Does social capital buffer or exacerbate mental health inequality? Evidence from the China Family Panel Study (CFPS).

BACKGROUND: Health inequality, including physical and mental health inequality, is an important issue. What role social capital plays in mental health inequality is still ambiguous, especially in developing countries. The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between social capital and mental health inequality in China. METHOD: Both family-level and community-/village-level social capitals are included in our analysis. Data is mainly extracted from the China Family Panel Studies in 2018, and lagged term of social capital in CFPS 2016 was used to link with other variables in 2018. Depressive symptoms and subjective well-being are set as indicators of mental health. A series of OLS regression models were conducted to estimate the effects of social capital on mental health and mental health inequality. RESULTS: Higher levels of social capital and income are related to a lower level of depressive symptoms and a higher level of subjective well-being. The positive coefficient of interaction term of family-level social capital and income level in the urban area indicates that the inhibiting effect of social capital on depressive symptoms is pro-poor. The negative coefficient of interaction term of village-level social capital and income level in the rural area suggests that the promoting effect of social capital on subjective well-being is pro-poor, too. CONCLUSION: The results show that severe mental health inequality exists in China; family-level social capital can buffer depressive symptom inequality, and village-level social capital can buffer SWB inequality. Although the amount of social capital of the poor is less than the rich, the poor can better use social capital to improve their mental health. Our study advocates enhancing social participation and communication for the poor to reduce mental health inequality.

Income-related inequality in distribution of health human resource among districts of Pakistan.

BACKGROUND: Solving inequality of health human resource (HHR) is one of the motives of Pakistan health policies, however, there is still exists a massive quantity of HHR inequality in almost every district of Pakistan. The main goal of this research is to scrutinize the disparity in allocation of human health resources among 114 regions of Pakistan from the year 2012 to 2016 and to expose the foundations and aspects of HHR inequality. METHODS: The data regarding this research has been obtained from Pakistan Statistical Bureau from the year 2012 to 2016. The statistics had also been collected from United Nation Development Program (UNDP) Pakistan 2017, Pakistan economic surveys, Ministry of finance Islamabad, Pakistan, Pakistan Social and Living standards Measurement (PSLM) Surveys from 2012 to 2016. The information incorporates district wise; the number of specialists and medical caretakers those are doctors and nurses, number of hospitals, number of beds, number of dispensaries, number of beds in dispensaries, urbanization, total estimated GNI per capita, infant mortality rate, geographical area, and population size. The concentration index is used to compute the extent of disparity in allocation of human health resources and decomposition analysis is also carried out to enumerate the contribution of each variable towards total inequality. Furthermore, the horizontal concentration was used to measure the participation of the need variable. RESULTS: 7. The consequent Concentration Indexes (CI) of the doctors and nurses for the year 2016 are 0.60 (95% CI= 0.42, 0.78) and 0.67 (95% CI= 0.42, 0.92) respectively. Decomposition of the concentration indexes exposed that the monetary status accounts are the leading percentage contributor in doctors disparity (77.5, 44.9, 30.6, - 11.6% and 13%) and population size (- 20.7,-10.5%, 4.6, 49.8, 19.7%). Furthermore, the monetary status formulates the superior contribution HHR disparity from nurses inequality (104.5, 75.1, 59.2, - 54.3%, - 40.1%), and population size (- 53.7, - 53.6%, - 36.3, 83.8, 65.3%). Moreover, after the identification of the need variable the Horizontal Concentration Index (HCI) values of doctors from the year 2012 to 2016 are 0.62, 0.64, 0.63, 0.62 and 0.61 and HCI of the nurses are 0.69, 0.70, 0.69, 0.68 and 0.67. CONCLUSION: The pro-rich disparity in allocation of HHR has been scrutinized from the year 2012 to 2016 among 114 districts of Pakistan. The hard concern of HHR disparity should be concentrated by the complete procedures from a multidisciplinary approach.

Does inpatient health services utilization vary by remoteness in the medical financial assistance population? Evidence from Shaanxi province, China.

