Promising Natural Medicines for the Treatment of High-Altitude Illness.

Li Li, Lin Lin, Bo Wen, Peng-cheng Zhao, Da-sheng Liu, Guo-ming Pang, Zi-rong Wang, Yong Tan, and Cheng Lu. Promising natural medicines for the treatment of high-altitude illness. High Alt Med Biol. 24:175-185, 2023.-High-altitude illness (HAI) is a dangerous disease characterized by oxidative stress, inflammatory damage and hemodynamic changes in the body that can lead to severe damage to the lungs, heart, and brain. Natural medicines are widely known for their multiple active ingredients and pharmacological effects, which may be important in the treatment of HAI. In this review, we outline the specific types of HAI and the underlying pathological mechanisms and summarize the currently documented natural medicines applied in the treatment of acute mountain sickness and high-altitude cerebral edema, high-altitude pulmonary edema, chronic mountain sickness, and high-altitude pulmonary hypertension. Their sources, types, and medicinal sites are summarized, and their active ingredients, pharmacological effects, related mechanisms, and potential toxicity are discussed. In conclusion, natural medicines, as an acceptable complementary and alternative strategy with fewer side effects and more long-term application, can provide a reference for developing more natural antialtitude sickness medicines in the future and have good application prospects in HAI treatment.

Probiotics protect against RSV infection by modulating the microbiota-alveolar-macrophage axis.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is leading cause of respiratory tract infections in early childhood. Gut microbiota is closely related with the pulmonary antiviral immunity. Recent evidence shows that gut dysbiosis is involved in the pathogenesis of RSV infection. Therefore; pharmacological and therapeutic strategies aiming to readjust the gut dysbiosis are increasingly important for the treatment of RSV infection. In this study, we evaluated the therapeutic effects of a probiotic mixture on RSV-infected mice. This probiotic mixture consisted of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 and VSL#3 was orally administered to neonatal mice on a daily basis either for 1 week in advance or for 3 days starting from the day of RSV infection. We showed that administration of the probiotics protected against RSV-induced lung pathology by suppressing RSV infection and exerting an antiviral response via alveolar macrophage (AM)-derived IFN-ß. Furthermore, administration of the probiotics reversed gut dysbiosis and significantly increased the abundance of short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing bacteria in RSV-infected mice, which consequently led to elevated serum SCFA levels. Moreover, administration of the probiotics restored lung microbiota in RSV-infected mice. We demonstrated that the increased production of IFN-ß in AMs was attributed to the increased acetate in circulation and the levels of Corynebacterium and Lactobacillus in lungs. In conclusion, we reveal that probiotics protect against RSV infection in neonatal mice through a microbiota-AM axis, suggesting that the probiotics may be a promising candidate to prevent and treat RSV infection, and deserve more research and development in future.

[Logistic regression analysis on relationships between traditional Chinese medicine constitutional types and overweight or obesity].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationships between traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) constitutional types and overweight or obesity so as to provide evidence for adjusting constitutional bias and preventing and treating obesity. METHODS: The data comes from a cross-sectional survey on TCM constitution of 18 805 samples aged above 18 in Beijing and 8 provinces (Jiangsu, Anhui, Gansu, Qinghai, Fujian, Jilin, Jiangxi and Henan) in China. The survey of TCM constitution was performed by standardized constitution in Chinese medicine questionnaire (CCMQ). Discriminatory analysis method was used to judge the individual's constitutional type (gentleness type, qi-deficiency type, yang-deficiency type, yin-deficiency type, phlegm-dampness type, dampness-heat type, blood-stasis type, qi-depression type and special diathesis type). The relationships between TCM constitution types and overweight or obesity was investigated by logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Compared with gentleness type, the risk of overweight (OR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.79-2.35) and obesity (OR, 4.34; 95% CI, 3.52-5.36) in phlegm-dampness type is significantly increased; the risk of obesity (OR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.30-1.98) in qi-deficiency type is significantly higher; the risk of overweight and obesity in yang-deficiency type, blood-stasis type, and qi-depression type is significantly lower. CONCLUSION: Phlegm-dampness type and qi-deficiency type are the main constitutional risk factors of overweight or obesity.

[Changes of endocrine and immune function in subjects of yang deficiency constitution].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the changes of endocrine, cyclic nucleotide and immune systems in subjects of yang deficiency constitution, and to explore the relationship among characteristics and causes of yang deficiency constitution, the physiological and biochemical parameters. METHODS: Based on the diagnostic criteria for the clinical epidemiological investigation, sixty subjects of yang deficiency constitution and fifty of normal constitution were selected. Eight milliliters venous blood were taken from overnight fasted subjects at 8:00-9:00. The sera were obtained by centrifugation of the blood at the speed of 3000 r/min for 5 minutes, and they were stored at -70 degrees C until use. The serum levels of corticosterone, cortisol, adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), free triiodothyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (FT4), thyrotropic-stimulating hormone (TSH), interleukin-1beta and interleukin-2 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; the cAMP/cGMP ratio was also computed; and the differences of the above indexes were compared between the two types of subjects. RESULTS: The serum levels of corticosterone, interleukin-1beta, TSH and cAMP/cGMP ratio of yang deficiency constitution significantly increased as compared with those of normal constitution, and the serum levels of cortisol, ACTH, cGMP and FT4 of yang deficiency constitution significantly decreased in comparison with those of normal constitution. CONCLUSION: Subjects of yang deficiency constitution may be not only related to hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis, but also related to the functional disorders of cyclic nucleotide and immune systems.