Effects of electroacupuncture at Zusanli on duodenal Caspase-1 and GSDMD of rats with functional dyspepsia / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

Objective:To explore any effect of electroacupuncture (EA) at the Zusanli point on the scorch death of duodenal cells in rats with functional dyspepsia (FD) and possible mechanisms.Methods:Twenty-four 7-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a blank group, a model group and an EA group, each of 8. FD was induced in both the model and EA group rats using iodoacetamide gavage with tail-clip stimulation. After successful modeling the EA group was given acupuncture at the Zusanli point and then connected with a Korean acupuncture point nerve stimulator for 2 weeks. The other 2 groups were not given any intervention. The rats′ body weight was recorded before and after the modeling, as well as 7 and 14 days later. The gastric emptying rate and the small intestine propulsion rate of the three groups were detected right after the EA intervention, and the serum expression levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were measured using enzyme-linked immunoassays. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reactions were used to detect the transcription levels of IL-1β and IL-6 in the rats′ duodenums, while western blotting was employed to assess the expression of caspase-1 P20 and dermatin D (GSDMD) in their duodenums.Results:After successful modeling, the average body weight of the rats in the model and EA groups was significantly different from that in blank group, and after 7 and 14 days the average body weight of the former groups was significantly different from that of the blank group, with significant differences between the two groups as well. After the EA intervention significant differences were observed in gastric reside and small intestine propulsion rate between the EA group and the model group, as well as between the model and the blank group. After the intervention, there were significant differences between the blank group and the other two groups in the average expression of IL-1β and IL-6 in serum, IL-1β and IL-6 mRNA in the duodenum, as well as the GSDMD and caspase-1 p20 proteins in the duodenum. There were significant differences between the model and EA groups in all of the above measurements.Conclusions:EA at the Zusanli point can significantly reduce the level of scorch death in the duodenum of FD rats, as well as relieve low-grade duodenal inflammation and the clinical symptoms of FD. Its mechanism may be related to the down-regulation of the expression of caspase-1 P20 and GSDMD-N protein, and of inflammatory factors such as IL-1β and IL-6, relieving low-grade duodenal inflammation.

Research on the rules of drugs used in damp heat syndrome of hematochezia based on data mining in Chinese Medical Classics / 国际中医中药杂志

Objective:This paper discussed the law of drugs used in the treatment of damp-heat syndrome of hematochezia in ancient books of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in the Chinese Medical Classics. Methods:The medical records of Chinese medicine for treating blood convenience were retrieved in the Chinese Medical Classics (5th Edition), and the prescriptions of internal medicine were included in the prescription of internal medicine for the treatment of the damp and heat syndrome of the bowel of the blood, and the information of the origin, classification and composition of TCM were extracted into excel 2019. The database was established and the frequency analysis was carried out. The high frequency drugs were cluster analyzed by SPSS statistics 22.0, and the correlation degree between the Chinese medicine was analyzed by SPSS modeler 18.1. Results:A total of 143 prescriptions used to treat damp-heat syndrome of hematochezia were collected, with 196 TCM drugs. The high-frequency drugs were Angelicae Sinensis Radix, Sanguisorbae Radix, Coptidis Rhizoma, Moutan Cortex, Sophorae Flos, and Sophorae Fructus. The cluster analysis and association analysis showed that, the herbs with potential association rules were Angelicae Sinensis Radix and Moutan Cortex, and the core drug was Angelicae Sinensis Radix, and the core drug pairs were Coptidis Rhizoma- Scutellariae Radix, Sophorae Flos-Phellodendri Chinensis Cortex, Sophorae Flos-Schizonepetae Herba, Sophorae Fructus-Poria, Sophorae Fructus-Platycladi Cacumen, Schizonepetae Herba-Aurantii Fructus, Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma-Paeoniae Radix Alba. Conclusion:The ancients mostly used Huaijiao pill, Huaihua powder and Diyu powder to treat the damp-heat syndrome of hematochezia, and attached importance to the compatibility of drugs that can strengthen the spleen and remove dampness, replenish qi and blood, and promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis.