BACKGROUND: Medical Financial Assistance (MFA) provides health insurance and financial support for millions of low income and disabled Chinese people, yet there has been little systematic analysis focused on this vulnerable population. This study aims to advance our understanding of MFA recipients' access to health care and whether their inpatient care use varies by remoteness. METHODS: Data were collected from the Surveillance System of Civil Affairs of Shaanxi province in 2016. To better proxy remoteness (geographic access), drive time from the respondent's village to the nearest county-level or city-level hospital was obtained by a web crawler. Multilevel models were used to explore the impacts of remoteness on inpatient services utilization by MFA recipients. Furthermore, the potential moderating role of hospital grade (i.e. the grade of medical institution where recipient's latest inpatient care services were taken in the previous year) on the relationship between geographic access and inpatient care use was explored. RESULTS: The analytical sample consisted of 9516 inpatient claims within 73 counties of Shaanxi province in 2016. We find that drive time to the nearest hospital and hospital grade are salient predictors of inpatient care use and there is a significant moderation effect of hospital grade. Compared to those with shortest drive time to the nearest hospital, longer drive time is associated with a longer inpatient stay but fewer admissions and lower annual total and out-of-pocket (OOP) inpatient costs. In addition, these associations are lower when recipients are admitted to a tertiary hospital, for annual total and OOP inpatient expenditures, but higher for length of the most recent inpatient stay no matter what medical treatments are taken in secondary or tertiary hospitals for the most remote recipients. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that remoteness has a significant and negative association with the frequency of inpatient care use. These findings advance our understanding of inpatient care use of the extremely poor and provide meaningful insights for further MFA program development as well as pro-poor health strategies.

Ginsenoside F1 promotes angiogenesis by activating the IGF-1/IGF1R pathway.

Ischemic stroke is one of the most lethal and highly disabling diseases that seriously affects the human health and quality of life. A therapeutic angiogenic strategy has been proposed to alleviate ischemia-induced injury by promoting angiogenesis and improving cerebrovascular function in the ischemic regions. The insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1)/insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R) axis is crucial for cerebral angiogenesis and neurogenesis. However, effective drugs that prevent cerebral ischemic injury by inducing cerebral angiogenesis via activation of the IGF1R pathway are lacking. Here, we screened a pro-angiogenic agent ginsenoside F1 (GF1), a ginseng saponin isolated from a traditional Chinese medicine that was widely used in ischemic stroke treatment. It promoted the proliferation, mobility and tube formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells and human brain microvascular endothelial cells, as well as pericytes recruitment to the endothelial tubes. GF1 stimulated vessel sprouting in the rat arterial ring and facilitated neovascularization in chicken embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM). In the in vivo experiments, GF1 rescued the axitinib-induced vascular defect in zebrafish. It also increased the microvessel density (MVD) and improved focal cerebral blood perfusion in the rat middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model. Mechanism studies revealed that GF1-induced angiogenesis depended on IGF1R activation mediated by the autocrine IGF-1 loop in endothelial cells. Based on our findings, GF1-induced activation of the IGF-1/IGF1R pathway to promote angiogenesis is an effective approach to alleviate cerebral ischemia, and GF1 is a potential agent that improves cerebrovascular function and promotes recovery from ischemic stroke.

Post-marketing safety surveillance and re-evaluation of Xueshuantong injection.

BACKGROUND: Traditional Chinese medicine injections (TCMIs) have been widely used to treat severe and acute diseases due to their high bioavailability, accurate curative effect, and rapid effect. However, incidence rates of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) of TCMIs have also increased in recent years. Xueshuantong injection (XSTI) is a commonly-used TCMI comprised of Panax notoginseng total sapiens for the treatment of stroke hemiplegia, chest pain, and central retinal vein occlusion. Its safety remains uncelar. Therefore, post-marketing safety of XSTI was studied in this research. METHODS: In present study, post-marketing safety surveillance and re-evaluation of XSTI were reported. Thirty thousand eight hundred eighty-four patients in 33 hospitals from 7 provinces participated in this study. Incidence rate, most common clinical manifestations, types, severity, occurrence time, and disposal of ADRs were calculated. RESULTS: Incidence rate of ADR of XSTI was 4.14‰ and the most common clinical manifestations were skin and its appendages damage. Type A accounts for 95.49% of ADRs of XSTI and most of them (41.41%) were occurred within 24 h after receiving XSTI treatment. Severities of most ADRs of XSTI were moderate reactions (86.72%). Main disposition of ADRs of XSTI was drug withdrawal and symptomatic treatment (54.69%). CONCLUSIONS: Our data provide basis for improvement of instructions of XSTI and clinical safety of XSTI. Post-marketing surveillance of TCMIs in this study is a powerful tool to identify types and manifestations of ADRs to improve safety and effectiveness of drugs in clinical applications. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This protocol has international registration in China clinical trial registration center ( ChiCTR~OPC~ 14,005,718 ) at December 22, 2014.

