Traditional Chinese medicine manipulative reduction combined with percutaneous vertebroplasty for treating type III Kummell's disease: A case report.

BACKGROUND: A patient with type III Kummell's disease had a ruptured posterior cortex of the fractured vertebral body, which caused spinal cord compression. An open surgery was considered the best choice of operation. However, the patient and her family refused open surgery and instead demanded a minimally invasive surgical treatment such as percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP). After preoperative discussion, we finally adopted the novel therapy of traditional Chinese medicine manipulative reduction (TCMMR) combined with PVP. CASE SUMMARY: A patient with type III Kummell's disease exhibiting bone block-induced spinal cord compression was admitted to our hospital. She suffered from a variety of medical disorders but refused open surgery, and instead asked for PVP surgery. TCMMR, in parallel with PVP, was used to restore the height of the compressed vertebral body and reduce the symptoms of spinal cord compression by the bone block in order to strengthen the vertebral body and prevent further collapse. The surgery was very successful. The height of the compressed vertebra was restored, and the symptom of spinal cord compression by bone block was reduced successfully via TCMMR. The fractured vertebra was solidified by the PVP. The pain visual analog score declined from preoperative 7 scores to postoperative 2 scores, and the Frankel spinal cord scale increased from preoperative D degree to postoperative E degree. CONCLUSION: The new method has advantages in treating patients with type III Kummell's disease who cannot be treated with open surgery.

Efficacy and safety assessment of severe COVID-19 patients with Chinese medicine: A retrospective case series study at early stage of the COVID-19 epidemic in Wuhan, China.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has formed a global pandemic since late 2019. Benefitting from the application experience of Chinese Medicine (CM) for influenza and SARS, CM has been used to save patients at the early stage of COVID-19 outbreak in China. AIM OF THE STUDY: In order to evaluate the efficacy and safety of CM, and compare with Western Medicine (WM) for COVID-19, we conducted a retrospective case series study based on the patients in Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital, Wuhan, China. METHODS: The inclusion and exclusion criteria of data extraction were set for this retrospective study. All patients who were admitted by the Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital between January 17th and February 25th 2020 were considered. In addition, patients enrolled met the severe defined by the guidelines released by the National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China. In these cases included in the study, CM or WM treatment was selected according to the wishes of the patients at the beginning of hospitalization. The patients in CM group were treated with Huashi Baidu granule (137 g po, bid) combined with the injections of Xiyanping (100 mg iv, bid), Xuebijing (100 ml iv, bid) and Shenmai (60 ml iv, qd) according to the syndrome of epidemic toxin blocking the lung in the theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The WM group received antiviral therapy (including abidor capsule 0.2 g po, tid; Lopinavir-Ritonavir tablets, 500 mg po, bid), antibiotics (such as cefoperazone 2 g iv, bid; moxifloxacin hydrochloride tablets, 0.4 g po, qd) or corticosteroid therapy (such as methylprednisolone succinate sodium 40 mg iv, qd; prednisone, 30 mg po, qd). In addition, patients in both groups received routine supportive treatment, including oxygen inhalation, symptomatic therapy, and/or human intravenous immunoglobulin, and/or serum albumin, and treatment for underlying diseases. The clinical outcomes were evaluated based on changes related with clinical manifestations, computer tomography (CT) scan images, and laboratory examinations before and after the treatment. RESULTS: 55 severe COVID-19 patients, with 23 in CM group and 32 in WM group, were included for analyzed. There was no case of death, being transferred to ICU, or receiving invasive mechanical ventilation in two groups during hospitalization. The median time of SARS-CoV-2 RNA clearance in CM and WM group were 12 days and 15.5 days respectively, the ratio of nucleic acid negative conversion of CM group at different follow-up time points was significantly higher than that of WM group (HR: 2.281, P = 0.018). Further, the chest CT imaging showed more widely lung lesion opacity absorbed in the CM group. The high sensitivity C-reactive protein and serum ferritin decreased significantly in the CM group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in adverse events in terms of liver function and renal function between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Based on this retrospective analysis from Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital, CM has better effects in SARS-CoV-2 RNA clearance, promoting lung lesion opacity absorbed and reducing inflammation in severe COVID-19 patients, which is effective and safe therapy for treating severe COVID-19 and reducing mortality.

