Clinical Research on Treatment of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia with Traditional Chinese Medicine： A Review / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Benign prostatic hyperplasia （BPH）， a common disease in urology and andrology， is mainly manifested as enlarged prostate glands， bladder outlet obstruction， and lower urinary tract symptoms（LUTS）， which seriously affects the quality of life of middle-aged and elderly men. This disease falls into the categories of "retention of urine" and "prostatic hypertrophy" in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）. In recent years，many doctors have put forward their understandings of BPH based on academic classics and their clinical experience. Clinical research on the treatment of BPH with TCM has become increasingly abundant. The basic pathogenesis of BPH lies in the disturbance of Qi transformation in the bladder and poor blood circulation due to kidney Qi deficiency in the aged. The disease is located in the kidney and the bladder and is related to the dysfunction of the lung and the kidney. It is basically characterized by deficiency in origin and excess in superficiality. A large number of clinical research reports have proved that TCM is efficient in alleviating the clinical symptoms of BPH patients， improving their quality of life， reducing the volume of the prostate， and decreasing postoperative complications. In addition， the external treatment methods of TCM， such as acupuncture therapy， moxibustion， hot water bathing， acupoint application， anal suppository， and enema therapy， are also widely used in clinical practice， demonstrating the diverse ways of TCM in treating BPH. TCM and western medicine complement each other's advantages in the treatment of BPH， thus enhancing the clinical efficacy and reducing the occurrence of long-term complications. This study reviewed the etiology， pathogenesis， and treatment progress of BPH with TCM in recent years， and summarized the current research status. From three aspects of producing high-quality clinical research， standardizing the clinical diagnosis and treatment of TCM， and combining cutting-edge research to explore the mechanism of TCM， it provided suggestions for clinical research on the treatment of BPH with TCM to promote the development and application of TCM in the treatment of this disease.

The anti-fibrotic effects of Qidan granule in experimental silicosis / 中华预防医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the anti-fibrotic effects of Qidan granule in rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The rats were randomly divided into six experimental groups: normal group, model group, Qidan group, Tetrandrine group. All rats except normal group were treated with silicon dioxide (50 mg/rat) by intratracheal instillation to induce silicosis. Qidan group and Tetrandrine group were treated with Qidan granule (3125 mg/kg) or treated with Tetrandrine (22 mg/kg) respectively. All the rats were sacrificed after 5 months. Calculate Lung/body coefficient by weighting the lung wet weight and the body weight of rats. Content of Hydroxyproline was measured by alkaline hydrolysis. The gene expression of transforming growth factor-beta1 was examined by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Paraffin embedded lung sections with HE staining, VG staining and Gomori staining were observed under light microscope.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In Qidan group and Tetrandrine group, Lung/body coefficient and content of Hydroxyproline and expression of transforming growth factor-beta1 were lower as compared with model group (P < 0.05). Model group mainly showed III approximately IV grade silicotic nodule, which contained thick collagen and sparse reticulum fibe; Qidan group and Tetrandrine group appeared with II grade silicotic nodule, which contained tiny collagen and intensive reticulum fibe. Tetrandrine group showed injury of kidney, and others were normal.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Qidan granule extract should prevent and from inhibit the remarkably silicotic fibrosis in rats.</p>

Effect of Chinese herbal drugs and tetrandrine on TGF-beta1 signaling pathway / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the molecule mechanism of the anti-fibrotic effects of Chinese herbal drugs (Qidan granules) in rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The male rats were randomly divided into four experimental groups: normal group, model group, Qidan group, tetrandrine group. Every group had 10 rats. Normal group were treated with physiologic saline while others were treated with silicon dioxide (50 mg/rat) by intratracheal instillation to induce silicosis. On 30th day Qidan group and Tetrandrine group were treated with Qidan granules (3125 mg/kg) or treated with tetrandrine (22 mg/kg) respectively. All the rats were scarified after 5 months. Lung/body coefficient was measured. Content of hydroxyproline was measured by alkaline hydrolysis. The gene expression of transforming growth factor-beta1 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was examined by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The gene expressions of transforming growth factor-beta1, transcription factor Smad 3 and Smad 7 in lung were analyzed by using immunohistochemical technique (SP) and the image analysis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Model group mainly had Grade III approximately IV silicotic nodule while Qidan group and tetrandrine group had Grade II silicotic nodule. In Qidan group and tetrandrine group, lung/body coefficient and content of hydroxyproline and expression of transforming growth factor-beta1 and Smad3 in lung and expression of transforming growth factor-beta1 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were lower than those in model group (P < 0.05). Expression of Smad 7 in lung was higher than model group (P < 0.05). Injury of kidney occurred in tetrandrine group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Qidan granules and tetrandrine could inhibit expression of both Smad 7 and transforming growth factor-beta1 and promote expression of Smad 3. Qidan granules and tetrandrine could inhibit remarkably silicotic fibrosis in rats. Qidan granules are safer than tetrandrine.</p>