[Historical evolution of Panax notoginseng (Sanqi) processing methods].

In the folk medicine, it was believed that the raw Sanqi could remove blood stasis, swelling and pain, while the cooked Sanqi could replenish blood. This article began with the first record of Sanqi in ancient herbal medicine literature, and the nature, flavor and efficacy of Sanqi, then listed the processing methods and usage of Sanqi recorded in ancient herbal medicine literature, and compared with the modern processing methods. The results showed that the processing methods of raw Sanqi included making powder, chewing, vinegar grinding and wine grinding, in which the method of making powder was still in use, and there were particle size requirements on the Sanqi powder listed in most modern preparation specifications. The processing methods of cooked Sanqi included baking, frying and steaming, in which the method of steaming was still in use, but had some changes. The new processing method was frying with edible oil. The results clarify the history of the processing of Sanqi, and provide a reference for the research and application of the processing methods of raw and cooked Sanqi.

[Material for evaluation of notoginseng total saponin preparation induced pseudoanaphylactoid reactions].

The experiment is designed to explore pathological festures and material basis of pseadoanaphylactoid reaction induced by notoginseng total saponin preparation. Mouse pseadoanaphylactoid reaction was used, 50 ICR mice were randomly assigned to control group, positive medicine group, notoginseng total saponin preparation low-dose group, notoginseng total saponin preparation middle-dose group, notoginseng total saponin preparation high-dose group on average. They are treated by intravenous injection of test substance solutions containing 0.4% Evans blue (EB). 30 min later, scores of ear blue staining and quantitation of ear EB exudation were recorded. Another two experiment were repeated in the same way excluding EB, just to. detect the related cytokines in serum using ELISA. We found that the scores of pseudoanaphylactoid reaction in notoginseng total saponin preparation injection middle-dose group and high-dose group was evidently higher than that in control group, suggesting that notoginseng total saponin preparation injection may be can lead to pseadoanaphylactoid reaction. HE staining showed that pseadoanaphylactoid reaction induced by notoginseng total saponin preparation injection is related to inflammation. Histamine, VEGF and TNF-α levels in notoginseng total saponin preparation middle-dose group and high-dose group significantly increased (P < 0.05, P < 0.01) than control group and showed a dose-dependent manner as well as consistent with the degree of ear blue dye. While IL-6 and IL-10 content did not increase significantly in notoginseng total saponin preparation low-dose group and middle-dose group, but they significantly higher than control group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01) when it increased to quadrupe clinical concentrations, eight times of the clinical dose. So pseadoanaphylactoid reaction caused by notoginseng total saponin preparation may be related to histamine, VEGF, TNF-α, and it is possible that IL-6 and IL-10 can play a role when pseadoanaphylactoid reaction achieve a certain high degree.

Restricted health service utilization and subsequent positive self-care behavior during the early COVID-19 pandemic in China.

