Deciphering mechanism of the herbal formula WuShen in the treatment of postinfarction heart failure.

BACKGROUND: Numerous clinical studies reported the effectiveness of herbal formula WuShen (WS) in treating cardiovascular diseases, yet relevant basic research was rarely conducted. METHODS AND RESULTS: Twelve main bioactive compounds of WS decoction were identified using the ultra-performance liquid chromatography-LTQ-Orbitrap mass spectrometer. A total of 137 active compounds with 613 targets were predicted by network pharmacology; their bioinformatic annotation and human microarray data suggested that wounding healing, inflammatory response, and gap junction were potentially the major therapeutic modules. A rat model of post-myocardial infarction (MI) heart failure (HF) was used to study the effects of WS on cardiac function, adverse cardiac remodeling, and experimental arrhythmias. Rats treated with WS led to a significantly improved pump function and reduced susceptibility to both ventricular tachycardia and atrial fibrillation, and restricted adverse cardiac remodeling partly via inhibiting TGFß1/SMADs mediated extracellular matrix deposition and Rac1/NOX2/CTGF/Connexin43 -involved gap junction remodeling. CONCLUSIONS: The present study highlights that WS can be applied to the treatment of heart failure and the upstream therapy for atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia through its preventive effect on adverse cardiac remodeling.

Banxia Baizhu Tianma decoction for hyperlipidemia: Protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Hyperlipidemia is one of the most common metabolic diseases worldwide, as well as a leading risk factor for cardio-cerebrovascular diseases. Banxia Baizhu Tianma decoction (BBTD) is widely used for the treatment of hyperlipidemia in China, however, systematic review and meta-analysis regarding its efficacy and safety is lacking. The aim of this protocol of systematic review is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of BBTD in the treatment of hyperlipidemia. METHODS: We will include the randomized controlled trials estimating the effectiveness and safety of BBTD in the treatment of hyperlipidemia. Data sources will include 5 English databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CINAHL) and 4 Chinese databases (CMB, CNKI, VIP, Wanfang database). The literature to be collected will be from the time when databases were established to September 2018. Efficacy will be accepted as the primary outcome, while blood lipid levels and adverse reactions as the secondary outcome. Study selection, data collection, risk of bias assessment, and evaluation of the quality of the evidence will be conducted by 2 × 2 different reviewers. Statistical syntheses will be conducted by using RevMan software V.5.3. RESULTS: This study will provide a high-quality evidence for BBTD on the treatment of hyperlipidemia from efficacy, serum lipid levels, and adverse reactions. CONCLUSION: The result will provide a basis for judging whether BBTD is an effective intervention for the treatment of hyperlipidemia. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: PROSPERO CRD 42018081359.

A Sandwich-Structured Piezoresistive Sensor with Electrospun Nanofiber Mats as Supporting, Sensing, and Packaging Layers.

Electrospun nanofiber mats have been used as sensing elements to construct piezoresistive devices due to their large surface area and high porosity. However, they have not been utilized as skin-contact supporting layers to package conductive nanofiber networks for the fabrication of piezoresistive sensors. In this work, we developed a sandwich-structured pressure sensor, which can sensitively monitor human motions and vital signs, with electrospun nanofiber mats as supporting, sensing, and packaging layers. The nanofiber mats were prepared by electrospinning with biocompatible poly (l-lactide) (PLA), silk fibroin (SF), and collagen (COL) as raw materials. The synthesized PLA⁻SF⁻COL mat possesses a non-woven structure with a fiber diameter of 122 ± 28 nm and a film thickness of 37 ± 5.3 µm. Polypyrrole (PPy) nanoparticles were grown in-situ on the mat to form a conductive layer. After stacking the pristine and conductive mats to form a PLA⁻SF⁻COL mat/(PPy-coated mat)2 structure, another layer was electrospun to pack the multilayers for the construction of a sandwich-structured piezoresistive sensor. The as-prepared device can sensitively detect external pressures caused by coin loading and finger tapping/pressing. It can also tolerate more than 600 times of pressing without affecting its sensing capability. The human body-attached experiments further demonstrate that the sensor could real-time monitor finger/arm bending, arterial pulse, respiration rate, and speaking-caused throat vibration. The electrospinning-based fabrication may be used as a facile and low-cost strategy to produce flexible piezoresistive sensors with excellent skin-compatibility and great pressure sensing capability.