Latest Issue

    2012 Year 18 Vol. 2 Issue

      OriginalPaper

    • Yue Liu,Ke-ji Chen
      2012, 18(2): 83-87. DOI: 10.1007/s11655-012-0996-z
      Abstract:With the arrival of the era of global population aging, we strive for healthy aging and a healthy senior life rather than simple prolongation of the physical age. For the past 50 years, cardiovascular diseases (CVD) have been the most common cause of death among the elderly people globally. In China, there has been an exponential increase in the incidence of heart disease and stroke in the elderly population. Atherosclerosis is the pathological change in the coronary artery disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease. Despite the signifificant benefifit demonstrated, control of classic risk factors alone, such as lifestyle change or drug therapy, was shown to have limitations in reducing the incidence of cardiovascular events. Vascular aging has been shown to be an important independent predictor of CVD events. Interventions targeting vascular aging have emerged as a new paradigm in conjunction with control of risk factors for the prevention of CVD. Vascular aging and atherosclerosis are two distinct pathological changes and diffificult to distinguish clinically. Recent research with Chinese medicine (CM) has shown encouraging observations, linking the clinical benefit of delaying vascular aging and treating atherosclerosis. These results demonstrate great potential of CM in the prevention and treatment of CVD.  
      Keywords:atherosclerosis;vascular aging;Chinese Medicine;lifespan   
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    • Tao Chen,Xue-zhong Zhou,Run-shun Zhang,Lian-wen Zhang
      2012, 18(2): 88-92. DOI: 10.1007/s11655-011-0860-6
      Abstract:Chinese medicine (CM) is a discipline with its own distinct methodologies and philosophical principles. The main method of treatment in CM is to use herbal prescriptions. Typically, a number of herbs are combined to form a formula and different formulae are prescribed for different patients. Regularities in the mixture of herbs in the prescriptions are important for both clinical treatment and novel patent medicine development. In this study, we analyze CM formula data using latent tree (LT) models. Interesting regularities are discovered. Those regularities are of interest to students of CM as well as pharmaceutical companies that manufacture medicine using Chinese herbs.  
      Keywords:herb regularities;latent tree model;Chinese medicine prescription   
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    • Lei Zhang,Dong-lin Yu,Yi-guo Wang,Qi-ming Zhang
      2012, 18(2): 93-99. DOI: 10.1007/s11655-011-0859-z
      Abstract:To select the best interestingness measure appropriate for evaluating the correlation between Chinese medicine (CM) syndrome elements and symptoms, 60 objective interestingness measures were selected from different subjects. Firstly, a hypothesis for a good measure was proposed. Based on the hypothesis, an experiment was designed to evaluate the measures. The experiment was based on the clinical record database of past dynasties including 51 186 clinical cases. The selected data set in this study had 44 600 records. Cold and heat were selected as the experimental CM syndrome elements. Three indicators calculated according to the distances between two CM syndrome elements were obtained in the experiment and combined into one indicator. The Z score, ϕ-coefficient, and Kappa were selected from 60 measures after the experiment. The Z score and ϕ-coefficient were selected according to subjective interestingness. Finally, the ϕ-coefficient was selected as the best measure for its low computational complexity. The method introduced in this paper may be used in other similar territories.  
      Keywords:interestingness measure;syndrome element;symptom;Chinese Medicine   
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    • Yan Hu,Li Chen,Jing Shu,Yuan Yao,Hui-min Yan
      2012, 18(2): 100-105. DOI: 10.1007/s11655-012-0992-3
      Abstract:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Chinese medicine (CM) in treating infantile cytomegalovirus hepatitis (ICH). A total of 100 infant ICH patients were randomly assigned to two groups, 60 in the treatment group and 40 in the control group. Ganciclovir was administered to all patients via intravenous dripping at dose of 5 mg/kg every 12 h for 2 weeks, followed by 5 mg/kg once a day for 5 days every week; the whole treatment course lasted 8 weeks. Besides, the patients in the treatment group were treated with CM of Qinggan Lidan Decoction (清肝利胆汤, QLD) during icteric stage, and Yigan Jiangmei Decoction (益肝降酶汤, YJD) in non-icteric hyper-aminotransferase stage by oral medication, while for those in the control group, glucurolactone 50 mg was given three times per day. The efficacy of treatment was evaluated at the ends of 2nd, 4th and 8th weeks, respectively. And a follow-up study was carried out for 6–24 months. The total effective rate was 95.0% (57/60) in the treatment group and 77.5% (31/40) in the control group; the overall curative effect in the former was superior to that in the later, showing a significant difference (P=0.021). Cholestasis and liver function were improved in both groups, and the effect of reducing serum bilirubin level in the treatment group was more rapid and extensive than that in the control group, which could reduce the post-hepatitis cirrhotic risk caused by long-term cholestasis and liver cell damage. The therapeutic efficacy of integrated CM and Western medical drug therapy, by using QLD during icteric stage and YJD in nonicteric hyper-aminotransferase stage, was significantly higher than that of routine Western medical treatment alone; it was an ideal project for the treatment of infantile cytomegalovirus hepatitis.  
