Clinical Study on Modified Guipitang Combined with Xuefu Zhuyutang in Treating Mild Cognitive Impairment After Cerebral Infarction / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo observe the clinical efficacy and anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effect of modified Guipitang combined with Xuefu Zhuyutang in the treatment of mild cognitive impairment （MCI） after cerebral infarction with syndromes of heart and spleen deficiency and blood stasis blocking collateral. MethodA total of 114 eligible patients were randomly divided into a control group and an observation group，with 57 cases in each group. Patients in the control group were given red deer ginseng tablets （po），4 tablets/time，2 times/day. Patients in the observation group were given modified Guipitang combined with Xuefu Zhuyutang （po，1 dose/day）for continuous 8 weeks. This study compared the scores of montreal cognitive assessment （MoCA） scale，Rivermead behavioral memory test （RBMT），activities of daily living （ADL），trail making test B （TMT-B），neuropsychiatric inventory questionnaire （NPI） and scores of traditional Chinese medcine（TCM） syndrome with syndromes of heart and spleen deficiency and blood stasis blocking collateral before and after treatment. Then we further detected the levels of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine （8-OHDG），malondialdehyde （MDA），oxidized low density lipoprotein （ox-LDL），superoxide dismutase （SOD），homocysteine （Hcy），interleukin-8 （IL-8），C-reactive protein （CRP） and fibrinogen （FIB） levels before and after treatment. ResultThe total effective rate for the treatment of cognitive function impairment in the observation group was 92.98% （53/57），which was higher than 78.95% （45/57） in the control group （χ2＝4.653，P<0.05）. The recovery rate of cognitive function in the observation group was 54.39% （31/57），which was higher than 33.33% （19/57） in the control group （χ2＝5.130，P<0.05）. The MoCA，RBMT and ADL scores of the observation group were higher than those of the control group （P<0.01），and the TMT-B time of the former was shorter than that of the latter （P<0.01）. In addition， the observation group showed lower scores of TCM syndrome，NPI-1 and NPI-2 scores than the control group （P<0.01）. The SOD level of the observation group was higher than that of the control group （P<0.01），and the levels of 8-OHDG，ox-LDL，MDA，Hcy，IL-8，CRP and FIB were lower than those of the control group （P<0.01）. ConclusionModified Guipitang combined with Xuefu Zhuyutang can improve cognitive function in MCI patients after cerebral infarction with syndromes of heart and spleen deficiency and blood stasis blocking collateral， with anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effect， and yield superior efficacy than red deer ginseng tablets.

Discussion on the application principle of tuina manipulations for lumbar intervertebral disc herniation in Chinese literatures in recent 30 years / 针灸推拿医学（英文版）

Objective: To discuss the application principle in tuina manipulation for lumbar intervertebral disc herniation (LIDH) in Chinese literatures published in recent 30 years. Methods: The three major Chinese databases, Wanfang Academic Journal Full-text Database (Wanfang), Chongqing VIP Database (CQVIP) and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), were searched to collect the studies of tuina manipulations in treatment of LIDH published in recent 30 years. Clustering analysis was applied to analyze the top 20 tuina manipulations for LIDH. Results: The top 20 most frequently used manipulations for LIDH were Gun-rolling, Rou-kneading, Dian-digital pressing, oblique Ban-pulling, An-pressing, Tanbo-plucking, Bashen-pulling and extending, horizontal Tui-pushing, Na-grasping, Anrou-pressing and kneading, Dou-shaking, Yao-rocking, Ca-scrubbing, Pai-patting, post-extension Ban-pulling, Mo-rubbing, Zhen-vibrating, Nie-pinching, fist-back Ji-tapping, and dorsal Shen-extending methods. The involved manipulations can be divided into two categories by the treated body areas. One category is applied to the soft tissues, including Gun-rolling, Rou-kneading, Dian-digital pressing, An-pressing, Tanbo-plucking, horizontal Tui-pushing, Na-grasping, Anrou-pressing and kneading, Ca-scrubbing, Pai-patting, Mo-rubbing, Zhen-vibrating, Nie-pinching, and fist-back Ji-tapping methods. The other category is applied to bones and joints, including oblique Ban-pulling, Bashen-pulling and extending, Dou-shaking, Yao-rocking, post-extension Ban-pulling, and dorsal Shen-extending methods. Conclusion: Based on the treated body area, the tuina manipulations applied to treat LIDH are predominated by the ones performed on soft tissues, assisted by those on bones and joints. From the way of force exertion, the involved manipulations are majorly the swinging methods, followed by squeezing and pressing ones. The manipulations applied to bones and joints are predominated by the Ban-pulling ones, followed by the Bashen-pulling and extending ones.

