Analysis on disease burden and direct medical cost of Xueshuan Xinmaining Tablets in patients with cerebral infarction and coronary heart disease / 中国中药杂志

The increasing burden of cardiovascular disease in China has become a major public health problem, and the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease is in urgent need. For the reality of integrated Chinese and Western medicine in the Chinese health care system, we can consider the service ability of traditional Chinese medicine. Xueshuan Xinmaining Tablet is a kind of Chinese patent medicine commonly used in the treatment of recovery stage of ischemic stroke and angina pectoris of coronary heart disease. Based on the data of hospitalized patients covered by national urban basic medical insurance of China Medical Insurance Research Association in 2013, this study evaluated the treatment cost and detailed composition of the cost for the patients with cerebral infarction and coronary heart disease treated by Xueshuan Xinmaining Tablets. At the same time, the differences in disease burden and direct medical expenses among Xueshuan Xinmaining Tablets group, Western medicine group and another commonly used Chinese patent medicine group were analyzed. Among the three groups of patients with cerebral infarction and coronary heart disease, the hospitalization rates caused by various causes(44.4% and 29.6%) and diseases(20.8% and 5.2%) in Xueshuan Xinmaining Tablets group were the lowest(all P<0.01), and the number of hospitalization times in half a year was highest in the common Chinese patent medicine group(all P<0.01). In patients with cerebral infarction, the median annual total outpatient expenses were 7 476.8, 7 601.8, 15 650.1 yuan respectively in Western medicine group, Xueshuan Xinmaining Tablets group and the common Chinese patent medicine group(P<0.01), and the median hospitalization expenses were 11 620.2, 14 988.9, 13 325.6 yuan respectively(P=0.058). In patients with coronary heart disease, the total outpatient expenses of the three groups were 6 831.4, 10 228.6, 13 132.4 yuan respectively(P<0.01), and the total hospitalization expenses were 13 354.7, 14 911.5, 15 725.3 yuan respectively(P=0.134). The results showed that in patients with cerebral infarction and coronary heart disease, the hospitalization rate was lowest in Xueshuan Xinmaining Tablets group, beneficial to the turnover of hospital beds and full use of hospital medical resources. The total annual outpatient cost of Xueshuan Xinmaining Tablets group was lower than that of common Chinese patent medicine group, beneficial to reduce the burden of disease.

Clinical Research Progress of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Treating High-normal Blood Pressure / 中国实验方剂学杂志

The incidence of high-normal blood pressure gradually increased. With the popularization of basic medical knowledge， the detection rate has increased. Without intervention， high-normal blood pressure is very likely converted into hypertension， and the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases will continue to rise. Studies have shown that the blood lipids for detection of people with high-normal blood pressure， cytokines and other laboratory indicators have been changed， causing certain damage to target organs. Normal-high blood pressure people and high-blood pressure people also need to be given attention. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） believes that high-normal blood pressure has intermingled deficiency and excess， which is closely correlated to the liver， spleen and kidney. The syndrome is constantly changing and developing in the course of disease， which is affected by physical fitness， environment， age and other factors. With respect to treatment， conventional western medicine for lowering blood pressure has not yet been incorporated into the guidelines， and exercise， diet， and health education still play a major role. Studies have shown that the intervention methods with TCM characteristics are applied in addition to the improvement of lifestyle， so as to intervene in people with high-normal blood pressure， such as TCM， acupuncture， herbal tea， Baduanjin， with a significant clinical effect. These therapies can effectively reduce blood pressure， improve symptoms， regulate physique， and protect target organ damage， with a good compliance. With the advantages in preventing the disease， TCM is of far-reaching significance to prevent disease in advance， and transform high-normal blood pressure into ideal blood pressure. Based on the study on the intervention of high-normal blood pressure with TCM therapy， it was found that the sample size was small and the preciseness needed to be improved. Further research is needed due to the complicated mechanism of TCM and acupuncture. There is a lack of insufficient evidence to support the long-term efficacy and safety of TCM therapy because of the limitations in clinical study intervention and follow-up time. This article reviews the clinical research of the effect of TCM on high-normal blood pressure， in order to provide guidance and reference for clinical and subsequent research.

