[Systematic review and sequential analysis of Tanshinone â ¡_A Sodium Sulfonate Injection combined with enalapril in treatment of acute exacerbation of pulmonary heart disease].

To systematically evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of Tanshinone Ⅱ_A Sodium Sulfonate Injection combined with enalapril in the treatment of patients with acute exacerbation of pulmonary heart disease. The randomized controlled trial(RCT) on Tanshinone Ⅱ_A Sodium Sulfonate Injection combined with enalapril for acute exacerbation of pulmonary heart disease was screened from EMbase, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, VIP, CNKI, and Wanfang from inception to March 20, 2022. Meta-analysis of each index was performed in RevMan 5.3 and TSA 0.9. Finally, 41 RCTs involving 3 865 patients were included. Meta-analysis showed that the observation group had higher total response rate(RR=1.21, 95%CI[1.18, 1.24], P<0.000 01), lower plasma viscosity(MD=-0.25, 95%CI[-0.34,-0.16], P<0.000 01), lower whole blood viscosity(MD=-0.99, 95%CI[-1.14,-0.85], P<0.000 01), and lower hematokrit(MD=-9.03, 95%CI[-10.57,-7.50], P<0.000 01) than the control group. The incidence of adverse effects showed no significant difference between groups(RR=1.42, 95%CI[0.82, 2.45], P=0.21). Sequential analysis showed that Tanshinone Ⅱ_A Sodium Sulfonate Injection combined with enalapril exerted definite efficacy in the treatment of acute exacerbation of pulmonary heart disease, and the possibility of false positives was excluded. Based on the existing evidence, Tanshinone Ⅱ_A Sodium Sulfonate Injection combined with enalapril can improve the total response rate and reduce plasma viscosity, whole blood viscosity, and hematocrit, demonstrating good safety in patients with acute exacerbation of pulmonary heart disease. In the future, more RCT with large sample size, rigorous design, and in accordance with international norms are needed to further validate the results.

Tianma Gouteng Decoction Exerts Cardiovascular Protection by Upregulating OPG and TRAIL in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats.

Tianma Gouteng Decoction (TGD) is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of hypertension and its related complications, but its mechanisms remain incompletely defined. We now aim to assess the protective effect of TGD against cardiovascular damage and to investigate its characteristics and underlying mechanisms. Blood pressure was determined in TGD-treated spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) by noninvasive measurements. Echocardiography was performed to assess cardiac function and structure and sirius red staining to evaluate cardiac fibrosis, and the degree of vascular remodeling was evaluated. Additionally, vasoconstriction and relaxation factor expression changes were examined by means of ELISA. Protein expression changes were verified by western blot. Compared with untreated SHR, TGD-treated SHR exhibited cardiovascular traits more akin to those of the normotensive Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats. That is, they had lower diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure and mean BP, and increased expression of vasodilation factor. We also found that TGD reduces ventricular and vascular remodeling and improves cardiac function in SHR. Finally, we tested the antiapoptosis effect TGD exerts in SHR, ostensibly by upregulating the expression of OPG, TRAIL, and death receptor 5 (DR5) and downregulating caspases 8, 7, and 3. TRAIL may also exert antiapoptotic and prosurvival effects by upregulating AKT expression. Therefore, TGD may reverse cardiovascular remodeling in SHR by upregulating the expression of OPG and TRAIL, upregulating AKT, and inhibiting apoptosis, at least in part. For the first time, we have shown that OPG and TRAIL play complimentary cardioprotective roles in SHR.

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of Chinese herbal medicine granules for the treatment of menopausal symptoms by stages.

OBJECTIVE: The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Chinese herbal medicine granules Danzhi Qing'e formula (DZQE), Erzhi formula (EZ), and their combination (Combined formula) in the treatment of menopausal symptoms at different stages of menopause. METHODS: Women between the ages of 40 to 60 years, who met menopausal symptoms diagnostic criteria and experienced hot flushes at least 14 times/week in the last 4 weeks, were recruited to participate in a stratified randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial (n = 389). They received a treatment period of 8 weeks and were followed up for 4 weeks. Participants were categorized into two subgroups: 197 in the perimenopausal subgroup (menstrual disorder to 1 y after amenorrhea) and 192 in the early postmenopausal subgroup (1-5 y after amenorrhea). Participants were randomly assigned to placebo or one of the three herbal formula treatments. The primary outcome instrument was the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life (MENQOL) questionnaire. RESULTS: When analyzing the two subgroups together, DZQE markedly decreased the MENQOL total score at the end of 12th week with statistical significance (P = 0.02) and improved vasomotor symptoms after 8 weeks treatment and 4 weeks follow-up (P < 0.05). What is more, the combined formula also greatly improved the participants' vasomotor symptoms compared with placebo after the 4 weeks follow-up. No statistically meaningful difference was observed in any other outcomes among the groups. The results of subgroup analysis showed that DZQE and Combined formula were more effective than placebo in improving MENQOL total score for perimenopausal women at the end of week 12. For typical menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes and night sweats, DZQE displayed more favorable effects on early postmenopausal participants. Compared to placebo, the DZQE both showed statistically significant differences after 8 weeks treatment and 4 weeks follow-up. Although at the end of 12th week, DZQE also had better effects than placebo in the perimenopausal subgroup on vasomotor symptoms. Participants in the EZ group did not show a significant difference of any domains in MENQOL compared with participants in the placebo group. CONCLUSIONS: The DZQE formula improves the quality of life for menopausal women, especially for those with vasomotor symptoms during the whole menopausal period. The DZQE and EZ combination formula is effective only on perimenopausal symptoms.

