TCM is the basis for the development of new Chinese medicines. It is necessary to summarize the pathogenesis of the disease under the guidance of TCM theory and encourage the application of modern medical methods to clarify the diagnosis of the disease. In view of the characteristics of new Chinese medicine research and development, it is proposed that the supporting role of human experience should be emphasized, and the technical points of clinical trials of new syndrome-type Chinese medicines should be explained.The use of objective indicators for syndrome evaluation, the selection of appropriate scales, and the formulation of reasonable treatment courses are advocated. During the research and development of new Chinese medicines, it is not only necessary to pay attention to modern medical safety indicators, but also to observe the evolution of TCM syndromes and specific TCM symptoms.

Data collection, quality and evidence formation for human use experience of traditional Chinese medicine / 中国中药杂志

Collecting and summarizing human use experience(HUE) data, forming high-quality data and evidences that can be used for evaluation are the key links of HUE research on traditional Chinese medicine(TCM). The collection, collation and summary of human experience data were discussed in this paper. It is pointed out that the collection of HUE should be focus on the source of prescription of new traditional Chinese medicines, and be summarized based on dialectical thinking, experience in medication, characte-ristics of prescription and clinical application. The collected contents include prescription, process, clinical location and applicable population, efficacy data and safety data, etc. The methods include interview, clinical data summary and data mining. When the data formed based on HUE information is used as drug registration information, it is necessary to ensure that the data source is legal and compliant, and the ownership of intellectual property is clear.Data sources should meet the requirements of medical ethics. To avoid conflict of interest, data analysis should be conducted by an independent third party. It is necessary to develop the quality control measures of HUE data to ensure the data traceability, integrity, consistency and accuracy, and avoid data bias.The data of HUE should include the key data such as accurate clinical location and applicable population, recognized clinical efficacy and safety.After the formation of HUE, the statistical analysis plan of empirical data of human use should be formulated. Through strict data processing, statistical analysis and clinical interpretation, HUE can be produced for evaluation.

Anti-atherosclerotic effect of betaine in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice / 中华预防医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effect of betaine on the formation of atherosclerotic plaque in apolipoprotein E (ApoE)-deficient mice and explore its anti-inflammatory mechanism.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Seven-week-old ApoE-deficient mice (C57BL/6J background) were divided into four groups randomly based on body weight: model group and three betaine groups. Wild-type mice with the same age and genetic background were used as control group. The control group and model group were fed AIN-93G diet. Three betaine groups were fed AIN-93G diet supplemented with 1, 2, 4 g betaine/100 g diet, respectively. Serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, lipid levels and methylation status of TNF-alpha promotor in aorta were determined at 0, 7 and 14 weeks. The percentage of aorta sinus plaque to lumen area was measured at 14-week.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The percentage of aorta sinus plaque to lumen area of 1% and 2% betaine groups were (11.43+/-2.65)% and (12.09+/-3.07)%, respectively, which were 41% and 33% smaller than that of the model group (t=3.117, 3.010, respectively, and P<0.01). Serum TNF-alpha level of three betaine groups were (56.33+/-3.86), (63.04+/-4.67) and (65.52+/-3.97) pg/ml, respectively, which were lower than that of the model group (79.40+/-4.68) pg/ml (t=9.270, 6.571 and 5.576, respectively, P<0.001), but there was no significant difference in the methylation status of TNF-alpha promotor among all five groups.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Betaine could inhibit the development of atherosclerosis via anti-inflammation.</p>

Study on direct electrochemical behaviors and the electroanalytical method of matrine type alkaloids at glassy carbon electrode / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the direct electrochemical behaviors of matrine (MT), oxymatrine (OMT), sophoridine (SR) and oxysophoridine (OSR) at a glassy carbon electrode in a physiological medium, and to determine the contents of commercial MT and SR pharmaceutical products were determined.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Their electrochemical behaviors and contents in 0.15 mol x L(-1) NaCl aqueous solutions were obtained by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and square wave voltammetry (SWV) methods.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The electrochemical experimental results show that the two totally irreversible oxidation peaks for both MT and SR were observed, which potential values are 0.81 V and 0.92 V, and the electrode reaction processes were diffusion-controlled. But for both OMT and OSR, they have no oxidation peaks observed in the same condition as well. The linear range of the concentration of MT and SR and the contents in their products were obtained by SWV.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The research results can be applied in determination of the contents of commercial MT and SR pharmaceutical products.</p>