Efficacy of catgut embedding in Baihui (GV20) and Feishu (BL13) and Pishu (BL20) on lung tissue, brain tissue and blood related indexes in rats with allergic rhinitis of lung deficiency type.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of acupoint catgut embedding for 3 weeks on lung tissue, blood immunoglobulin E (IgE) and interleutin-4 (IL-4), brain tissue microglia x-42 (OX-42) and toll-like receptor-2 (TLR-2) in rats with allergic rhinitis of lung deficiency type. METHODS: Forty-five female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided for two times. The first time, they were randomly divided into model group and blank group (Group C) according to 2:1, and the second time, the model group were randomly divided into model control group (Group B) and intervention treatment group (Group A) according to 1:1. 15 in each group. For Group A and Group B, the lung deficiency model was made by "sulfur-moxa fumigation", and then the allergic rhinitis model was established by "ovalbumin (OVA) sensitization". Then catgut embedding was performed at acupoints in Group A and not in Group B. After 3 weeks, collect lung tissue samples for hematoxylin-eosin staining, then take blood to observe the concentration of IgE and IL-4, and finally take brain tissue to observe the results of OX-42 and TLR-2. RESULTS: IgE level (µg/mL) was (3.11 ± 0.20) in the Group A, (4.19 ± 0.44) in the Group B, and (2.29 ± 0.30) in the Group C (all < 0.001). IL-4 level (pg/mL) was (14.2 ± 0.7) in the Group A, (18.6 ± 2.4) in the Group B, and (11.4 ± 1.2) for the Group C (all < 0.001). The mean OD for OX-42 is (0.1728 ± 0.0016) in the Group A, (0.1810 ± 0.0046) in the Group B and (0.1674 ± 0.0025) in the Group C (all < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Although 3 weeks of acupoint catgut embedding already showed obvious efficacy on rats with allergic rhinitis, the allergic reaction in the body still continued. To achieve further treatment, prolonging the catgut embedding time is necessary.

Qihuang Yishen Granules （芪黄益肾颗粒） Combined with Chronic Disease Management of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Diabetic Kidney Disease Patients with Deficiency of both Qi and Yin：A Clinical Observation / 中医杂志

ObjectiveTo observe the effectiveness and safety of Qihuang Yishen Granules （芪黄益肾颗粒） combined with traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） chronic disease management on patients with diabetic kidney disease with deficiency qi and yin. MethodsTotally 140 patients diagnosed as diabetic kidney diseases with deficiency of both qi and yin were randomly divided into control group and trial group，with 70 cases in each group. Patients in the control group were treated with symptomatic treatment and routine chronic disease management. Patients in the trial group added Qihuang Yishen Granules and chronic disease management with TCM characteristics on the basis of symptomatic treatment. The course of treatment in both groups lasted for 6 months. The changes of laboratory indexes and chronic disease management level scores of the two groups of patients before treatment and after 3 and 6 months of treatment were compared， and their correlation were analyzed.The laboratory indexes of urinary protein and renal function related indicators such as 24-hour urinary protein quantification （24 hUTP）， serum creatinine （Scr）， blood urea nitrogen （BUN）， and estimated glomerular filtration rate （eGFR）， and control compliance rate， as well as blood glucose and lipid related indicators such as glycosylated hemoglobin （HbA1c）， low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL-C）， triglyceride （TG） and control compliance rate were observed. The chronic disease management level scores included exercise，cognitive symptom management practice，communication with doctors， self-efficacy of symptom management，self-efficacy of disease commonness management. ResultsFinally，67 cases in the control group and 68 cases in the trial group completed the study. Compared with the group before treatment， the trial group had lower 24 hUTP and Scr， higher exercise score， total self-management score and all self-efficacy scale scores， higher TG at 3 months of treatment； at 6 months of treatment， the trial group had lower 24 hUTP， higher eGFR， and higher self-management scores and self-efficacy scale scores of all chronic diseases （P＜0.05）， and the control group had higher self-management total score （P＜0.05）. After 6 months of treatment， the trial group had lower 24 hUTP， Scr， LDL-C， and TG， higher eGFR， higher compliance rate of 24 hUTP， eGFR， LDL-C， and TG， and higher scores for all chronic disease management indexes compared with the control group （P＜0.05）. In terms of the correlation between laboratory indicators and chronic disease management level scores：there was a statistically significant difference in the correlation between 24hUTP and exercise，symptom management self-efficacy，and self-efficacy of disease commonness management （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01），all of which were negatively correlated. There was a statistically significant difference in the correlation between Scr and symptom management self-efficacy and self-efficacy of disease commonness management （P＜0.01），both of which were negatively correlated. There was a statistically significant difference in the correlation between eGFR and symptom management self-efficacy and self-efficacy of disease commonness management （P＜0.01），both of which were positively correlated. ConclusionQihuang Yishen Granules combined with chronic disease management of TCM can improve the level of proteinuria，renal function and lipid metabolism in patients with diabetic kidney disease with deficiency of both qi and yin，thus delaying the progress of diabetic kidney disease and also improve the level of chronic disease management of patients.