Effect of Modified Liu Junzitang and Erchentang on Hcy， NO， hs-CRP in Patients with Coronary Heart Disease / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To observe the relationship between serum homocysteine (Hcy), nitric oxide (NO), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) as well as the number and degree of coronary lesions, and the effect of Liu Junzitang combined with Erchentang on Hcy, NO, hs-CRP in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD), so as to explore the protector effect of Liu Junzitang combined with Erchentang on CHD patients. Method:A total of 76 inpatients with phlegm turbidity and internal resistance (CHD) from the Cardiovascular Department of Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine（TCM） from November 2016 to April 2019 were selected to analyze the relationship between Hcy, NO, hs-CRP as well as the number and degree of coronary lesions. By lottery, the 76 patients were randomly divided into observation group and control group, with 38 patients in each group. Patients in the control group were given conventional therapy, while patients in the observation group were given Liu Junzitang combined with Erchentang in addition to conventional therapy. The experimental period was 3 months. TCM symptom scores of the two groups before and after administration were evaluated. Hcy, NO, hs-CRP, triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and total cholesterol (TC), apolipoprotein A1 (Apo A1), apolipoprotein B (Apo B), N-terminal B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) indicators of the two groups were measured before and after administration. Result:The levels of Hcy and hs-CRP were positively correlated with the number and degree of coronary lesions. The level of NO was negatively correlated with the number and degree of coronary lesions. TCM symptom scores were different between the two groups after treatment. Compared with the control group, the TCM symptom score in the observation group was decreased more significantly (P<0.05). The two groups could reduce Hcy, hs-CRP and increase in NO to a certain extent (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the observation group showed reduction in Hcy, hs-CRP and increase in NO more significantly (P<0.05). After treatment in both groups, TG, LDL, TC, Apo A1, Apo B and HDL were reduced (P<0.05) compared with before treatment. Compared with the control group, the observation group showed decrease in TG, LDL, TC, Apo A1, Apo B and increase in HDL more significantly (P<0.05). Both groups could increase LVEF and decrease NT-proBNP after treatment (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the observation group increased LVEF and decreased NT-proBNP more significantly (P<0.05). Conclusion:The levels of Hcy and hs-CRP were positively correlated with coronary lesions, while the level of NO was negatively correlated with coronary lesions. Modified Liu Junzitang and Erchentang may be correlated with inhibition of Hcy, hs-CRP and CHD and increase of patient's NO level, thereby reducing the patient's blood lipids, improving the patient's heart function, and improving the patient's clinical symptoms.

Comparable effects of Jiedu Granule, a compound Chinese herbal medicine, and sorafenib for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: A prospective multicenter cohort study / 中西医结合学报

OBJECTIVE@#Sorafenib has been extensively used for the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and Chinese herbal medicine has also been used to manage advanced HCC. The present work evaluates the effectiveness and safety of Jiedu (JD) Granule, a compound of traditional Chinese herbal medicine, side-by-side with sorafenib for the treatment of advance HCC.@*METHODS@#Patients with advanced HCC receiving treatment with JD Granule or sorafenib were enrolled from December 2014 to March 2018. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS). The secondary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and safety. Propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was used to control for possible selection bias from the study group allocation process.@*RESULTS@#Of the 325 patients included, 161 received JD Granule and 164 received sorafenib. No significant differences were found in OS or PFS among patients receiving JD Granule compared to sorafenib (P > 0.05). Median OS of the two study groups was 6.83 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.83-9.47) in the group receiving JD Granule and 8 months (95% CI: 6.67-9.80) in the group receiving sorafenib, with half-, 1- and 2-year survival rates of 53.6%, 31.2% and 13.2% vs 60.1%, 35.5% and 14.2%, respectively. Even after PSM, the median survival time did not differ between the JD Granule group (9.03 months; 95% CI: 6.37-14.2) and the sorafenib group (7.93 months; 95% CI: 6.5-9.97), with comparable half-, 1- and 2-year survival rates. The most common adverse events (AEs) were diarrhea (13.7%) and fatigue (5.6%) in the JD Granule group, and hand-foot skin reaction (46.3%) and diarrhea (36.6%) in the sorafenib group. The JD Granule was more cost-effective than sorafenib treatment for advanced HCC.@*CONCLUSION@#Compared to sorafenib, JD Granule was more cost-effective and caused fewer AEs for the treatment of Chinese patients with advanced HCC.

