ABSTRACT
Diabetic retinopathy（DR） and coronary heart disease（CHD） are both major chronic vascular complications that seriously jeopardize the health of the population and often occur together in clinical practice， it is of great clinical value to actively explore the association between the two in the process of disease development and methods of prevention and treatment of modern medicine and traditional Chinese medicine（TCM）. According to TCM， the heart and eyes physiologically communicate with each other by taking Qi， blood and veins as bridges， blood stasis obstructing collaterals is the common TCM etiology of DR and CHD， whose mechanism involves inflammation， oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction. Promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis plays an important role in the same treatment for different diseases and prevention and treatment of comorbidities， possibly by inhibiting the expression of interleukin-1β（IL-1β）， endothelin-1（ET-1） and hypoxia inducible factor-1α/vascular endothelial growth factor（HIF-1α/VEGF）， regulating phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin（PI3K/Akt/mTOR） pathway， initiating adenosine monophosphate（AMP）-activated protein kinase/silent information regulator 1（AMPK/SIRT1） and nuclear transcription factor erythroid 2-related factor 2/heme oxygenase-1（Nrf2/HO-1） signaling pathways， inhibiting Hippo/Yes-associated protein（Hippo/YAP） signaling pathway， inhibiting mitochondrial permeability transition pore and anti-platelet agglutination for treating DR and CHD， which provides a multi-component， multi-pathway and multi-target selection strategies and ideas for the prevention and treatment of DR and CHD by TCM from a biological perspective. Based on this， subsequent studies should focus on constructing clinically relevant comorbidity models， conducting multicenter prospective studies， and fully utilizing artificial intelligence technology to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between the two diseases， so as to elucidate the mechanism of promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis in preventing and treating panvascular diseases.
ABSTRACT
Vascular complications are the primary cause of the high disability and mortality in diabetic patients. Vascular calcification is a pathological basis of diabetic vascular complications and increases the risk of adverse cardiovascular events and the difficulty of revascularization in diabetic patients. It is of great clinical value to explore the measures for prevention and treatment of diabetic vascular calcification with integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine. This paper explores the intrinsic association of stasis， toxin， and deficiency with diabetic vascular calcification to reveal the pathogenesis of diabetic vascular calcification. Stasis and toxin are causally affected by and combined with each other； deficiency refers to the deficiency of healthy Qi and the loss of Qi and blood. The three elements are associated with the occurrence and development of blood vessel diseases. This paper proposes the evolutional law of stasis， toxin， and deficiency in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） for diabetic vascular calcification. Specifically， diabetic vascular calcification is rooted in the stasis of meridians and collaterals， develops due to the combination of stasis and toxin， and is aggravated by middle Qi deficiency. Furthermore， this paper proposes the TCM intervention principle of activating blood， removing toxin， tonifying deficiency， and dredging collaterals for the prevention and treatment of diabetic vascular calcification. The aim is to provide a theoretical basis for clinical and translational research on the prevention and treatment of diabetic vascular calcification with integrated Chinese and Western medicine.
ABSTRACT
Cardiometabolic disease （CMD） is a clinical syndrome in which there is a causal relationship between metabolic abnormalities and cardiovascular damage. The incidence and mortality rates of CMD remain high despite the use of potent pharmacologic interventions and clinical therapeutic approaches. There is an urgent need for effective evidence-based comprehensive management measures to improve patients' lifespan and quality of life. From the concept of "nourishing through food" proposed in the Huangdi's Internal Classic （Huang Di Nei Jing） to the widespread application of modern dietary patterns such as dietary restriction， plant-based diets， and Jiangnan cuisine， dietary regulation plays a significant role in preventing diseases， early treatment of existing diseases， and recovery. This article systematically reviewed the traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） theory related to dietary patterns， elucidated the cutting-edge evidence and mechanisms of modern dietary patterns like dietary restriction in preventing and treating CMD， and explored the strategy of integrating TCM theory with dietary patterns， aiming to establish a new food-nutrition-medicine approach that combines traditional Chinese and western medicine and provide novel insights and directions for the clinical management of CMD.
ABSTRACT
As the overweight and obese population is growing， the incidence of obstructive sleep apnea is rising， and most of the cases are complicated with coronary heart disease and other cardiovascular diseases. The two diseases affect each other and seriously endanger the patients' health， becoming a major public health problem of global concern. It is of great clinical importance to explore the combination of Chinese and Western medicine in the prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease complicated with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Researchers have explored the relationship between the two based on traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） theory and found that the two diseases belong to the TCM disease categories of chest impediment and snoring， respectively， and their co-morbidity is associated with the abnormal physiological functions of the heart and lungs. The failure of the heart to govern blood leads to the generation of blood stasis， and that of the lung to govern Qi movement leads to the generation of phlegm. The accumulation of phlegm and blood stasis in the chest causes chest impediment and snoring due to obstruction of the airway. This paper discusses the internal linkage between the pathogenesis of coronary heart disease and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in Chinese and Western medicine from the TCM theory of heart-lung correlation. Furthermore， this paper proposes the treatment principles of simultaneously treating the heart and lung and activating blood and resolving phlegm， aiming to provide a theoretical basis for the clinical prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease complicated with obstructive sleep apnea.