Background: The reallocation of health resources, epidemic prevention and control measures during the COVID-19 pandemic triggered widespread restricted health service utilization, some residents and patients tried positive self-care behavior to maintain their health, yet the efficacy of this intervention remains unclear. Object: Based on the reasoned action approach (RAA) theory, this study aimed to investigate the correlation between self-care behavior and restricted health service utilization among adults in China, trying to discover the vulnerable groups and external and intrinsic factors that affect self-care behavior among Chinese adults. Methods: Data on demographics, socioeconomic, health status, and self-care behavior were collected in "The Early China COVID-19 Survey," a cross-sectional anonymous online survey of the general population in China. Self-care behavior was measured by four indicators: weight control (WC), physical activity (PA), prevention behavior (PB), and online medical consultation (OMC). The multiple linear models and binary logistic regression were used to examine whether restricted health service utilization (RHSU) is associated with self-care behaviors; also, adjusted multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze subgroup heterogeneity. Results: In total, 8,428 adult participants completed the survey, the mean OMC score was 1.51 (SD 1.34), the mean PB score was 18.17 (SD 3.44), and the proportion of participants who engaged in WC and PA was 42.30 and 62.57%, respectively. According to the multiple regression model, the RHSU was significantly positively correlated with all four indicators of self-care (WC: OR = 1.34, p < 0.001, PA: OR = 1.34, p < 0.05, MC: OR = 1.30, p < 0.001, PB: coef = 0.16, p < 0.05). We also observed some significant differences in the intensity of this relationship by subgroup analysis, precisely, OMC (high vs. moderate vs. low infection-risk level: OR = 1.48; 1.41; 1.19, p < 0.1), PA (male vs. female: OR = 1.27;1.06; p < 0.05, high vs. Moderate and low infection-risk level: OR = 1.51; 1.17; 1.02, p < 0.05), PB (Chronic disease groups vs. no: coef = 0.46; 0.1, p < 0.05). Conclusion: Restricted health service utilization predicts more positive self-care behavior, and the intensity of partial correlation was significantly different in the subgroups of sex, actual infection risk level of the living area, and chronic diseases. These findings highlight the urgent demand for self-care behavior among Chinese adults during the pandemic and provide new insights for developing self-care and reducing the burden on the healthcare system in the long term.

Prediction of gaseous medium insulation strength based on electrostatic potential on real space function isosurface.

CONTEXT: SF6 is widely used in electrical equipment due to its chemical stability and insulation strength, but it is a strong greenhouse gas and its use has been restricted internationally. In order to reduce the SF6 usage, it is needed to find a replacement gas for SF6. Electrical breakdown test is always adopted to select potential substitutes, but it is resource and time intensive. Thus, a structure-activity relationship model is needed to effectively predict the gas insulation strength. In this work, we calculated the isosurface electrostatic potential of 68 gas molecules in case of electron probability density, Laplacian of electron density, electron localization function, and localized orbital function. The distribution characteristics of these four real space functions were analyzed. Furthermore, correlation between the electrostatic potential parameters and insulation strength was presented. Finally, a prediction model for insulation strength of gaseous medium was established. Using the electrostatic potential parameter on the localized orbital locator function with a threshold of 0.05 a.u., the prediction model achieved the best performance with a coefficient of determination of 0.860 and a mean squared error of 0.0663. METHODS: The quantization calculation tool used in this work is the GAUSSIAN 16 software. The M06-2X method with the 6-311G++(d, p) basis set is used to optimize the molecular structure and output stable wavefunction files. Then the wavefunction analysis software Multiwfn is used to plot the contour map of the gas molecules and calculate the radial distribution patterns.

Evaluating the Impact of COVID-19 on Hospital Profit Compensation Activities: A Difference-in-Differences Event Study Analysis in China.

The impact of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is still being revealed, and little is known about the effect of COVID-19-induced outpatient and inpatient losses on hospital operations in many counties. Hence, we aimed to explore whether hospitals adopted profit compensation activities after the 2020 first-wave outbreak of COVID-19 in China. A total of 2,616,589 hospitalization records from 2018, 2019, and 2020 were extracted from 36 tertiary hospitals in a western province in China; we applied a difference-in-differences event study design to estimate the dynamic effect of COVID-19 on hospitalized patients' total expenses before and after the last confirmed case. We found that average total expenses for each patient increased by 8.7% to 16.7% in the first 25 weeks after the city reopened and hospital admissions returned to normal. Our findings emphasize that the increase in total inpatient expenses was mainly covered by claiming expenses from health insurance and was largely driven by an increase in the expenses for laboratory tests and medical consumables. Our study documents that there were profit compensation activities in hospitals after the 2020 first-wave outbreak of COVID-19 in China, which was driven by the loss of hospitalization admissions during this wave outbreak.