Hypertonic saline attenuates expression of Notch signaling and proinflammatory mediators in activated microglia in experimentally induced cerebral ischemia and hypoxic BV-2 microglia.

BACKGROUND: Ischemic stroke is a major disease that threatens human health in ageing population. Increasing evidence has shown that neuroinflammatory mediators play crucial roles in the pathophysiology of cerebral ischemia injury. Notch signaling is recognized as the cell fate signaling but recent evidence indicates that it may be involved in the inflammatory response in activated microglia in cerebral ischemia. Previous report in our group demonstrated hypertonic saline (HS) could reduce the release of interleukin-1 beta and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in activated microglia, but the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms have remained uncertain. This study was aimed to explore whether HS would partake in regulating production of proinflammatory mediators through Notch signaling. RESULTS: HS markedly attenuated the expression of Notch-1, NICD, RBP-JK and Hes-1 in activated microglia both in vivo and in vitro. Remarkably, HS also reduced the expression of iNOS in vivo, while the in vitro levels of inflammatory mediators Phos-NF-κB, iNOS and ROS were reduced by HS as well. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that HS may suppress of inflammatory mediators following ischemia/hypoxic through the Notch signaling which operates synergistically with NF-κB pathway in activated microglia. Our study has provided the morphological and biochemical evidence that HS can attenuate inflammation reaction and can be neuroprotective in cerebral ischemia, thus supporting the use of hypertonic saline by clinicians in patients with an ischemia stroke.

Flos Puerariae Extract Ameliorates Cognitive Impairment in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Mice.

Objective. The effects of Flos Puerariae extract (FPE) on cognitive impairment associated with diabetes were assessed in C57BL/6J mice. Methods. Experimental diabetic mice model was induced by one injection of 50 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ) for 5 days consecutively. FPE was orally administrated at the dosages of 50, 100, or 200 mg/kg/day, respectively. The learning and memory ability was assessed by Morris water maze test. Body weight, blood glucose, free fatty acid (FFA) and total cholesterol (TCH) in serum, malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activities in cerebral cortex and hippocampus were also measured. Results. Oral administration of FPE significantly improved cognitive deficits in STZ-induced diabetic mice. FPE treatment also maintained body weight and ameliorated hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia in diabetic mice. Additionally, decreased MDA level, enhanced CAT, and GSH-Px activities in cerebral cortex or hippocampus, as well as alleviated AChE activity in cerebral cortex, were found in diabetic mice supplemented with FPE. Conclusion. This study suggests that FPE ameliorates memory deficits in experimental diabetic mice, at least partly through the normalization of metabolic abnormalities, ameliorated oxidative stress, and AChE activity in brain.

Relationship between selection of Pinus massoniana families and Folium Pini / 中国中药杂志

Based on variation of Pinus massoniana families, heritablility and correlation analysis, the contents of shikimic acid and procyanidine (heritability 0.90, 0.70), dry weight of single branch (heritability 0.60) and and leaf length (heritability 0.46) were screened out as quality, yield and harvest cost traits of Folium Pini, respectively. For the different medicinal application of Folium Pini, varied methods were chosen to estimate weight and construct index equation. Weight adjustment based.on equal emphasis were used as economic weight determining method to select the best families, and the index (accuracy 0. 936 4 and heritability 0. 881 6) obtained was a little better than that obtained by equal emphasis, and much better than that by restricted index. The superior families selected with adjustment weight and equal emphasis were No. 46, 43 and 28. Partial regression were used as economic weight determining method to select the best families,and the index obtained had the highest accuracy (0.941 5) , index heritability (0. 889 9) and the genetic gain of shikimic acid content. The superior families selected with this method were No. 46, 27 and 47. No. 46 was the best families with maximal economic benefit. Our study indicated that suitable method for estimate weight and construct index equation can be applied for better accuracy of superior families selection of P. massoniana.

[Effects of inoculating arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on Artemisia annua growth and its officinal components].

A pot experiment was conducted to study the effects of inoculating arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi on the growth, nutrient uptake, and officinal components of Artemisia annua. Inoculation with AM fungi Glomus mosseae and G. versiforme improved the uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium by A. annua, and increased the leaf chlorophyll content, net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, and transpiration rate as well as the stem diameter and aboveground biomass of A. annua, with greater effects of inoculating G. mosseae than G. versiforme. After the colonization of G. mosseae and G. versiforme, the artemisinin content in A. annua stem, branch, and leaf was increased by 32.8%, 15.2%, and 19.6%, and 26.5%, 10.1%, and 14.9%, and the volatile oil content in leaf was increased by 45.0% and 25. 0%, respectively, compared with the control. Furthermore, mycorrhizal colonization led to changes in volatile components.

