Efficacy of Qingfei Paidu Granules combined with non-drug traditional Chinese medicine therapy in the treatment of patients with asymptomatic coronavirus disease: A retrospective study.

The aim of this study was to retrospectively analyze the clinical efficacy and safety of Qingfei Paidu granules (QFPG) combined with non-drug therapy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in treating patients with asymptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-2019). A total of 450 patients admitted to the wards of Chongming Changxing Island isolation site from April 1 to 18, 2022 were retrospectively analyzed and divided into 3 groups according to the treatment that they received. W1 was not treated (control group), and W2 was given QFPG (TCM treatment), W3 (TCM combined with TCM non-drug therapy) was treated with QFPG, five-element music therapy and Gong. We retrospectively analyzed the medical history data, including general information, time of first turning negative, length of hospital stays, number of cases classified as mild or ordinary, number of cases with adverse events/adverse reactions. The conversion to negative time of the 3 groups was 6.50, 4.40, and 3.81 days, respectively, and there were significant differences among the 3 groups (P < .001). The hospital duration in the 3 groups was 8.45, 5.72, and 5.53 days, respectively, and there were significant differences among the 3 groups (P < .001). The number of adverse events W1 (5/150, 3.3%), W2 (8/150, 5.3%), and W3 (4/150, 2.7%) was consistent among the 3 groups (P > .05). QFPG with TCM non-drug therapy is effective in patients with asymptomatic COVID-2019, which can effectively shorten the time to double negative and reduce the proportion of patients with mild disease.

Effect of herbal medicine compound promotes beta cell function among type 2 diabetes (T2D) adults: A randomized controlled clinical trial.

Background: Herbal medicine as complementary ways are needed for patients who refuse to take medicine for life. Early intervention and lifestyle could delay the time of taking drugs. Objective: To assess the efficacy of XiaokeGranules vs Sitagliptin in patients who diagnosed T2D. Methods: This is a randomized, double-blind trial. T2D patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to Xiaoke Granules and Sitagliptin(50 mg), an anti-diabetic medicine group, for 12 weeks. Before randomization, the consenting participants were subjected to 2 weeks of screening, followed by twelve weeks of intervention. The primary outcome was change from baseline in glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1C) and homeostasis model assessment-estimated insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) calculation at 12 week. Results: We recruited 103 patients, 84 patients participated in the clinical trial and finally 79 patients finished., the least square mean change in HbA1c and HOMA-IR from baseline was similar in both groups, in which HbA1c (6.93 ± 0.76, P = 0.007) and 2hPG (10.87 ± 2.20, P = 0.016) for the Control group, and HbA1c (6.76 ± 0.67, P < 0.001) and 2hPG (10.52 ± 2.46, P = 0.019). Conclusions: This study revealed that the herbal medicine Xiaoke Granules provides effective glycaemic control with similar safety and immunogenicity profile to Sitagliptin among T2D patients treated for 12 weeks. This study strongly suggests further studies and utilization of Xiaoke Granules usage for controlling hyperglycemia among T2D patients. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials: ChiCTR1900026782.

Next-generation sequencing in the diagnosis of neurobrucellosis: a case series of eight consecutive patients.

BACKGROUND: Neurobrucellosis (NB) presents a challenge for rapid and specific diagnosis. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has showed power in detection of causative pathogens, even some infrequent and unexpected pathogens. In this study, we presented 8 cases of NB diagnosed by the NGS of CSF. METHODS: Between August 1, 2018 and September 30, 2020, NGS was used to detect causative pathogens in clinically suspected central nervous system (CNS) infections. Data on demographics, clinical features, and laboratory tests, imaging results and NGS results were collected and reviewed. RESULTS: Among the presented 8 patients, Brucella was rapidly detected using NGS of CSF within 1-4 days, despite those eight patients had variable medical history, disease course, clinical manifestations, laboratory tests and imaging findings. NGS showed the sequence reads corresponded to Brucella species were 8 to 448, with genomic coverage of 0.02 to 0.87%. The relative abundance was 0.13% to 82.40% and sequencing depth was 1.06 to 1.24. Consequently, patients were administered with 3 to 6 months of doxycycline, ceftriaxone and rifampicin, double or triple combination, supplemented with symptomatic therapy and were fully recovered except for case 1. CONCLUSION: NGS of CSF provides a powerful tool in detection of Brucella in a prompt and specific manner, and can be considered for first-line diagnostic use in practice.

Phenolic Contents, Organic Acids, and the Antioxidant and Bio Activity of Wild Medicinal Berberis Plants- as Sustainable Sources of Functional Food.

Wild fruits have increasingly been investigated as part of recent searches for food products with a high antioxidant activity. In this study, wild edible berberis Berberis vulgaris collected from three different provinces (Jilin, Heilongjiang, and Liaoning) were investigated for their phenolic contents, organic acid contents, mineral contents, antioxidant activity as well as their antimicrobial potential against a range of common food borne pathogens. In addition, a physiochemical and mineral analysis of the fruits was also performed. The methanol extracts of berberis fruit collected from Jilin province were highly active against all the studied food borne bacterial pathogens, i.e., S. aureus and L. monocytogenes, E. coli, P. fluorescens, V. parahaemolyticus, and A. caviae while the berberis extracts from Heilongjiang and Liaoning showed activity only against Gram-negative bacteria. The phenolic content and antioxidant activity were determined by the HPLC separation method and ß-carotene bleaching methods, respectively. Four organic acids such as malic acid, citric acid, tartaric acid, and succinic acid were identified while a variety of phenolic compounds were detected among which catechin, chlorogenic acid, and gallic acid were found to be the predominant phenolic compounds in all three of berberis fruit samples. The berberis fruit from Jilin was found to be superior to the Heilongjiang and Liaoning fruit regarding desired physiochemical analysis; however, there were no significant differences in the mineral contents among the three samples. Overall, the berberis fruit from Jilin was ranked as the best in term of the nutritional, physiochemical, antimicrobial, and antioxidant properties. This study confirms the various useful characteristics and features of berberis at a molecular level that can be used as a sustainable source for their potential nutritional applications for making functional foods in different food industries.