A relatively rare traditional Chinese medicine pattern of primary Sjögren syndrome: A case report.

RATIONALE: This report presents a unique case of a patient diagnosed with Primary Sjögren's syndrome and a relatively rare traditional Chinese medicine pattern, known as the combined cold and heat pattern and cold-dampness syndrome. The patient's condition was successfully managed using Chinese herbal medicine, specifically the modified Da-Chai-Hu decoction and Linggui Zhugan decoction. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 56-year-old woman had chronic dry eye and mouth for over 10 years. She was initially managed with traditional Chinese herbal medicine (TCHM) prescriptions, including the Zengye decoction, but the therapeutic effects were unsatisfactory. As the disease progressed, she was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder due to symptoms of vexation and insomnia. Treatment with alprazolam and venlafaxine failed to alleviate these symptoms. Recently, her general condition gradually worsened, with symptoms including a bitter taste in her mouth, dizziness, hot flashes, chills, poor appetite, chest discomfort, and constipation. DIAGNOSES: After a series of examinations, including a Schirmer test and labial gland biopsy, she was diagnosed with Sjögren's syndrome. INTERVENTIONS: Despite regular treatment with pilocarpine, sodium hyaluronate eye drops, venlafaxine, and alprazolam, the dry mouth symptoms intensified. Consequently, she sought further intervention through the TCHM. OUTCOMES: After 8 weeks of treatment with the modified Da-Chai-Hu decoction and Linggui Zhugan decoction, she reported a significant improvement in her dryness-related symptoms and sleep quality. LESSONS: This case report demonstrates that TCHM can effectively treat Primary Sjögren's syndrome, and should be considered for broader applications. Furthermore, this underscores the importance of tailoring treatment formulas to patients by identifying their specific syndrome differentiation in a clinical setting.

Successful complementary therapy with traditional Chinese medicine in a patient with Qi and Jin deficiency symptoms from adult-onset Still's disease: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD) is a rare yet well-documented polygenic and systemic autoinflammatory disease characterized by recurrent spiking fever, transient skin rash, arthralgia, and sore throat. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) holds a significant role in complementary and alternative medicine. This study presents a unique case of a female AOSD patient with concurrent Qi and fluid deficiency syndrome who received combined treatment with formulated Zhu Ye Shi Gao Decoction (ZYSGD). CASE PRESENTATION: In this case, a 28-year-old female patient presented with a 15-day history of fever and skin rash accompanied by sore throat, fatigue, myalgia, and arthralgia. Additionally, leucocytosis, aminotransferase abnormalities, and elevated inflammatory factor levels were observed. Infectious diseases, solid tumors, and hematological disorders were all ruled out. Anti-infective treatments proved ineffective, leading to the final diagnosis of AOSD. Glucocorticoid therapy provided only partial relief. Consequently, formulated ZYSGD and hepatoprotective drugs were added to the glucocorticoid treatment. Subsequently, the patient's symptoms and inflammatory biomarkers showed improvement. After discharge, the patient's condition remained stable while continuing the formulated ZYSGD in combination with 4 mg of Medrolol (qd) during a 10-month follow-up period. CONCLUSION: This case report suggests that formulated ZYSGD could be a viable option for complementary and alternative therapy for late-stage AOSD, especially in cases involving both Qi and body fluid imbalances.

Folic Acid Rescues Valproic Acid-Induced Morphogenesis Inhibition in Neural Rosettes Derived From Human Pluripotent Stem Cells.

The ability of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) to specialize in neuroepithelial tissue makes them ideal candidates for use in the disease models of neural tube defects. In this study, we cultured hPSCs in suspension with modified neural induction method, and immunostaining was applied to detect important markers associated with cell fate and morphogenesis to verify the establishment of the neural tube model in vitro. We carried out the drug experiments to further investigate the toxicity of valproic acid (VPA) exposure and the potential protective effect of folic acid (FA). The results demonstrated that neural rosette undergoes cell fate speciation and lumen formation accompanied by a spatiotemporal shift in the expression patterns of cadherin, indicating the model was successfully established. The results showed that VPA caused morphogenesis inhibition of lumen formation by altering cytoskeletal function and cell polarization, which could be rescued by FA supplement.

Enhancing the oxidative stability of algal oil emulsions by adding sweet orange oil: Effect of essential oil concentration.

The effects of sweet orange essential oil (SOEO) concentration (0-12.5% of oil phase) on the physical stability, oxidative stability, and interfacial composition of algal oil-in-water emulsions containing sodium caseinate-coated oil droplets was examined. SOEO addition had no influence on the microstructure and physical stability of the algal oil emulsions. The addition of SOEO enhanced the oxidation stability of algal oil emulsion. As an example, the values of algal oil emulsions with 0 and 10% SOEO were 198 and 100 mmol/kg algal oil after 16 days of accelerated oxidation, respectively. The absorbed protein level was higher in the algal oil emulsion containing 10% SOEO (70%) than in 0% SOEO (57%). This result suggested that the presence of SOEO enhanced the interfacial thickness, possibly by interacting with the casein molecules. A thicker protein layer may have helped to retard the oxidation of the omega-3 oils inside lipid droplets.

Rheological and microstructural properties of cold-set emulsion gels fabricated from mixed proteins: Whey protein and lactoferrin.

