Association between early treatment with Qingfei Paidu decoction and favorable clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19: A retrospective multicenter cohort study.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic has been almost controlled in China under a series of policies, including "early diagnosis and early treatment". This study aimed to explore the association between early treatment with Qingfei Paidu decoction (QFPDD) and favorable clinical outcomes. In this retrospective multicenter study, we included 782 patients (males, 56 %; median age 46) with confirmed COVID-19 from 54 hospitals in nine provinces of China, who were divided into four groups according to the treatment initiation time from the first date of onset of symptoms to the date of starting treatment with QFPDD. The primary outcome was time to recovery; days of viral shedding, duration of hospital stay, and course of the disease were also analyzed. Compared with treatment initiated after 3 weeks, early treatment with QFPDD after less than 1 week, 1-2 weeks, or 2-3 weeks had a higher likelihood of recovery, with adjusted hazard ratio (HR) (95 % confidence interval [CI]) of 3.81 (2.65-5.48), 2.63 (1.86-3.73), and 1.92 (1.34-2.75), respectively. The median course of the disease decreased from 34 days to 24 days, 21 days, and 18 days when treatment was administered early by a week (P < 0.0001). Treatment within a week was related to a decrease by 1-4 days in the median duration of hospital stay compared with late treatment (P<0.0001). In conclusion, early treatment with QFPDD may serve as an effective strategy in controlling the epidemic, as early treatment with QFPDD was associated with favorable outcomes, including faster recovery, shorter time to viral shedding, and a shorter duration of hospital stay. However, further multicenter, prospective studies with a larger sample size should be conducted to confirm the benefits of early treatment with QFPDD.

Ameliorative effects of baicalein on an amyloid-ß induced Alzheimer's disease rat model: a proteomics study.

BACKGROUND: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common type of age-related dementia. Effective anti-AD drugs against amyloid-ß-protein-induced cognitive impairment are still lacking. Baicalein is the main component of Radix Scutellariae and has neuroprotective properties. In this study, we provide further insights into pharmacotherapy mechanisms and potential targets of baicalein in AD. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the therapeutic effects and mechanism of action of baicalein in an AD rat model. METHODS: Male rats were intracerebroventricularly injected with amyloid-ß(Aß) 1-40, and baicalein was orally administered. The therapeutic effect was evaluated with the Morris water maze test, and the mechanism of action was studied using a proteomics approach and western blotting. RESULTS: Baicalein treatment significantly attenuated Aß1-40-induced abnormalities in cognitive function. Additionally, the expression levels of 24 proteins in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus were significantly influenced by baicalein; approximately 50% of these proteins are related to energy metabolism and neurotransmission, whereas others are related to anti-apoptosis, anti-oxidation, the stress response, protein phosphorylation, the cytoskeleton, phospholipid metabolism and cell signaling. The expression of these proteins was increased, except for the proteins related to the cytoskeleton. The changes in the expression of 2 proteins were confirmed by western blotting. CONCLUSIONS: Baicalein ameliorates the Aß1-40-induced dementia in rats and may be a novel and promising drug for the treatment of AD. The therapeutic mechanism may be related to modulation of a number of processes, mainly through the promotion of energy metabolism and neurotransmission, with the additional promotion of anti-apoptosis, anti-oxidation, protein phosphorylation, etc.