      Keywords:infantile;cytomegalovirus;Hepatitis;Chinese Medicine;Integrative Medicine   
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    • Zong-yang Yu,Zhi-zhen Liu,Xue-nong Ouyang,Jian Du,Xi-hu Dai,Xi Chen,Zhong-quan Zhao,Wen-wu Wang,Jie Li
      2012, 18(2): 106-111. DOI: 10.1007/s11655-012-0994-1
      Abstract:To examine the effect of a Chinese medicinal herbal formula (Feitai Capsule, 肺泰胶囊) on the quality of life (QOL) and progression-free survival (PFS) of patients with unresectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Sixty-two patients were randomly divided into the treatment group (31 cases) and the control group (31 cases). For the treatment group, 4 capsules (1.2 g/capsule) of Feitai Capsule were administered 3 times a day after meals for 3 weeks; then no drug was administered for 1 week. This schedule was continued for at least 3 more cycles (12 weeks totally). If there were no obvious toxic reactions, the treatment was extended. The patients were evaluated at least once every 8 weeks until progressive disease (PD). For the control group, the regular follow-up and evaluation were performed at least once every 8 weeks until PD. Clinical symptoms, objective response, physical constitution and energy, QOL, and PFS were evaluated regularly. Analysis of variance (ANOVA), a non-parametric test, and analysis of covariance were used to compare clinical features, amelioration of clinical symptoms, physical constitution and energy, and QOL. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to compare the two-group PFS. Sixty patients finished the final evaluation, with 30 patients in each group. Baseline characters between groups were not significantly different (P>0.05). The control group had a 36.7% improvement in clinical symptoms, while the treatment group had a 73.3% improvement. This difference was statistically significant (Z= −2.632, P=0.008). The control group had a 26.7% improvement in the Karnofsky performance status (KPS), while the treatment group had a 53.4% improvement. This was also significantly different (Z=−2.182, P=0.029). A comparative analysis indicated a positive correlation (r=0.917, P<0.001). Compared with the control group, QOL in the treatment group was significantly improved, except in the social/family condition and doctor-patient relationship indicators. The PFS of the treatment group and control group were 6.23 months and 4.67 months, respectively (P=0.048). Feitai Capsule, a Chinese medicinal herbal treatment could improve the QOL and extend the PFS of the unresectable NSCLC patients.  
      Keywords:non-small cell lung cancer;Chinese Medicine;Feitai Capsule;maintenance treatment;quality of life;progression-free survival   
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    • Ya Yuwen,Nan-nan Shi,Li-ying Wang,Yan-ming Xie,Xue-jie Han,Ai-ping Lu
      2012, 18(2): 112-119. DOI: 10.1007/s11655-012-0997-y
      Abstract:To analyze the clinical practice guideline (CPG) development on 11 common diseases with Chinese medicine (CM) interventions in China. The CPGs of 11 common diseases which could be treated effectively with CM had been published between 1980 and 2010 in China. The 11 diseases include coronary heart disease (angina pectoris), hypertension, chronic gastritis, rheumatoid arthritis, cerebral infarction, migraine, diabetes, primary osteoporosis, insomnia, common cold, and IgA nephropathy. The issuing organization, date of publication, development methods, and citation rate of the CPGs were analyzed. According to the development method, each guideline was categorized as consensus-based (CB), evidence-based (EB), or consensus based with no explicit consideration of evidence-based (CB-EB). Thirty-three CPGs on the 11 common diseases were found: 20 guidelines were classified as CB, 13 as CB-EB and none as EB. Fifteen CPGs were issued by the China Association of Chinese Medicine, 8 by professional working groups, and 4 by the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Six guidelines were published between 1980 and 1990, 9 between 1991 and 2000, and 18 between 2001 and 2010. Fifty-eight percent of these guidelines have not been amended timely. Only 54.5% (18/33) of the 33 guidelines were cited by other researchers and 45.5% (15/33) percent had never been cited. Most CPGs developed for 11 common diseases with CM approaches in China are consensus, and their citation rates are relatively low. The results suggest that more EB CPG or CPG strictly based on expert consensus could be developed, and great efforts should be made for future CM CPG application.  