Cold-set emulsion gels were fabricated from oil droplets coated by mixed proteins: whey protein and lactoferrin. The impact of protein composition, droplet concentration, pH, and ionic strength on the microstructure, texture, and stability of the cold-set emulsion gels was determined. Protein composition had a major influence on gel strength, with the strongest emulsion gels being formed at an optimized protein composition (0.5 wt% whey protein and 1.5 wt% lactoferrin). The storage modulus of the emulsion gels increased from 149 to 1590 Pa as the droplet concentration increased from 10 to 40 wt%. The gel strength could also be modulated by adjusting pH, with the strongest gels being formed at pH = 6.5, where the net charge on the droplets was neutral. Increasing the ionic strength weakened the electrostatic interactions, which inhibited droplet aggregation and led to a decrease in gel strength. These results may be useful for designing cold-set emulsion gels with rheological properties that can be tailored for specific commercial products.

Enhancement of the solubility, stability and bioaccessibility of quercetin using protein-based excipient emulsions.

Emulsion-based excipient foods were developed to improve the bioaccessibility of an important hydrophobic nutraceutical: quercetin. Protein-stabilized oil-in-water excipient emulsions were prepared using sodium caseinate, whey protein isolate, or soy protein isolate as an emulsifier. These emulsions were then mixed with powdered quercetin and heated to simulate a cooking process. The excipient emulsions had relatively small droplet sizes (d < 270 nm) and remained stable against coalescence after exposure to boiling (100 °C for 60 min). In particular, casein was shown to be better at adsorbing to oil-water interface and contributed to a more stable interfacial layer than the other two proteins. Quercetin was solubilized in the emulsions during heating, which may be attributed to dissolution in the oil phase and complexation with proteins. There were appreciable differences in quercetin bioaccessibility in excipient emulsions stabilized by different emulsifiers (≈74% for casein, 54% for whey protein, 22% for soy protein, and 58% for Tween). This study suggests that milk proteins may be natural alternatives to synthetic surfactants for forming stable excipient emulsions capable of enhancing nutraceutical bioaccessibility.

Gastrointestinal Fate of Fluid and Gelled Nutraceutical Emulsions: Impact on Proteolysis, Lipolysis, and Quercetin Bioaccessibility.

Fluid and gelled nutraceutical emulsions were formulated from quercetin-loaded caseinate-stabilized emulsions by the addition of gellan gum with or without acidification with glucono-δ-lactone. Gellan gum addition increased the viscosity or gel strength of the fluid and gelled emulsions, respectively. The behavior of the nutraceutical emulsions in a simulated gastrointestinal tract depended upon their initial composition. Fluid emulsions containing different gellan gum levels (0-0.2%) had similar protein and lipid hydrolysis rates as well as similar quercetin bioaccessibility (∼51%). Conversely, proteolysis, lipolysis, and quercetin bioaccessibility decreased with an increasing gellan gum level in the gelled emulsions. In comparison to gelled emulsions, fluid emulsions were digested more rapidly and led to higher quercetin bioaccessibility. There was a good correlation between quercetin bioaccessibility and the lipolysis rate. These findings are useful for designing nutraceutical-loaded emulsions that can be used in a wide range of food products with different rheological properties.

Pluronics modified liposomes for curcumin encapsulation: Sustained release, stability and bioaccessibility.

The present work evaluated the feasibility of different pluronics (F127, F87 and P85) utilized as modifiers to improve the stability and bioaccessibility of curcumin liposomes (cur-Lps). Pluronics modified curcumin liposomes (cur-pluronic-Lps) were prepared by thin film evaporation combined with dynamic high pressure microfluidization. The particle size and polydispersity index of cur-pluronic-Lps was significantly lower than cur-Lps. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis revealed that curcumin was loaded in liposomes successfully and X-ray diffraction suggested that curcumin in the liposomes was in an amorphous state. In vitro release studies demonstrated that 73.4%, 63.9%, 66.7% and 58.9% curcumin released from cur-Lps, cur-F127-Lps, cur-F87-Lps and cur-P85-Lps, respectively. Compared with cur-Lps, cur-pluronic-Lps showed a slower release rate and lower cumulative release percentage for curcumin. Non-Fickian transport was the main release mechanism for cur-Lps, cur-F127-Lps and cur-F87-Lps, and typically the first-order model fitted cur-P85-Lps release. Stability studies (exposure to solutions of different pH and heat treatment) indicated that pluronics modification could enhance their pH stability and thermal stability. In vitro simulated gastrointestinal tract studies suggested that pluronics modification could significantly improve the absorption of cur-Lps. Bioaccessibility of curcumin liposomes increased in the following order: cur-Lps < cur-F87-Lps < cur-P85-Lps < cur-F127-Lps. These results may guide the potential application of pluronics modified liposomes as carriers of curcumin in nutraceutical and functional foods.

[Progress in the study of stability of Chinese medicine liposomes].

The stability of pharmaceutical preparations prepared Chinese medicine liposomes by liposome novel technology combined with traditional Chinese herbs is the main contents of quality study, not only affects preparations molding, but also relates to the efficiency and safety of traditional Chinese medicine. From the view of main influencing factors of stability about the Chinese medicine liposomes and combining with literatures published in home and abroad in recent years, the article analyzes, arranges and sums up measures of improving the stability of Chinese medicine liposomes, to provide reference for the study on the preparation of Chinese medicine liposomes.