Clinical anatomical study on the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome with classic Acupotomy / 中国骨伤

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the safety of classic Acupotomy in the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome.@*METHODS@#Twenty six adult specimens (15 males and 11 females), aged 60 to 95(82.54±6.94) years old, were selected from 10% formalin antiseptic fixation. There were 52 sides(two of them could not be tested). The study period was from November 2017 to May 2018. The specimens were collected from the body donation center of the school of basic medicine, Peking University. The operation of releasing the transverse carpal ligament on the human body specimen was simulated by the classic acupotomy, and the distance from the four points to the surrounding anatomical structure was measured to calculate the direct injury rate to the nerve and blood vessels, and the shortest distance between the acupotomy and the nerve and blood vessels was defined as ≥2 mm as safety.@*RESULTS@#In the experimental operation, the direct injury rate of nerve and blood vessel was 14% and 12% respectively. There was significant difference in the rate of direct nerve injury between the four injection points (0.05). Among the four points, there was a statistically significant difference in the safety of nerves(<0.05), and the safety of point 1 and point 3 of radial injection was higher than that of point 2 and point 4 of ulnar injection(<0.05). There was significant difference in the safety of blood vessels between the four points(<0.05), and the safety of radial point 1 was higher than that of ulnar point 2 and point 4 (<0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#The safety of the classic Acupotomy for carpal tunnel syndrome is related to the location of the needle entry point, and the safety of theradial proximal end of the needle is the highest.

Research progress of stenosing tenosynovitis of radial styloid process based on anatomical structure / 中国骨伤

Stenosing tenosynovitis of styloid process of radius(de Quervain's disease) which abductor pollicis longus and extensor pollicis brevis in the first extensor chamber are affected by resistance when sliding, the incidence is affected by anatomical variations. Symptoms, signs and auxiliary examinations can diagnose the disease. Slight dQS can be improved by rest, brace, restriction activities, and oral medications. Chinese medicine and physiotherapy also reduce the disease. Needle knife therapy is a Traditional Chinese medicine minimally invasive surgery, which is also a step-by-step treatment between conservative treatment and open surgery to loosening the compression of the first extensor chamber. Steroid injection is a more common treatment in this disease, and its efficacy is related to the accuracy of the injection and is affected by the severity of the patient's anatomical variation. Identifying the spacing within the first extensor chamber under ultrasound can help patients better choose conservative or surgical treatment. Surgical treatment can more completely change the condition of dQD from anatomical structure, and clinical should pay attention to the choice of surgical procedure to improve the efficacy and reduce the occurrence of surgical complications. This article discusses the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of the disease from the perspective of anatomical structure. It mainly analyzes the therapeutic targets and the clinical application, which aims to provide reference for the diagnosis and treatment of de Quervain disease.

Effects of Acupuncture on Alzheimer's Disease: Evidence from Neuroimaging Studies / 中国结合医学杂志

As the worldwide population ages, the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) increases. However, the results of promising medications have been unsatisfactory. Chinese acupuncture has a long history of treating dementia, but lack of evidence from well-designed randomized controlled trials that validate its efficacy and safety, as well as its lack of clear underlying mechanisms, contribute to its limited application in clinical practice. In recent years, brain imaging technologies, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography, have been used to assess brain responses to acupuncture in a dynamic, visual, and objective way. These techniques are frequently used to explore neurological mechanisms of responses to acupuncture in AD and provide neuroimaging evidence as well as starting points to elucidate the possible mechanisms. This review summarizes the existing brain imaging evidence that explains the effects of acupuncture for AD and analyzes brain responses to acupuncture at cognitive-related acupoints [Baihui (GV 20), Shenmen (HT 7), Zusanli (ST 36), Neiguan (PC 6), and Taixi (KI 3)] from perspectives of acupoint specificity and acupoint combinations. Key issues and directions to consider in future studies are also put forward. This review should deepen our understanding of how brain imaging studies can be used to explore the underlying mechanisms of acupuncture in AD.

Highly efficient inhibition of spring viraemia of carp virus replication in vitro mediated by bavachin, a major constituent of psoralea corlifonia Lynn.