Catastrophic health expenditure of households with hypertension: a comparative study in China.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to understand the impact of multimorbidity on catastrophic health expenditures for people with hypertension. Methods: Data were obtained from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) in 2018, 8,342 adults were included in our analysis. Propensity score matching method was used to compare the risk of catastrophic health expenditures between the hypertension patients (treatment group) and those without any chronic disease (control group) in middle-aged and older adults. Patients with hypertension were also divided into two groups: only hypertension and multimorbidity. Results: Hypertension increased the likelihood of CHE by 11.3% in older adults. Further analysis showed that hypertension alone does not increase the risk of CHE, and the risk of CHE in hypertension patients with multimorbidity was 12.9% higher than those without chronic disease. Conclusion: Our study highlights the importance of healthy management of patients with only hypertension and preventing them from developing multimorbidity.

The relationship between duration of subjective poverty and health among Chinese adults: Evidence from the China Family Panel Study.

Introduction: The disadvantaged socioeconomic status could have accumulated negative effects on individual. In the Chinese context, studying subjective and relative poverty is more important under the implementation of the Targeted Poverty Alleviation campaign. This study aims to provide evidence of the relationship between the duration of subjective poverty and both physical and mental health among Chinese adults, using nationally longitudinal data from 2010 to 2018. Materials and methods: Data were extracted from a nationally representative survey database-the China Family Panel Study (CFPS). The total sample size contains 12,003 adults, with 3,532 in the urban area and 8,471 in the rural area. Self-rated health and depressive symptoms were set as indicators of physical health and mental health, respectively. The duration of subjective poverty was measured by self-rated income level in the local area from 2010 to 2016. A series of ordinary least square regression was adopted to measure the relationship between duration of subjective poverty and health. Results: For the urban residents, the average duration of subjective poverty is 1.99 time points, while 1.98 time points for the rural residents. Net of objective poverty, duration of subjective poverty has a significantly negative association with individual's self-rated health in the rural sample (Coef. = -0.10, p < 0.001). Compared with those who have not experienced subjective poverty, the self-rated health score of people who experienced four time points is likely to decrease by 0.54 in the rural area and 0.30 in the urban area. In terms of mental health, 1 unit increase in the duration of subjective poverty is related to 0.15 unit increase in Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale-8 (CES-D8) scores in the urban sample and 0.46 in the rural sample. Compared with those who have not experienced subjective poverty, the CES-D8 scores of people who experienced four time points are likely to increase by 1.47 in the rural area and 0.95 in the urban area. Conclusion: A longer duration of subjective poverty has a cumulatively negative effect on Chinese residents' physical and mental health, especially in rural area. Our study advocates researchers and policymakers pay more attention to the cumulative effect of subjective poverty on health.

The Effect of Health Check-Ups on Health Among the Elderly in China: Evidence From 2011-2018 Longitudinal Data.

Objectives: To assess the effect of health check-ups on health among the elderly Chinese. Methods: The first dataset was panel data extracted from the 2011, 2014, and 2018 waves of the Chinese Longitudinal Health Longevity Survey (CLHLS). The second dataset was cross-sectional data come from CLHLS 2018 linked with the lagged term of health check-ups in CLHLS 2011. Health check-ups were measured by a binary variable annual health check-up (AHC). Health was assessed by a binary variable self-rated health (SRH). A coarsened exact matching method and individual fixed-effects models, as well as logistic regressions were employed. Results: AHC attendance among the elderly increased from 2011 to 2018, with higher utilization of AHC also detected in the rural group. AHC had positive effects on SRH among rural respondents (short-term effect: OR = 1.567, p < 0.05; long-term effect: OR = 3.385, p < 0.001). Conclusion: This study highlights a higher utilization of AHC in rural area, and the effectiveness of AHC in SRH improvement among rural participants. It indicates enhanced access to public healthcare services in rural area and underlying implications of health check-ups for reducing urban-rural health inequalities.

