Effects of endogenous dopamine induced by low concentration atropine eye drops on choroidal neovascularization in high myopia mice.

AIM: To evaluate effects of endogenous dopamine induced by low concentration atropine eye drops on choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in high myopia mice. METHODS: The C57BL/6J mice were deprived of the right eye for 4wk, and the high myopia was diagnosed by optometry, the diopter was less than -6.00 D, and CNV was induced by 532 nm laser. The changes of dopamine D1 receptor (DRD1), dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2), and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) were detected by Western blot technology at 0.5, 1, 2h, and 7d after 0.01%, 0.05%, and 0.1% atropine eye drops, respectively, the area of CNV was measured. RESULTS: Significant increases were observed on the expression of DRD2 in mouse high myopia model at 0.5, 1, 2h, 7d with 0.05% and 0.1% atropine eye drops (P<0.05). Significant decreases were observed on the expression of DRD1 and VEGFA in mouse high myopia model at 0.5, 1, 2h, 7d with 0.05% and 0.1% atropine eye drops (P<0.05). The area of CNV induced by laser in the drug-treated group was significantly smaller than that in the control group, and the higher the concentration, the more significant the inhibitory effect (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The 0.01%, 0.05%, 0.1% atropine eye drops can decrease the level of VEGFA and inhibit high myopia CNV indirectly by up-regulating the level of DRD2 and down-regulating the level of DRD1, and the effect of 0.05% and 0.1% atropine eye drops is more significant.

Traditional Chinese Medicine in Treatment of COVID-19 and Viral Disease: Efficacies and Clinical Evidence.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains an uncontained, worldwide pandemic. While battling the disease in China, the Chinese government has actively promoted the use of traditional Chinese medicine, and many studies have been conducted to determine the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine for treating COVID-19. The present review discusses the effectiveness and safety of traditional Chinese medicine in curing COVID-19 and provides clinical evidence from all confirmed cases in China. Applications of traditional Chinese medicine and specific recipes for treating other viral infections, such as those caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus and influenza A viruses (including H1N1), are also discussed. Studies have reported that traditional Chinese medicine treatment plays a significant role in improving clinical symptoms. Therefore, further investigation may be of high translational value in revealing novel targeted therapies for COVID-19.

Coal-burning roasted corn and chili as the cause of dental fluorosis for children in southwestern China.

To find the pathologic cause of the children's dental fluorosis in southwestern China, diet structure before the age of 6 and prevalence rate of dental fluorosis (DF) of 405 children were investigated, and the fluorine and arsenic content of several materials were determined. The prevalence rate of DF of children living on roasted corn before the age of 6 is 100% with nearly 95% having the mild to severe DF; while that of children living on non-roasted corn or rice is less than 5% with all having very mild DF. The average fluorine and arsenic concentration are 20.26 mg/kg and 0.249 mg/kg in roasted corn, which are about 16 times and 35 times more than in non-roasted corn, respectively. The average fluorine concentration is 78 mg/kg in coal, 1116 mg/kg in binder clay and 313 mg/kg in briquette (coal mixed with clay). The average arsenic concentration of coal is 5.83 mg/kg, the binder clay is 20.94 mg/kg, with 8.52 mg/kg in the briquette. Living on roasted corn and chili is the main pathologic cause of endemic fluorosis in southwestern China. The main source of fluorine and arsenic pollution of roasted corn and chill is the briquette of coal and binder clay.