As one of nine piscine viruses recognized by the International Office of Epizootics, spring viraemia of carp virus (SVCV) is an important pathogen bringing high mortality to cyprinids. Up to now, there is no approved therapy on SVCV, making them strong public health threat in aquaculture. In this study, the anti-SVCV activities of 12 plant crude extracts were investigated by using epithelioma papulosum cyprini (EPC) cells. Among these plants, Psoralea corylifolia Linn. showed the highest inhibition on SVCV replication, with an inhibitory percentage of 67.98%. Further studies demonstrated that bavachin (BVN), one of the major constituents of Psoralea corylifolia Linn., was also highly effective to SVCV infection. The half maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of BVN on SVCV glycoprotein and nucleoprotein expression were 0.46 (0.29-0.73) and 0.31 (0.13-0.55) mg/L, respectively. In addition, SVCV-induced apoptosis which may be negative to SVCV replication was inhibited by BVN. The apoptotic cells were decreased 21.42% for BVN compared with SVCV group. These results indicated that the inhibition of BVN on SVCV replication was, in some extent, via blocking SVCV induced apoptosis. Furthermore, cellular morphological damage induced by SVCV was also blocked by BVN treatment. Mechanistically, BVN did not affect SVCV infectivity and cannot be used for prevention of SVCV infection. Time-of-addition and viral binding assays revealed that BVN mainly inhibited the early events of SVCV replication but did not interfere with SVCV adsorption. In conclusion, BVN was considered to develop as a promising agent to treat SVCV infection.

Clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of primary liver cancer with integrative traditional Chinese and Western medicine / 中西医结合学报

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an important part of the treatment of primary liver cancer (PLC) in China; however, the current instructions for the integrative use of traditional Chinese and Western medicine for PLC are mostly based on expert opinion. There is no evidence-based guideline for clinical practice in this field. Therefore, the Shanghai Association of Chinese Integrative Medicine has established a multidisciplinary working group to develop this guideline, which focuses on the most important questions about the use of TCM during PLC treatment. This guideline was developed following the methodological process recommended by the World Health Organization Handbook for Guideline Development. Two rounds of questionnaire survey were performed to identify clinical questions; published evidence was searched; the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach was used to evaluate the body of evidence; and recommendations were formulated by combining the quality of evidence, patient preferences and values, and other risk factors. The guideline was written based on the Reporting Items for Practice Guidelines in Healthcare tool. This guideline contains 10 recommendations related to 8 questions, including recommendations for early treatment by TCM after surgery, TCM combined with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization for advanced PLC, TCM drugs for external use, and acupuncture and moxibustion therapy.

Explanation on acupoint intention / 中国针灸

The spiritual"circulating" "exiting and entering", and "nothing relevant with skin, flesh, tendon and bone" are the clues to understand the original intention of acupoint recorded in Lingshu (). In the paper, regarding the interpretation of these words and phrases in Shuowen Jiezi (), in combination with TCM theory, the connotations of acupoint are summarized in 4 aspects, including the essential characteristics of the changes in the antipathogenic, functional property of pathway communication, the clinical features of diagnosis and treatment and the three-dimensional structural characteristics. It is enlightened that the antipathogenicand its changes are the most essential rather than the anatomic structure of acupoint. The application of acupuncture and moxibustion acts onactivity of acupoint rather than flesh and joint. All of those mentioned above indicate the essential issues on the clinical therapeutic effects of acupuncture and moxibustion, which are significant and valuable nowadays in clinical practice.