Cardioprotection of Panax Notoginseng saponins against acute myocardial infarction and heart failure through inducing autophagy.

Morbidity and mortality from acute myocardial infarction (AMI) remains substantial although interventional coronary reperfusion strategies are widely use and successful. MI remains the most common cause of heart failure (HF) worldwide. Here we demonstrated that Panax Notoginseng saponins (PNS), the extract of Panax notoginseng, exerts cardioprotective effect in AMI and the underlying mechanism refers to inducing cardiomyocyte autophagy, antiplatelet aggregation, enhancing endothelial migration and angiogenesis. PNS was initially tested to rescue the myocardial infarct size and cardiac function in left anterior descending (LAD) ligation-operated mice to mimic AMI. RNA-seq to profile transcriptome changes in the heart by treatment with PNS were then conducted. PNS and its main constituents Rg1 and Rd directly inhibited platelet aggregation of healthy subjects with VerifyNow Aspirin and P2Y12 assays but less affecting on coagulation compared with dual-antiplatelet (DAPT). In addition, wound healing scratch assay and heart staining demonstrated that PNS and its main constituents Rg1 and R1 significant enhanced the migration of endothelial cells and angiogenesis in response to MI injury. Interestingly, PNS rather than its constituents enhanced glucose deprivation (GD)-induced autophagy through phosphorylation of AMPK Thr172 and CaMKII Thr287 in cardiomyocytes. These findings provide new insights for drug development from natural products like PNS against ischemia heart diseases and HF post MI.

Understanding parental self-medication with antibiotics among parents of different nationalities: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: There is an increasing trend on the practices of parental self-medication with antibiotics (PSMA) around world, accelerating the antibiotic abuse. This study aims to examine the nationality differences in the practices of PSMA and knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) toward antibiotic use, and understand the practices of PSMA among parents of various nationalities in China. METHODS: A cross-sectional study based on a structured questionnaire survey was conducted in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China, from September 2018 to October 2018. A total of 299 respondents participated in. The practices of PSMA (a dichotomous variable) and KAP toward antibiotic use (a continuous variable) served as dependent variables. Participant's nationality was regarded as the independent variable. Binary logistic regression and ordinary least square regression were employed to examine the association between parent's nationality and the practices of PSMA, and KAP toward antibiotic use, respectively. RESULTS: 121 (40.88%) Chinese, 100 (33.76%) other Asians and 75 (25.34%) Occidentals were included in final analysis, with a sample size of 296. Chinese were more likely to practice PSMA (OR = 7.070; 95% CI 1.315, 38.01), with worse knowledge (Coef. = - 0.549; 95% CI - 1.021, - 0.078), attitudes (Coef. = - 3.069; 95% CI - 4.182, - 1.956) and practices (Coef. = - 1.976; 95% CI - 3.162, - 0.790) toward antibiotic use, compared to their Occidental counterparts. The main reasons for the practices of PSMA were enough previous medication experience (80.49%) and same ailments with no need to see a doctor (39.02%), with common symptoms such as fever (60.98%) and cough (58.54%). Purchasing antibiotics at pharmacies (92.08%) and using leftover antibiotics (26.83%) were usual approaches. CONCLUSIONS: The study highlights the gaps in the practices of PSMA and KAP toward antibiotic use among parents of different nationalities. The access to obtain antibiotics from pharmacies reflects the pharmacists' unaware of laws on prescription of antibiotics, fierce competition in the pharmacy market, and the government's lax supervision in China. It suggests the need to improve pharmacists' training, enforce current legislations on pharmacy market regarding the sale of antibiotics, and provide practical and effective educational interventions for residents about antibiotic use.

Notoginsenoside R1 activates the Ang2/Tie2 pathway to promote angiogenesis.

