Electroacupuncture pre-treatment alleviates sepsis-induced cardiac inflammation and dysfunction by inhibiting the calpain-2/STAT3 pathway.

Electroacupuncture (EA) has both anti-inflammatory and cardio-protective effects. Activation of calpain pathway is involved in several myocardiopathy. In sepsis, the role of calpain-2-regulated STAT3 in cardio-protective mechanism of electroacupuncture remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the mechanism by which electroacupuncture reduces cardiac inflammation and apoptosis and improves cardiac function during sepsis. Electroacupuncture pretreatment for 7 days was applied in septic cardiomyopathy model induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). lipopolysaccharide-induced sepsis was associated with a dramatically systemic inflammation and cardiac dysfunction, which was alleviated by electroacupuncture pre-treatment. Lipopolysaccharide resulted in increases of pro-inflammatory factors (TNF-α,IL1ßand IL-6) and apoptosis (TUNEL staining and BAX/Bcl2) via activation of calpain-2/STAT3 pathway.Electroacupuncture pre-treatment inhibited LPS-induced activation of cardiac calpain-2/STAT3 signalling and ameliorated inflammatory and apoptosis. Additionally, inhibition of calpain-2 expression using the corresponding siRNA decreased the Phosphorylation of STAT3,pro-inflammatory factors and apoptosis in lipopolysaccharide- treated cardiomyocytes, confirming that calpain-2 activated p-STAT3 participate in septic cardiomyopathy. Furthermore, suppression of STAT3 by stattic enhanced anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptosis effects of electroacupuncture. These findings reveal mechanisms of electroacupuncture preconditioning protection against cardiac inflammation and apoptosis in sepsis mouse via calpain-2/STAT3 pathway and may provide novel targets for clinical treatments of the sepsis-induced cardiac dysfunction.

A comparison of the effects of Chinese non-pharmaceutical therapies for pain control in knee osteoarthritis: A protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a chronic degenerative joint disease, leading to pain and functional limitation in the elderly. The non-pharmaceutical therapy is recommended firstly by different guidelines for KOA management strategies. In China, there are various forms of non-pharmaceutical treatments for KOA, which are considered beneficial in relieving KOA pain. However, there is no consensus on which is the optimal non-pharmaceutical regimens. Thus, present network meta-analysis aims to assess the comparative efficacy of available Chinese non-pharmaceutical therapies, especially in pain management. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane library, Web of Science, China national knowledge infrastructure, VIP, Wan Fang will be systematically searched their inception to April 2020. Randomized controlled trials that compared the effect of non-pharmaceutical therapies on pain control in KOA will be included, including traditional acupuncture, electroacupuncture, warming needle, fired needle, acupuncture followed by moxibustion, moxibustion and massage. The primary outcome was the knee pain levels, and secondary outcome was the comprehensive indicators. Risk of bias assessment of the included studies will be performed according to the Cochrane risk of bias tool. The pairwise and network meta-analysis will be performed by STATA 14.0 and GeMTC softwares. RESULTS: This study is ongoing and will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication. CONCLUSION: This study will provide a comprehensive evidence on the effects of Chinese non-pharmaceutical therapies for pain control in KOA. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42018106575.

[Clinical efficacy of mouse nerve growth factor in treatment of occupational hand-arm vibration disease].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy of mouse nerve growth factor (mNGF) in treating occupational hand-arm vibration disease (HAVD). METHODS: Sixty-four patients with HAVD were equally and randomly divided into treatment group and control group. The control group was given Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge and deproteinized extract of calf blood to improve circulation, and also given methylcobalamin tablets and vitamin B6 for neurotrophic treatment. In addition to the above treatments for the control group, the treatment group was also given 30 µg/d mNGF by intramuscular injection for two courses (4 weeks for each course) with a 15-day interval. RESULTS: Both the treatment group and the control group showed significant improvements in clinical symptoms and signs (hand numbness and pain, and reduced senses of touch, pain, and vibration), cold water loading test (CWLT), and electroneuromyography (ENMG) after treatments (P < 0.05). And the treatment group had significantly more improvements than the control group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: mNGF can significantly improve hand numbness and pain, reduced senses of touch, pain, and vibration, CWLT, and ENMG, so it has better clinical effect and safety in treating HAVD. Early diagnosis and treatment can improve the outcome of patients with HAVD.