Effects and mechanisms of different frequencies of electroacupuncture for learning and memory ability of Alzheimer's rats / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effects of different frequencies of electroacupuncture (EA) at "Baihui (GV 20)" and "Shenshu(BL 23)" for the learning and memory ability as well as glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) and growth associated protein-43 (GAP-43) in hippocampal tissue of rats with Alzheimer's disease(AD), so as to explore the mechanism of different frequencies of EA for the prevention and treatment of AD.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>One hundred and twelve healthy Wistar male rats were divided into seven groups by random number table, namely a normal group, a sham operation group, a model group, an acupuncture group, a 2 Hz EA group, a 30 Hz EA group, and a 50 Hz EA group, 16 rats in each one. The rats in the normal group were conventionally raised in the laboratory without any treatment. 0.9% NaCl solution was injected into bilateral dentate convolution of hippocampus in rats of the sham operation group. AD model was established by β-amyloid protein1-42 (Aβ1-42) injected into bilateral dentate convolution of hippocampus in the other groups. 15 days after establishment, no treatment was applied in the model and sham operation groups, and EA with corresponding frequencies at "Baihui (GV 20)" and "Shenshu (BL 23)" was used in the three EA groups for 2 sessions, once a day and 7 times as one session. There was 1 day between the two sessions. The same acupoints were adopted in the acupuncture group, without electrical connection. The escape latency, the first spanning platform time, and the number of crossing platform were tested in the Morris water maze immediately after treatment. The expressions of GSK-3β and GAP-43 were examined by immunohistochemistry and Western blot.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>①Morris water maze tests showed that the escape latency and the first spanning platform time significantly increased in the model group compared with those in the normal group (both<0.01), and the number of crossing platform decreased (<0.01). Compared with the model group, the escape latency and the first spanning platform times decreased in the acupuncture and three EA groups (all<0.01), and the numbers of crossing platform increased (<0.01). Compared with the acupuncture and 2 Hz, 30 Hz EA groups, the escape latency decreased in the 50 Hz EA group (<0.01,<0.05); the first spanning platform time reduced (all<0.01); the number of crossing platform increased (<0.01,<0.05). ②The expressions of GSK-3β and GAP-43 of the model group increased compared with those of the normal group(both<0.01). The expressions of GSK-3β in the acupuncture and three EA groups decreased compared with that in the model group (all<0.01), and the expressions of GAP-43 increased (all<0.01). The expressions of GSK-3β decreased and GAP-43 increases in the 50 Hz EA group compared with those in the acupuncture group and 2 Hz, 30 Hz groups (all<0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>EA may promote synaptic damage rehabilitation by down regulating GSK-3β and up regulating GAP-43 to improve learning and memory ability of AD rats. The effect of 50 Hz EA is better than those of 30 Hz and 2 Hz EA and acupuncture.</p>

Observations on the Efficacy of Triple Needling at Muscle Insertions plus Moxibustion in Treating Acute Carpometacarpal Joint Injury / 上海针灸杂志

Objective To investigate the efficacy of triple needling at muscle insertions plus moxibustion in treating acute carpometacarpal joint injury. Method Forty patients were randomly allocated to acupuncture and medication groups, 20 cases each. The therapeutic effects were evaluated after one course of treatment. Result The total efficacy rate and the cure rate were 100.0%and 80.0%, respectively, in the acupuncture group and 90.0% and 50.0%, respectively, in the medication group. There were statistically significant differences in the total efficacy rate and the cure rate between the two groups (P<0.01). The VAS score decreased significantly in both groups of patients after treatment compared with before (P<0.01). The post-treatment VAS score was lower in the acupuncture group than in the medication group (P<0.01). Cooney wrist joint score increased in both groups after treatment compared with before (P<0.01). The post-treatment Cooney score was higher in the acupuncture group than in the medication group (P<0.01). Conclusion Triple needling at muscle insertions plus moxibustion has clinically a marked therapeutic effect on acute carpometacarpal joint injury.

Analysis on medication principles for cough based on experience of Xu Di-hua, descendant of Meng He Medical School / 中国中药杂志

Based on the software of traditional Chinese medicine inheritance support system (TCMISS), this article aims to analyze the experience and composition rules for cough from the descendant of Meng He Medical School, Xu Di-hua. The cough cases treated by Xu Di-hua were collected, and recorded into TCMISS (V2.0). Data mining methods such as Apriori algorithm and complex system entropy cluster were used to analyze the medication principles of Xu Di-hua for cough from pathogenesis and therapeutie aspects, and dig out the frequency of the herbs in prescription, core medicine and new combinations. The experience of curing cough from Professor Xu Di-hua were well found in the research. He is good at choosing prescriptions accurately, and pays attention to simultaneous use of cold and moisture drugs with combination of tonification and purgation. He is skilled in adding or reducing materia medica flexibly, as well as regulating lung to relieve cough and eliminating phlegm by clearing heat.