[Study on safe use of 10% difenoconazole in GAP of Gentiana scabra].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the safe use of 10% difenoconazole in planting Gentiana scabra. METHOD: The degradation dynamics of 10% ifenoconazole in the stems and leaves of G. scabra collecting in different time were determined by GC with ECD detection, and the half life of difenoconazole in the plant was calculated, and then the safe use method of 10% difenoconazole was formulated. RESULT: Under the local climatic conditions, the half life of 10% difenoconazole was 6.84-6.90 days. CONCLUSION: In the good agricultural practice (GAP) of G. scabra, the maximal concentration of 10% difenoconazole is 400 g x ha(-1), the safety interval of using 10% difenoconazole is 40 days.

Study on HPLC fingerprint of Prunella vulgaris / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To establish HPLC fingerprint of Prunella vulgarise for quality control of the herbal medicine.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>A sunfire C18 analytical column was used. The mobile phase A was 1% acetic acid, and mobile phase B was methanol. The elution was in gradient mode and detection wavelength was set at 290 nm. The flow rate was 1.0 mL x min(-1) and the column temperature at 30 degrees C. The analysis time was 60 min.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The similarity of 10 batches of P. vulgaris was not lower than 0.810. The fingerprints of the herbal medicine were classified P. vulgaris on the results of cluster analysis.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>This method is available for quality evaluation and control the quality of P. vulgaris.</p>

[Comparison between therapeutic effects of acupuncture and intravenous injection of amiodarone in the treatment of paroxymal atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter].

OBJECTIVE: To probe the feasibility of acupuncture in conversion of paroxymal atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter. METHODS: Eighty cases of atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter were randomly divided into 2 groups, a treatment group and a control group, 40 cases in each group. The treatment group were treated with acupuncture at Neiguan (PC 6), Shenmen (HT 7), Danzhong (CV 17) and others, and the control group with intravenous injection of amiodarone. The cardiac rhythms and side effects were observed in the two groups. RESULTS: The total effective rate of 85.0% in the treatment group was better than 67.5% in the control group (P < 0.01). The average conversion time was (39.6 +/- 13.7) min in the treatment group and (50.1 +/- 14.8) min in the control group with a significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.01). No adverse effect was found in the treatment group. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture is a safe and effective therapy for conversion of paroxymal atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter.

Comparison between therapeutic effects of acupuncture and intravenous injection of amiodarone in the treatment of paroxymal atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To probe the feasibility of acupuncture in conversion of paroxymal atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Eighty cases of atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter were randomly divided into 2 groups, a treatment group and a control group, 40 cases in each group. The treatment group were treated with acupuncture at Neiguan (PC 6), Shenmen (HT 7), Danzhong (CV 17) and others, and the control group with intravenous injection of amiodarone. The cardiac rhythms and side effects were observed in the two groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The total effective rate of 85.0% in the treatment group was better than 67.5% in the control group (P < 0.01). The average conversion time was (39.6 +/- 13.7) min in the treatment group and (50.1 +/- 14.8) min in the control group with a significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.01). No adverse effect was found in the treatment group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Acupuncture is a safe and effective therapy for conversion of paroxymal atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter.</p>

Investigate into of effective constituent transference of herba Ephedrae and cortex Magnoliae officinalis in preparation course of Shujin Kechuan capsule / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Investigate into transport rate and retention rate transference of principal effective constituent in Shujin Kechuang capsule, a new development Chinese patent medicine for theraphy asthma.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>HPLC was applied to analyze the content of ephedrine hydrochloride and honokiol and magnolol in crude drugs and 60% ethanol extracting solution and 25% concentrated solution,50% concentrated solution, 100% concentrated solution and finished product ( Shujin Kechuang capsule).</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The transport rate of ephedrine hydrochloride and honokiol and magnolol is 56. 32%, 14. 43%, 14. 56% in the finished product respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>should be concentrate and desiccation in the condition that decompress and low temperature.</p>