BACKGROUND: Therapeutic angiogenesis is a novel strategy for the treatment of ischemic diseases that involves promotion of angiogenesis in ischemic tissues via the use of proangiogenic agents. However, effective proangiogenic drugs that activate the Ang2/Tie2 signaling pathway remain scarce. PURPOSE: We aimed to investigate the proangiogenic activity of notoginsenoside R1 (NR1) isolated from total saponins of Panax notoginseng with regard to activation of the Ang2/Tie2 signaling pathway. METHODS: We examined the proangiogenic effects of NR1 by assessing the effects of NR1 on the proliferation, migration, invasion and tube formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). The aortic ring assay and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor inhibitor (VRI)-induced vascular regression in the zebrafish model were used to confirm the proangiogenic effects of NR1 ex vivo and in vivo. Furthermore, the molecular mechanism was investigated by Western blot analysis. RESULTS: We found that NR1 promoted the proliferation, mobility and tube formation of HUVECs in vitro. NR1 also increased the number of sprouting vessels in rat aortic rings and rescued VRI-induced vascular regression in zebrafish. NR1-induced angiogenesis was dependent on Tie2 receptor activation mediated by increased autocrine Ang2 in HUVECs, and inhibition of the Ang2/Tie2 pathway abrogated the proangiogenic effects of NR1. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that NR1 promotes angiogenesis by activating the Ang2/Tie2 signaling pathway. Thus, NR1-induced activation of the Ang2/Tie2 pathway is an effective proangiogenic approach. NR1 may be useful agent for the treatment of ischemic diseases.

Comparison of intramuscular and intravenous pharmacokinetics of ginsenosides in humans after dosing XueShuanTong, a lyophilized extract of Panax notoginseng roots.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Many bioactive constituents of Chinese herbal medicines have poor oral bioavailability. Besides oral administration, herbal medicines in China are also prepared for parenteral administration. Unlike for intravenous route, little is known about the intramuscular pharmacokinetics of herbal compounds. To facilitate rational use of herbal medicine, it is important to better understand such intramuscular pharmacokinetics. AIM OF THE STUDY: Bioactive constituents of XueShuanTong (a lyophilized extract of Panax notoginseng roots, extensively used in treatment of ischemic heart and cerebrovascular diseases) predominantly comprise ginsenosides Rb1 and Rd of 20(S)-protopanaxadiol-type and ginsenosides Rg1, and Re, and notoginsenoside R1 of 20(S)-protopanaxatriol-type; these saponins are poorly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. This study aimed to compare intramuscular and intravenous pharmacokinetics of these ginsenosides after dosing XueShuanTong. METHODS: Pharmacokinetics of ginsenosides was assessed in human volunteers receiving an intramuscular injection or 1.5-h intravenous infusion of XueShuanTong, both at 150 mg/person, and the plasma and urine samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. RESULTS: Like after intravenous administration, the unchanged saponins were the major circulating forms after intramuscular administration, while their metabolites were poorly detected. These ginsenosides exhibited intramuscular bioavailability of 100%-112%, relative to the respective intravenous data. Similar to that after intravenous infusion, the 20(S)-protopanaxadiol-type ginsenosides after the intramuscular injection exhibited notably longer terminal half-lives (46-106 h) than the 20(S)-protopanaxatriol-type ginsenosides (1.1-1.4 h). CONCLUSIONS: Intramuscular route might be an effective alternative to intravenous route for XueShuanTong, from the pharmacokinetic perspective.

Clinical observation in 31 cases of chronic bronchitis at remission stage treated with bufei keli.

To observe the therapeutic effects of a Chinese drug Bufei Keli ([symbol: see text] granules for invigorating the lung) in the treatment of chronic bronchitis at remission stage, 62 cases were randomly divided into a treatment group (treated with Bufei Keli) and a control group (treated with Yupingfeng Keli [symbol: see text]). The results turned out to be that the short-term clinically controlled and markedly effective rate was 77.42% and the long-term relapse-resisting markedly effective rate was 74.2% in the treatment group, which were obviously higher than 45.16% and 38.71% respectively in the control group (P < 0.05). And the increase in contents of SOD and CD3 and the decrease in LPO content in the treatment group were also bigger than that in the control group (P < 0.01). It is therefore concluded that Bufei Keli can improve qi deficiency syndrome and raise the immunity of patients with chronic bronchitis, hence its effect of resisting relapse of chronic bronchitis.