Effects of electroacupuncture on proteasomes of substantia nigra in rats with Parkinson's disease / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the effects and action mechanism of electroacupuncture (EA) on Parkinson's disease (PD).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty-eight healthy male SD rats were randomly divided into a normal group, a sham operation group, a model group and an EA group, 12 rats in each one. Rats in the model group and EA group were treated with subcutaneous injection of rotenone (1mg/kg, dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide and 0. 9 % normal saline) on neck and back for 40 days to establish rat model. Rats in the sham operation group were treated with injection of identical dose of dimethyl sulfoxide and 0. 9 %o normal saline at identical location which did not contain rotenone. After model establishment, rats in the EA group were treated with EA at "Fengfu" (GV 16) and "Taichong" (LR 3) with continuous wave (2 Hz, 1 mA), which was given 20 min per time, once a day for consecutive 28 days. Rats in the remaining groups were treated with fixation and immobilization without any other intervention. The rats behavioristics changes were observed and scored; immunohisto-chemistry was adopted to test the expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH); fluorescence spectrometry was used to detect the activities of 20 S β1, β2, β5; western blot method was applied to measure the expression of 20S proteasome and its a subunit.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the normal group and sham operation group, there was significant change of behavioristics in the model group, and TH positive neuron counting was obviously reduced; after treatment, the behavioristics score in the EA group was lower than that in the model group (P<0. 05), and TH positive neuron counting was significantly increased (P<0. 05). Compared with the normal group and sham operation group, the activities of 20 S β1, β2, β5 in model group were significantly reduced (all P<0. 01), and those in the EA group were higher than those in the model group (P<0. 01). Compared with the normal group and sham operation group, the expression of 20S proteasome and its a subunit was reduced in the model group, and that in the EA group was higher than that in the model group (P<0. 05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>EA could improve the loss of dopaminergic neurons induced by rotenone to prevent and treat PD, which is likely to be related with protecting the activity and expression of proteasomes in substantia nigra.</p>

Classification of schizophrenia using Genetic Algorithm-Support Vector Machine (GA-SVM).

Recently, Event-Related Potential (ERP) has being the most popular method in evaluating brain waves of schizophrenia patients. ERP is one of the electroencephalography (EEG), which is measured the change of brain waves after giving patients certain stimulations instead of resting state. However, with traditional statistical analysis method, both P50 and MMN showed significant difference between controls and patients but not in Gamma band. Gamma band is a 30-50 Hz auditory stimulation which had been suggested may be abnormal in schizophrenia patients. Our data are recruited from 5 schizophrenia patients and 5 controls in National Taiwan University Hospital have been tested with this platform. The results showed that detection rate is 88.24% and we also analyzed the importance of features, including Standard Deviation (SD) and Total Variation (TotalVar) in different stage of wavelet transform. Therefore, this proposed methodology could serve as a valuable clinical decision support for physiologists in evaluating schizophrenia.

Traditional herbal medicine in preventing recurrence after resection of small hepatocellular carcinoma: a multicenter randomized controlled trial / 中西医结合学报

Disease recurrence is a main challenge in treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). There is no generally accepted method for preventing recurrence of HCC after resection.

Application of vancomycin-loaded calcium sulphate in treatment of osteomyelitis / 中国医学科学院学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the role of vancomycin-loaded calcium sulphate in the treatment of osteomyelitis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We implanted vancomycin-loaded calcium sulphate into 24 patients with traumatic osteomyelitis who were treated in our hospital from February 2008 to February 2010,and then the antibiotic concentrations in the lesions were measured.Bacterial culture results,inflammatory markers,as well as wound healing were observed.X-ray was performed in the location where the vancomycin-loaded calcium sulphate was implanted.The blood vancomycin level as well as liver and kidney functions were determined.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The vancomycin concentration in the lesion exceeded the effective therapeutic concentrations and the minimum inhibitory concentration,while the blood concentration was low.The liver and renal function remained normal.The safety profile was good,and the cure rate of osteomyelitis reached 100%.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The vancomycin-loaded calcium sulphate can release high-concentration vancomycin in the diseased sites without causing high blood concentration.Also,it can guide the regeneration of bones.Therefore,it is effective and safe in treating osteomyelitis.</p>