Gastrodin Reduces Blood Pressure by Intervening with RAAS and PPARγ in SHRs.

Gastrodin is a bioactive compound extracted from traditional Chinese medicine, Gastrodia elata Bl. It has a definite effect on reducing blood pressure in hypertensive patients. However, the mechanisms of gastrodin in lowering blood pressure still remain unclear. In this study, 4 weeks of administration of gastrodin (100 mg/kg/d intraperitoneally injected) decreased the systolic blood pressure (SBP) in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) (190.2 ± 8.9 versus 169.8 ± 6.4, P < 0.01). Among SHRs receiving gastrodin treatment, angiotensin II (Ang II) and aldosterone (ALD) in serum were significantly decreased (2022.1 ± 53.0 versus 1528.7 ± 93.9, 213.33 ± 35.17 versus 179.65 ± 20.31, and P < 0.01, P < 0.05, resp.) and dramatically downregulated expression of angiotensin type 1 receptor (AT1R) (4.9 ± 0.9 versus 2.6 ± 0.9, P < 0.05) in myocardium in both mRNA and protein levels compared with their corresponding groups without gastrodin treatment. Additionally, gastrodin increased the mRNA expression (0.18 ± 0.07 versus 0.82 ± 0.10, P < 0.01) and protein synthesis (0.40 ± 0.10 versus 0.34 ± 0.10, P < 0.01) of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) in myocardium tissues. Overall, our data demonstrated that gastrodin was able to decrease the SBP in SHR. Furthermore, this study showed that gastrodin intervened with the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) and PPARγ effectively, which indicates its antihypertensive mechanism.

[The regulatory mechanism of songling xuemaikang capsule on PPARgamma in spontaneously hypertensive rats: an experimental study].

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of Songling Xuemaikang Capsule (SXC) on blood pressure of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and regulatory mechanisms for peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-gamma (PPARgamma). METHODS: Totally 24 10-week-old SHR rats were randomly divided into the blank control group, the Chinese medicine (CM) group, and the Western medicine (WM) group, 8 in each group. Rats in the CM group were administered with SXC at the daily dose of 20 mg/kg by gastrogavage. Those in the WM group were administered with ramipril at the daily dose of 1 mg/kg by gastrogavage. Those in the blank control group were administered with equal volume of normal saline. The blood pressure was measured once per week. The cardiac ultrasound was performed 4 weeks later. Rats were killed and then blood was sampled from abdominal aorta. mRNA expressions of liver PPARgamma and angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R) were detected by fluorescence real-time quantitative PCR. Protein expressions of PPARgamma and AT1R were detected using immunohistochemical assay (SP). The contents of PPARgamma and AT1R were quantitatively analyzed by Western blot. RESULTS: After 4 weeks of treatment, the blood pressure decreased in the CM group, showing statistical difference when compared with the blank control group (P < 0.01). CM was inferior to WM in lowering blood pressure. But as a whole, CM was more stable and could maintain blood pressure at a relatively stable level. The cardiac ejection fraction increased in the CM group, showing statistical difference when compared with the blank control group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). The mRNA and protein expressions of liver PPARgamma were up-regulated in the CM group, showing statistical difference when compared with the blank control group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). CM could obviously inhibit the AT1R mRNA expression, and down-regulate the protein expression of AT1R, showing statistical difference when compared with the blank control group and the WM group respectively (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: SXC decreased blood pressure and improved the cardiac ejection fraction, which might be partially achieved by up-regulating the PPARgamma mRNA expression and protein synthesis, and inhibiting the AT1R mRNA expression and AT1R protein synthesis.

Rational design of carbon and TiO2 assembly materials: covered or strewn, which is better for photocatalysis?

The rational design of carbonaceous hybrid nanostructures is very important for obtaining high photoactivity. TiO2 particles strewn with an optimal quantity of carbon nanodots have a much higher photoactivity than that of TiO2 covered with a carbon layer, showing the importance of carbon morphology in the photocatalysis of carbonaceous hybrid nanostructures.