Study on the angle of needling Yamen (GV 15) in atlanto-axial dislocation patients / 针灸推拿医学（英文版）

Objective: To compare the risk angle and safety angle of needling Yamen (GV 15) between the atlanto-axial dislocation (AAD) patients and healthy subjects. Methods: A total of 177 AAD patients diagnosed and treated at the Center of Upper Cervical Vertebra of Beijing China-Japan Friendship Hospital between January 2010 and January 2018 were included in the AAD group. Another 207 healthy subjects were included in the normal group. There were totally 191 males and 193 females. The MRI scan was performed for the cervical vertebrae to measure the risk angle and safety angle of acupuncture at Yamen (GV 15) on the sagittal image. Results: In the AAD group, the risk angle was (13.14±3.99)° and the relative safety angle was (10.31±3.23)° for the perpendicular needling, while the oblique needling risk angle was (9.09±3.09)° for the male; the risk angle was (12.12±2.74)° and the relative safety angle was (10.56±2.09)° for the perpendicular needling, while the oblique needling risk angle was (9.70±2.95)° for the female. In the normal group, the risk angle was (7.89±1.59)° and the relative safety angle was (10.21±3.55)° for the perpendicular needling, while the oblique needling risk angle was (16.07±1.77)° for the male; the risk angle was (6.93±1.45)° and the relative safety angle was (10.70±2.94)° for the perpendicular needling, while the oblique needling risk angle was (14.89±2.18)° for the female. The perpendicular needling risk angles for the males and females in the AAD group were larger than those in the normal group, and the differences were statistically significant (bothP<0.01); for the inner-group comparison, there was no significant difference in the perpendicular needling risk angle between the male and the female in the AAD group (P>0.05); however, the perpendicular needling risk angle for the male was larger than the female, and the difference was statistically significant in the normal group (P<0.01). There were no significant differences in the relative safety angle for both the male and the female between the AAD group and the normal group (bothP>0.05). For the inner-group comparison, there was no significant difference in the relative safety angle between the male and the female (P>0.05). The oblique needling risk angles for both the males and females were smaller in the AAD group than those in the normal group, and the differences were statistically significant (bothP<0.01); the oblique needling risk angle for the male was not significantly different from that for the female in the AAD group (P>0.05); in the normal group, the oblique needling risk angle for the male was larger than that for the female, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.01). Conclusion: Under the AAD condition, the risk angle and safety angle of acupuncture at Yamen (GV 15) change significantly, perpendicular needling should be better if performed slightly lower than the horizontal direction, and the oblique needling should be safer across the occipital foramen toward the occipital bone.

Safety depth of acupuncture at Yamen (GV 15) in patients with atlantoaxial dislocation / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To explore and compare the safety depths of perpendicular and oblique acupuncture at Yamen (GV 15) in patients with atlantoaxial dislocation (AAD) and healthy volunteers.@*METHODS@#One bundred and seventy-seven patients with atlantoaxial dislocation were selected as an AAD group, and 207 patients without atlantoaxial dislocation and with normal anatomical structure were selected as a normal group. All participants were moderately sized. The MRI scanning of the cervical vertebra was performed, and the safety depth of perpendicular and oblique acupuncture at Yamen (GV 15) was calculated on the sagittal image.@*RESULTS@#In the AAD group, the safety depth of men was (45.33±5.17) mm for perpendicular acupuncture and (48.58±4.41) mm for oblique acupuncture; the safety depth of women was (44.17±7.80) mm for perpendicular acupuncture and (47.49±7.32) mm for oblique acupuncture. In the normal group, the safety depth of men was (47.72±5.06) mm for perpendicular acupuncture and (42.69±5.53) mm for oblique acupuncture; the safety depth of women was (44.63±5.85) mm for perpendicular acupuncture and (39.88±6.18) mm for oblique acupuncture. The safety depth of men and women for oblique acupuncture was longer than that for perpendicular acupuncture in the AAD group (0.05); the safety depth of perpendicular and oblique acupuncture for men was longer than that for women in the normal group (0.05), while the safety depth of oblique acupuncture in the AAD group was longer than that in the normal group (<0.01).@*CONCLUSION@#The safe depth of acupuncture at Yamen (GV 15) has significantly changed under AAD, so during the clinical acupuncture the needle insertion should be less than its safe depth.

Research progress of microparticles as drug delivery system for traditional Chinese medicine / 中国中药杂志

Microparticle preparation, a new drug delivery system based on microencapsulation technique, includes micro-spheres and microcapsules. Recently, this new drug delivery system has been applied in developing new dosage forms for the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). TCM microparticles can perform several sound characteristics and functions which are currently unavailable in TCM preparations, such as controlled release, effect of targeting, increasing bioavailability or low toxicity. This makes it possible that TCM may exert much higher therapeutic efficacy and show lower side-effects as well. Although the studies on TCM microparticles are still in the beginning stage, microparticle preparation of TCM has given rise to comprehensive attention and will have a wonderful prospect. The progress in this field is reviewed in this article.