Mechanism and Clinical Efficacy of Danhong Injection in Treatment of Coronary Heart Disease / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is one of the leading causes of death in the world and has become a major public health problem worldwide. CHD belongs to the category of "chest stuffiness" in traditional Chinese medicine, and the blood stasis syndrome is the most common syndrome.Danhong injection is prepared from the extract of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma and Carthami Flos. It has the functions of promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. It has anti-inflammatory damage, anti-apoptosis, protection of vascular endothelium, inhibition of platelet aggregation, anti-hyperlipidemia, anticoagulation, improvement of blood rheology and other effects.It also could improve myocardial ischemia and relieve angina symptoms.Danhong injection is widely used in various stages of CHD, including stable angina pectoris, unstable angina pectoris, acute myocardial infarction, postoperative percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI), ischemic cardiomyopathy, CHD with arrhythmia, CHD with hyperlipidemia, CHD with heart failure and CHD with diabetes.

Explore molecular mechanism of Chinese herbs with promoting blood circulation and resolving phlegm effects on myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury based on correlation between microRNA and mtDNA / 中国中药杂志

A large number of basic and clinical studies have shown that the Chinese herbs with promoting blood circulation and resolving phlegm effects could prevent and treat myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury(MIRI) by regulating lipid metabolism. But its mechanism is not yet clear. The studies show that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), microRNAs and lipid metabolism participate in the whole process of MIRI and affect the prognosis. mtDNA mutation is the primary factor to cause myocardial ischemia and reperfusion myocardial cell damage. microRNAs aggravate or reduce MIRI injury by down-regulating or up-regulating related genes expression, while miR-33, as a key regulator of cholesterol transport, regulates lipid metabolism through CROT, PGC-1α, AMPK and other genes located in the mitochondria. There are less studies on correlation between miR-33 and mtDNA, microRNAs. Therefore, further studies on the correlation between miR-33 and mtDNA, microRNAs, as well as the discussions on whether the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with promoting blood circulation and resolving phlegm effects could target miR-33 to regulate lipid metabolism and inducemt DNA mutations or deletions, would have important significance for the prevention and treatment of MIRI.

Study on compatibility of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma and Chuanxiong Rhizoma based on pharmacokinetics of effective components salvianolic acid B and ferulic acid in rat plasma / 中国中药杂志

A study was made on the pharmacokinetic regularity of effective components salvianolic acid B and ferulic acid in Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma (SMRR) and Chuanxiong Rhizoma(CR) in rats, so as to discuss the compatibility mechanism of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma and Chuanxiong Rhizoma. Rats were randomly divided into three groups and intravenously injected with 50 mg x kg(-1) salvianolic acid B for the single SMRR extracts group, 0.5 mg x kg(-1) ferulic acid for the single CR extracts group and 50 mg x kg(-1) salvianolic acid B + 0.5 mg x kg(-1) ferulic acid for the SMRR and CR combination group. The blood samples were collected at different time points and purified by liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate. With chloramphenicol as internal standard (IS), UPLC was adopted to determine concentrations of salvianolic acid B and ferulic acid. The pharmacokinetic parameters of salvianolic acid B and ferulic acid were calculated with WinNonlin 6.2 software and analyzed by SPSS 19.0 statistical software. The UPLC analysis method was adopted to determine salvianolic acid B and ferulic acid in rat plasma, including linear equation, stability, repeatability, precision and recovery. The established sample processing and analysis methods were stable and reliable, with significant differences in major pharmacokinetic parameters, e.g., area under the curve (AUC), mean residence time (MRT) and terminal half-life (t(1/2)). According to the experimental results, the combined application of SMRR and CR can significantly impact the pharmacokinetic process of their effective components in rats and promote the wide distribution, shorten the action time and prolong the in vivo action time of salvianolic acid B and increase the blood drug concentration and accelerate the clearance of ferulic acid in vivo.