ABSTRACT
Background: Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration (IVDD) is highly prevalent among the elderly population and stands as a leading cause of low back pain. Our prior studies have highlighted the therapeutic potential of Liuwei Dihuang decoction (LWDHD) and its component Cornus officinalis (CO)-derived compounds in alleviating IVDD and osteoarthritis, suggesting beneficial effects of CO in treating degenerative osteoarthropathies. However, uncertainty remains regarding the optimal CO dosage within LWDHD and its potential mechanism for effectively treating IVDD. Objective: To ascertain the optimal dosage of CO within LWDHD for enhancing its therapeutic efficacy in treating IVDD, through a comparison of its effects across varied dosages using a mouse IVDD model. Methods: Eight-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were subjected to a lumbar spine instability surgery to induce an IVDD model and received a modified LWDHD formulation containing varied dosages of CO (original dose of CO, or 5- or 10-time dose of CO (referred to as 1 × CO, 5 × CO, and 10 × CO)) for 8 weeks. The therapeutic efficacy on IVDD was evaluated through changes in lumbar spine function, histopathological morphology, extracellular matrix metabolism, nucleus pulposus cell viability, sensory nerve ingrowth, and nucleus pulposus (NP) cell pyroptosis. Results: Augmenting CO levels in LWDHD led to a dose-dependent increase in the levels of CO-sourced active compounds in the plasma of mice. The modified LWDHD formulations, particularly the 5 × CO, exhibited a favorable pharmacological effect on lumbar function, structural integrity, ECM composition, NP cell viability, and sensory nerve ingrowth. Importantly, all 3 formulations notably mitigated NP cell pyroptosis by activating NRF2/KEAP1 pathway, with the 5 × CO formulation exhibiting superior efficacy. Additionally, a comprehensive score analysis indicated that 5 × CO formulation achieved the highest score. Conclusion: These data underscore that elevating the dosage of CO to a specific threshold can enhance the effectiveness of LWDHD in treating IVDD.
ABSTRACT
Objective: This study aimed to explore the research trends of percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy in treating lumbar disc herniation using bibliometrics over the past ten years. Methods: Relevant publications on the clinical application of percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy in lumbar disc herniation were searched in the Web of Science Core Collection. Subsequently, the characteristics of all these articles were collected. Visualizing data of annual publications, journals, cited journals, authors, cited authors, countries, institutions, keywords, and cited references was performed by using CiteSpace (6.1.R6). Results: A total of 642 publications were extracted between 2013 and 2022. The number of publications peaked in the year 2020. The most prolific journal was World Neurosurgery (81), and Spine (597) as the cited journal was the most popular one. China (393) was the most prolific country, followed by South Korea (100). The institution with the most productivity was Tongji University (35). Yue Zhou (20) was the most prolific author, and Sebastian Ruetten (310) was the most cited author. The keyword "interlaminar" was top of research developments with the highest citation burst (8.69). "Lumbar disc herniation", "surgical technique", and "complication" were popular keywords. The surgical procedures and complications of percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy have been the hot topics of recent research. Conclusion: This study summarized the current situation and development trends of percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy clinical research in the form of visualization, and these findings may help researchers explore new directions in the future.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the mechanism of the Yigu Decoction empirical formula in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) using network pharmacology and molecular docking methods. METHODS: The active ingredients and targets of Yigu Decoction were screened using the TCMSP database. Relevant targets were predicted using several databases. A "drug-component-target-disease" network was constructed using Cytoscape software. A protein-protein interaction network was constructed using the STRING database. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes signalling pathways of the target genes were analysed. RESULTS: We identified 18 components of Rhizoma drynariae (Gusuibu), 23 components of Yinyanghuo (Herba Epimedii Brevicornus), 16 components of Yam, 65 components of Danshen, 8 components of Sheng Di Huang (Rehmannia glutinosa), 29 components of Buguzhi (Psoralea corylifolia fruit), neoeriocitrin, and protocatechuic aldehyde. The targets were predicted using SwissTargetPrediction software. In total, 653 targets were screened, including 168 potential targets of Rhizoma drynariae (Gusuibu), 192 potential targets of Yinyanghuo (Herba Epimedii Brevicornus), 14 potential targets of Yam, 123 potential targets of Danshen, 216 potential targets of Sheng Di Huang (Rehmannia glutinosa), and 274 potential targets of Buguzhi (Psoralea corylifolia). Intersection analysis of a total of 2,292 targets related to KOA obtained from the GeneCard database, 30 targets from the OMIM database, 12 targets from the DrugBank database, and 368 targets from the DisGeNET database resulted in 2,316 target genes. CONCLUSIONS: Yigu Decoction can improve KOA through multiple targets and mechanisms. Yigu Decoction may be a useful alternative therapy for treating KOA.