      Keywords:clinical practice guideline;methodology;Chinese Medicine   
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    • Yu-hua Jia,Yun-xian Zhang,Li-jun Li,Ya-wei Liu,Chun-hua Li,Xiu-qiong Fu,Ping Zeng,Wei-kang Wu,Xue-gang Sun
      2012, 18(2): 120-129. DOI: 10.1007/s11655-012-0998-x
      Abstract:To identify the underlying mechanisms of the protective effects of Dingxin Recipe (定: 心方, DXR), a Chinese compound prescription that has been used clinically in China for more than 20 years, on ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-induced arrhythmias in rat model. A total of 30 rats were randomly divided into three groups: sham group, I/R group, and DXR-pretreated I/R (DXR-I/R) group. Rats in the DXR-DXRI/R group were intragastrically administrated with DXR (12.5 g/kg per day) for consecutive 7 days, while rats I/in the sham and I/R groups were administrated with normal saline. Arrhythmias were introduced by I/R and electrocardiograms (ECG) were recorded. Two-dimensional (2-D) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and matrix-matrixassisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) were used to identify assisted differentially expressed proteins. Immunohistochemistry, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RQ-RQPCR), Western blot, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were performed to analyze proteins PCR), obtained in the above experiments. DXR significantly reduced the incidence and mean duration of ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation and dramatically decreased the mortality, as well as arrhythmia score, compared with those of the I/R group. Among successfully identified proteins, prohibitin (PHB) and heart fatty acid binding protein (hFABP) were up-regulated in DXR-pretreated I/R rats compared with those of the I/R rats. In addition, compared with the I/R group, the level of glutathione (GSH) was elevated accompanied by reduced expressions of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and neutrophil infiltration in I/R rats with DXR pretreatment. DXR could alleviate I/R-induced arrhythmias, which might be related to increased expression of PHB. The enhanced expression of PHB prevented against the depletion of GSH and consequently inhibited apoptosis of cardiomyocytes. Furthermore, up-regulation of PHB might ameliorate I/R-induced cell death and leakage of hFABP by suppressing neutrophil infiltration and IL-6 expressions.  
      Keywords:Dingxin Recipe;proteomics;arrhythmias;prohibitin;ischemia/reperfusion;inflammation   
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    • Xia Sun,Qian-qian Lan,Yong Cai,Yan-qin Yu
      2012, 18(2): 130-136. DOI: 10.1007/s11655-012-0991-4
      Abstract:To assess the inhibitory modulation of blood pressure by stimulation of the deep peroneal nerve (DPN) and to determine the involvement of nociceptive fibers in the modulation. All the animals were divided into six groups (A-F). The rats in groups A and B received no pretreatment. The rats in groups C and D received subcutaneous injection of capsaicin or control vehicle, respectively, near the DPN for 2 days. Those in groups E and F had the DPN exposed to capsaicin or control vehicle, respectively, for 20 min. Subsequently, pressor responses were induced by stimulation of paraventricular nucleus (PVN) either electrically (groups A and C C-F) or chemically via injection of glutamate (group B). After two stable pressor responses (baseline), all groups were subject to 5-min DPN stimulation followed by PVN stimulation for 10 s. Arterial blood pressure, heart rate, and electrocardiogram were recorded. The pressor response was calculated as the difference in the mean arterial pressure (MAP) before and after PVN stimulation, and changes from baseline in pressor response after DPN stimulation were compared between the groups. Increases of MAP of 22.88±2.18 mm Hg and 20.32±5.25 mm Hg were induced by electrical (group A) or chemical (group B) stimulation of the PVN, respectively. These pressor responses were inhibited by stimulation of the DPN, and the MAP was reduced to 12.00±2.10 mm Hg in group A (n=6, P<0.01) and 7.00±2.85 mm Hg in group B (n=6, P<0.01). Subcutaneous injection of capsaicin (125 mg/kg) near the DPN in group C (n=7) had no effect on the inhibitory effect of DPN stimulation compared with the group D (n=9), and neither did blockade of nociceptive fibers with capsaicin in group E (n=6) compared with group F (n=8). Stimulation of the DPN mimicking acupuncture has an inhibitory effect on the pressor response, and the effect is mediated by capsaicin-insensitive afferent fibers in the DPN.  
