Orexin-A attenuated motion sickness through modulating neural activity in hypothalamus nuclei.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: We evaluated the hypothesis that central orexin application could counteract motion sickness responses through regulating neural activity in target brain areas. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: Thec effects of intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of orexin-A and SB-334867 (OX1 antagonist) on motion sickness-induced anorexia, nausea-like behaviour (conditioned gaping), hypoactivity and hypothermia were investigated in rats subjected to Ferris wheel-like rotation. Orexin-A responsive brain areas were identified using Fos immunolabelling and were verified via motion sickness responses after intranucleus injection of orexin-A, SB-334867 and TCS-OX2-29 (OX2 antagonist). The efficacy of intranasal application of orexin-A versus scopolamine on motion sickness symptoms in cats was also investigated. KEY RESULTS: Orexin-A (i.c.v.) dose-dependently attenuated motion sickness-related behavioural responses and hypothermia. Fos expression was inhibited in the ventral part of the dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMV) and the paraventricular nucleus (PVN), but was enhanced in the ventral part of the premammillary nucleus ventral part (PMV) by orexin-A (20 µg) in rotated animals. Motion sickness responses were differentially inhibited by orexin-A injection into the DMV (anorexia and hypoactivity), the PVN (conditioned gaping) and the PMV (hypothermia). SB-334867 and TCS-OX2-29 (i.c.v. and intranucleus injection) inhibited behavioural and thermal effects of orexin-A. Orexin-A (60 µg·kg-1) and scopolamine inhibited rotation-induced emesis and non-retching/vomiting symptoms, while orexin-A also attenuated anorexia with mild salivation in motion sickness cats. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Orexin-A might relieve motion sickness through acting on OX1 and OX2 receptors in various hypothalamus nuclei. Intranasal orexin-A could be a potential strategy against motion sickness.

ccTCM: A quantitative component and compound platform for promoting the research of traditional Chinese medicine.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) databases play a vital role in bridging the gap between TCM and modern medicine, as well as in promoting the popularity of TCM. Elucidating the bioactive ingredients of Chinese medicinal materials is key to TCM modernization and new drug discovery. However, one drawback of current TCM databases is the lack of quantitative data on the constituents of Chinese medicinal materials. Herein, we present ccTCM, a web-based platform designed to provide a component and compound-content-based resource on TCM and analysis services for medical experts. In terms of design features, ccTCM combines resource distribution, similarity analysis, and molecular-mechanism analysis to accelerate the discovery of bioactive ingredients in TCM. ccTCM contains 273 Chinese medicinal materials commonly used in clinical settings, covering 29 functional classifications. By searching and comparing, we finally adopted 2043 studies, from which we collected the compounds contained in each TCM with content greater than 0.001 %, and a total of 1449 were extracted. Subsequently, we collected 40,767 compound-target pairs by integrating multiple databases. Taken together, ccTCM is a versatile platform that can be used by TCM scientists to perform scientific and clinical TCM studies based on quantified ingredients of Chinese medicinal materials. ccTCM is freely accessible at http://www.cctcm.org.cn.

Inhibitory effect of Zanthoxylum bungeanum seed oil on ovalbumin­induced lung inflammation in a murine model of asthma.

The present study aimed to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of Zanthoxylum bungeanum seed oil (Z. seed oil) to alleviate airway inflammation in asthmatic mice. The asthmatic mice were treated with vehicle, ovalbumin (OVA), or OVA + Z. seed oil (2 g/kg) for between 24 h and 14 days. Following treatment, inflammatory cell infiltration and pulmonary tissue damage were assessed by hematoxylin and eosin staining, and immunohistochemistry. The expression levels of pro­inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, adhesion molecules and mitogen activated protein kinase signaling proteins were measured by enzyme­linked immunosorbent assays, reverse transcription quantitative­polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis. In asthmatic mice, administration of Z. seed oil attenuated lung tissue injury and airway remodeling, and inhibited the infiltration of leukocytes and eosinophils into the airway by reducing the expression levels of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines compared with OVA­treated mice (P<0.05). Z. seed oil also reduced the levels of inflammatory chemokine and adhesion molecules via downregulation of extracellular signal­regulated kinase and activation of c­JUN N­terminal kinase in the Z. seed­treated mice compared with OVA­treated mice (P<0.05). Thus, data from the present study indicates that Z. seed oil can suppress pulmonary inflammation and tissue injury during asthma, and suggests that it may be used to effectively treat allergen­induced asthma.

[The Real World Study on Evaluating the Effect of Chinese Medicine Combined Western Medicine in Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis].

Objective To observe the curative effect of Chinese medicine (CM) combined West- ern medicine (WM) in treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Methods Totally 351 RA patients were allocated into two groups by their willingness, 52 cases in the control group and 299 cases in the combination group. Treatment of WM mainly included non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, glucocorti- coids, and anti-rheumatic drugs. And treatment based on syndrome differentiation of CM was adopted. Four diagnostic information of CM, joint pain, tenderness, swelling index, laboratory indices, and treat- ment expenses were observed. Disease activity score 28 (DAS28) , quality of life score [health assessment questionnaire (HAQ) ] , and efficacy of disease were assessed. Results After 2-3 months of treatment, the total effective rate was higher in the combination group than in the control group (P < 0. 05). After 6-12 months of treatment, the total effective rate, DAS28, and HAQ score were better in the combination group than in the control group (P <0. 05). There was no statistical difference in use of Western drugs, total expenses of hospitalization, total expenses of outpatient service between the two groups (P >0. 05). Patients who were treated by combined treatment, or having higher DAS obtained better effects after 2-3 months of treatment (P <0. 05). Patients who were treated by combined treatment, or having lower DAS obtained better effects after 6-12 months of treatment (P <0. 05). Conclusions Real world study (RWS) observed that combined CM and WM could get more significant effect. It also could effectively reduce disease activity, improve patients' QOL, with no economic burdens added.