Traditional herbal medicine in preventing recurrence after resection of small hepatocellular carcinoma: a multicenter randomized controlled trial / 中西医结合学报

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Disease recurrence is a main challenge in treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). There is no generally accepted method for preventing recurrence of HCC after resection.</p><p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare the efficacy of a traditional herbal medicine (THM) regimen and transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in preventing recurrence in post-resection patients with small HCC.</p><p><b>DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTIONS</b>This is a multicenter, open-label, randomized, controlled study, which was undertaken in five centers of China. A total of 379 patients who met the eligibility criteria and underwent randomization were enrolled in this trial. One hundred and eighty-eight patients were assigned to the THM group and received Cinobufacini injection and Jiedu Granule, and the other 191 patients were assigned to the TACE group and received one single course of TACE.</p><p><b>MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES</b>Primary outcome measures were the annual recurrence rate and the time to recurrence. Incidence of adverse events was regarded as the secondary outcome measure.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Among the 364 patients who were included in the intention-to-treat analysis, 67 patients of the THM group and 87 of the TACE group had recurrence, with a hazard ratio of 0.695 (P = 0.048). Median recurrence-free survival of the patients in the THM and TACE groups was 46.89 and 34.49 months, respectively. Recurrence rates at 1, 2 and 3 years were 17.7%, 33.0% and 43.5% for the THM group, and 28.8%, 42.5% and 54.0% for the TACE group, respectively (P = 0.026). Multivariate analysis indicated that the THM regimen had a big advantage for prolonging the recurrence-free survival. Adverse events were mild and abnormality of laboratory indices of the two groups were similar.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>In comparison with TACE therapy, the THM regimen was associated with diminished risk of recurrence of small-sized HCC after resection, with comparable adverse events. TRIAL REGISTRTION IDENTIFIER: This trial was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry with the identifier ChiCTR-TRC-07000033.</p>

The observations of curative efficacy of rhubarb combined with blood purification on treatment patients with severe acute organophosphorus pesticide poisoning / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the curative efficacy of rhubarb, montmorillonite powder combined with blood purification on treatment for patients with severe acute organophosphorus pesticide poisoning (AOPP).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>39 patients with AOPP were divided into treatment group (received the combined treatment of rhubarb, montmorillonite powder and blood purification on the basis of routine therapy, n = 21) and control group (only received the routine treatment because of financial difficulties or the will of family members, n = 18). The differences of clinical manifestations, curative effects and prognosis between two groups were compared.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The time of consciousness recovery, the duration of mechanical ventilation and the length of stay in hospital in treatment group were (6.5 ± 1.3), (7.9 ± 2.0) and (13.1 ± 3.2) days, which were significantly shorter than those [(8.4 ± 2.4), (10.7 ± 2.9) and (16.5 ± 3.7) days] of control group (P < 0.05). In 5, 6 and 7 day after treatment,the cholinesterase (ChE) activities of treatment group were significantly higher than those of control group (P < 0.05). The total amount and using time of atropine and pyraloxime methylchloride in treatment group were significantly smaller and shorter than those in control group (P < 0.05). The death rate of treatment group was [19.0% (4/21)], which were significantly lower than that of control group [19.0% (4/21)] (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The combined treatment of rhubarb, montmorillonite powder and blood purification of the AOPP patients has a better curative effect.</p>

Artemisinin inhibits in vitro and in vivo invasion and metastasis of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Artemisinin (ART) is isolated from the medicinal plant Artemisia annua L. To determine its effects on the invasion and metastasis of tumors, the human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines HepG2 and SMMC-7721 were treated with different concentrations of ART. Starting at 12.5µM, ART had inhibitory effects in migration and invasion assays that increased at higher concentrations. The inhibitory effect also became stronger with time, from 24 to 72h. ART significantly inhibited the in vivo metastatic abilities of the HepG2 HCC cell line. ART inhibited the invasion and metastasis of HCC cells both in vitro and in vivo by reducing the level of the MMP2 metalloproteinase, and by inducing the TIMP2 protein. ART activated Cdc42, which enhanced E-cadherin activity, resulting in greater cell-cell adhesion, and significantly reduced metastasis.