Application of Microfluidics in Drug Development from Traditional Medicine.

While there are many clinical drugs for prophylaxis and treatment, the search for those with low or no risk of side effects for the control of infectious and non-infectious diseases is a dilemma that cannot be solved by today's traditional drug development strategies. The need for new drug development strategies is becoming increasingly important, and the development of new drugs from traditional medicines is the most promising strategy. Many valuable clinical drugs have been developed based on traditional medicine, including drugs with single active ingredients similar to modern drugs and those developed from improved formulations of traditional drugs. However, the problems of traditional isolation and purification and drug screening methods should be addressed for successful drug development from traditional medicine. Advances in microfluidics have not only contributed significantly to classical drug development but have also solved many of the thorny problems of new strategies for developing new drugs from traditional drugs. In this review, we provide an overview of advanced microfluidics and its applications in drug development (drug compound synthesis, drug screening, drug delivery, and drug carrier fabrication) with a focus on its applications in conventional medicine, including the separation and purification of target components in complex samples and screening of active ingredients of conventional drugs. We hope that our review gives better insight into the potential of traditional medicine and the critical role of microfluidics in the drug development process. In addition, the emergence of new ideas and applications will bring about further advances in the field of drug development.

The Preventive Value of Acupoint Sensitization for Patients with Stable Angina Pectoris: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Positive-Controlled, Multicentre Trial.

BACKGROUND: Acupoint sensitization is considered an important factor in the efficacy of acupoint therapy. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of acupressure in the prevention of stable angina pectoris using acupoints with different pressure-pain sensitivities. METHODS: A total of 202 patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to a high-sensitivity group (HSG) (n = 109) in which patients received acupressure at the five acupoints with the highest sensitivity to pain and a low-sensitivity group (LSG) (n = 93) in which patients received acupressure at the five acupoints with the lowest sensitivity to pain. The duration of acupressure treatment was 4 weeks, and the patients were evaluated at baseline, week 4, and week 8. The primary outcome was a change in the frequency of angina attacks from baseline. The secondary outcomes included nitroglycerin consumption, the Canadian Cardiovascular Society classification, and the Seattle Angina Questionnaire score. Adverse events such as bleeding and subcutaneous haemorrhage were recorded in both groups. RESULTS: The effect of acupressure compared with baseline on the prevention of angina pectoris in HSG was better than that in LSG at week 4 (incidence rate ratio (IRR): 0.691 and 95% confidence interval (CI): [0.569, 0.839]) and week 8 (IRR: 0.692 and 95% CI: [0.569, 0.839]). No significant difference between groups was found in the frequency of nitroglycerin consumption at week 4 (odds ratio (OR) = 0.863 and 95% CI: [0.147, 5.077]) or week 8 (OR = 1.426 and 95% CI: [0.211, 9.661]). Two themes in the questionnaire showed significantly different changes from baseline between the two groups. Scores on the angina frequency (AF) subscale had changed more from the baseline in the HSG at week 8 than in the LSG (mean difference (MD) = 3.807 and 95% CI: [0.673, 6.942]). Scores on the treatment satisfaction (TS) subscale had also changed more in the HSG than in the LSG at week 4 (MD = 3.651 and 95% CI: [0.327, 7.327]) and week 8 (MD = 4.220 and 95% CI: [0.347, 7.346]). One patient in the LSG reported bruising at the acupoint. No unexpected safety problems arose. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that acupressure at acupoints with high sensitivity to pain may effectively reduce the frequency of stable angina pectoris episodes. This trial is registered with NCT03975140.