Effect of Electro-acupuncture on Behavior Alterations in Mice with Isoflurane-induced Alzheimer's Disease and Its Mechanism / 广州中医药大学学报

Objective To investigate the effect of electro-acupuncture on behavior alterations,the expression of amyloid precursor protein(APP),amyloid β-protein(Aβ) proteins and neuroapoptosis in the cerebral cortex in the APPswe/PS1dE9 double transgenic mice with Alzheimer's disease (AD) induced by isoflurane.Methods Sixmonth-old AD mice and wild-type mice at the same age were randomly divided into wile-type control group,AD group,isoflurane group,electro-acupuncture group (N =8).The mice were given pretreatment with electro-acupuncture at Baihui(GV20) acupoint and Yongquan(KI 1) acupoint once a day for 3 successive days,15 min each time.And then the mice in electro-acupuncture group and isoflurane group were exposed to a box full of 1.2％ isoflurane for 4 hours.Morris water maze was used to test the learning and memory abilities of the mice,Western blotting method was used to detect the expression of APP-C83,APP-C99 and Aβ,and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase(TdT)-mediated dUTP nick end labeling(TUNEL) was used to detect neuroapoptosis in the cerebral cortex.Results The escape latency of AD group was longer than that of wild-type mice group(P＜0.05),and the latency of isoflurane group was longer than that of AD group (P ＜ 0.05),while the latency of electro-acupuncture group was shorter than that of isoflurane group(P ＜ 0.05).The percentage of retention time in the target quadrant and the times for crossing the target quadrant in isoflurane group were lower than those of AD group (P ＜ 0.05),but were higher in electro-acupuncture group than those in isoflurane group (P ＜ 0.05).APPC83 expression level in isoflurane group was significantly lower than that in AD group (P ＜ 0.05),while APP-C83 expression level in electro-acupuncture group was higher than that in isoflurane group (P ＜ 0.05).APP-C99 expression level in isoflurane group was significantly higher than that in AD group (P ＜ 0.05),and APP-C99 expression level in electro-acupuncture group was lower than that in isoflurane group (P ＜ 0.05).The cortical apoptosis index in isoflurane group was significantly higher than that in AD group (P ＜ 0.05),and the cortical apoptosis index in electro-acupuncture group was lower than that in isoflurane group (P ＜ 0.05).The expression level of Aβ in AD group,isoflurane group and electro-acupuncture group was significantly higher than wild-type control group (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Electro-acupuncture can relieve the AD-like neurotoxicity induced by isoflurane and inhibit the decline of learning and memory abilities of AD mice,and the mechanism is probably related with suppressing the overexpression of APP-C99 and reducing the production and accumulation of Aβ,thereby alleviating the neuroapoptosis.