ABSTRACT
The high morbidity and fatality rates of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases seriously harm human health，greatly affect the quality of life and increase the burden of disease. Thus， more and more attention has been paid to the relationship between heart and brain. "Simultaneous treatment of heart and brain" is the continuous deepening and development of the theory of "simultaneous treatment of different diseases" in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， and exploring the relationship between heart and brain as well as the current situation of Chinese medicine treatment has important clinical significance for the establishment of integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine diagnosis and treatment programs of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Through a systematic theoretical tracing of the "simultaneous treatment of heart and brain"，the authors held that cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases had the same origin，and that heart and brain took blood as the material basis and governed mind jointly. They also expounded the modern biological relationship of the simultaneous treatment of heart and brain. In other words，the pathogenic factors of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases were the same， with complicated comorbidities， and the disorders of neurohumoral reflex and endocrine system and immune system regulation could affect each other's function. Additionally，the present situation of clinical application of Chinese medicine for simultaneous treatment of heart and brain and its intervention effect on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases were discussed. It was found that these Chinese medicines could protect cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases through multi-target，multi-pathway and multi-link regulation. Combined with the existing problems in the current research，the authors thought and looked forward to the practical strategies of treating cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases with Chinese medicine by paying attention to key groups，focusing on dominant diseases，giving full play to the value of Chinese medicine，and scientifically explaining the connotation of simultaneous treatment of heart and brain， in order to provide ideas and reference for the follow-up transformation application research and better guidance of clinical practice.
ABSTRACT
Cognitive impairment secondary to cardiovascular disease is a common complication in the elderly population， which seriously threatens the health of patients and affects the long-term quality of life. Cardiovascular diseases can lead to vascular endothelial injury， cerebral hypoperfusion， and brain lesions， and then cause cognitive impairment. Cardiovascular risk factors also increase the risk of secondary cognitive impairment in patients. It is particularly important to seek for early diagnosis and traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） and western medicine prevention and treatment. Based on the "holistic concept"， TCM puts forward the theory of "the connection of heart and brain". The heart and brain are connected and both are in charge of mental activities. Heart injury affects the brain， resulting in abnormal consciousness， which is considered to be the pathogenesis of cognitive impairment secondary to cardiovascular disease in TCM. Later generations of doctors propose the theory of "simultaneous treatment of the heart and the brain" on the basis of "treating different diseases with the same treatment" and "the connection of heart and brain". The theory contains two meanings. One is that different diseases can be treated by the same method because of the same etiology and pathogenesis. The other is the coexistence of different diseases and the treatment should be targeted to the same risk factors. This paper systematically discussed the TCM pathogenesis of cognitive impairment secondary to cardiovascular disease and the prevention and treatment strategy of "simultaneous treatment of the heart and the brain". In this paper， the deficiency of qi and blood was the foundation， and the interaction of blood stasis and poison and the obstruction of the pulse and the loss of the body were the key factors. Activating blood， detoxifying arteries， and connecting the orifices were the main treatment method for the disease. This paper is expected to enrich the connotation of "simultaneous treatment of the heart and the brain"， and provide new ideas for the prevention and treatment of cognitive impairment secondary to the cardiovascular disease with TCM.
ABSTRACT
As China is about to enter an era of deep aging， the coexistence of multiple diseases is gradually increasing. Coronary heart disease （CHD） and cognitive dysfunction also show increasing incidence year by year. The two diseases affect and cause each other， becoming the major chronic diseases harmful to the health of the elderly. It is of great clinical significance to explore the methods integrating traditional Chinese and western medicine for the prevention and treatment of the two diseases. The relationship between CHD and cognitive dysfunction in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） was first recorded in Huangdi’s Internal Classic （Huang Di Nei Jing）. As the understanding of CHD and cognitive dysfunction is deepening， the influences of stasis and toxin on both diseases have attracted increasing attention. According to the theories of TCM， CHD and cognitive dysfunction have common points in the etiology and pathogenesis. Therefore， the theory of treating different diseases with same method provides a theoretical basis for the clinical treatment of different diseases with the same pathogenesis. Moreover， this theory conforms to the principle of integrated and individualized prevention and treatment of multi-disease coexistence in modern medicine. This paper systematically proposed that the coexistence of stasis and toxin is a major pathogenesis of CHD and cognitive dysfunction. We then explored the possible mechanisms of the blood-activating and toxin-removing method in the treatment of CHD and cognitive dysfunction based on the theory of treating different diseases with same method. The mechanisms include the regulation of ceramide metabolism， activation of silent mating-type information regulation 2 homolog 1 （SIRT1）， inhibition of pyroptosis， regulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase/nuclear factor-κB （MAPK/NF-κB） signaling pathway， inhibition of mitochondrial division， and regulation of DNA methylation. We hope this paper will provide an idea for the future research on the prevention and treatment of CHD and cognitive dysfunction with TCM.