      Keywords:acupuncture;deep peroneal nerve;Hypothalamic Paraventricular Nucleus;pressor response;capsaicin   
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    • Xiao-guang Xu,Hong Zhang,Xin-ling Bi,Jun Gu,Yu-ling Shi,Qiang Hou
      2012, 18(2): 137-145. DOI: 10.1007/s11655-012-0995-0
      Abstract:To explore the regulatory mechanism of Xiaoyin Recipe (消银方) on the T helper 1/T helper 2 (Th1/Th2) immune balance. Thirty-six experimental animals were divided into three groups, 12 rats in each group: blank control group (B group), negative control group (N group), and Xiaoyin Recipe treatment group (T group). The latter two groups received immunization of experimental autoimmune thyroiditis (EAT), and T group were treated with Xiaoyin Recipe for a month. Then, the expression of Th1-Th2-related genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were screened with Oligo GEArray Rat Th1-Th2-Th3 Microarray. The expressions of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-10 (IL-10), T-box expressed in T-cells (T-bet), and GATA-binding protein-3 (GATA-3) were detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Gene array screening showed that compared to N group, in T group after Xiaoyin Recipe treatment, 3 genes were upregulated in EAT rats, including interleukin-27 receptor alpha (IL-27rα), glomulin (Glmn), and GATA-3, while 38 genes were downregulated, such as CD28, IL-18, signal transducer, and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1), T-bet, TNF receptor superfamily member 4 (TNFRSF4), TNF ligand superfamily member 5 (TNFSF5), and TNF receptor superfamily member 5 (TNFRSF5). While RT-PCR showed that there was an increased level of TNF-α mRNA (P<0.01), an elevated ratio of T-bet/GATA-3, and a decreased level of IL-10 mRNA in PBMC of N and T group compared to B group (P <0.01); and after treatment with Xiaoyin Recipe, IL-10 mRNA level increased (P <0.01), while TNF-α mRNA level and T-bet/GATA-3 ratio decreased in T group compared to N group (P <0.01). Xiaoyin Recipe for psoriasis could induce a Th1/Th2 balance drift toward Th2 in PBMC of EAT rats and thus improve the conditions.  
      Keywords:experimental autoimmune thyroiditis;psoriasis;Th1;Th2;herbal medicine;Xiaoyin Recipe   
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    • Tian-min Zhu,Hui Li,Rong-jiang Jin,Zhong Zheng,Ying Luo,Hua Ye,Hui-min Zhu
      2012, 18(2): 146-151. DOI: 10.1007/s11655-012-0990-5
      Abstract:To observe the effects of comprehensive therapy (CT) with electroacupuncture (EA) in combination with psycho-intervention (PI) on the cognitive function and event-related potentials (ERP), P300 and mismatch negativity (MMN), in patients with internet addiction (IA) for a preliminary exploration of the possible mechanism of the therapy. One hundred and twenty patients with IA were randomly divided into three groups, and a total of 112 subjects reached the final analysis of the trial, the EA group (39 patients), the PI group (36 patients) and the CT group (37 patients). EA was applied at acupoints Baihui (GV20), Sishencong (EX-HN1), Hegu (LI4), Neiguan (PC6), Taichong (LR3) and Sanyinjiao (SP6), once every other day; PI with the cognitionbehavior mode was implemented every 4 days; both EA and PI were used in the CT group. The treatment course for all patients was 40 days. Changes before and after treatment in terms of scoring by the IA self-rating scale, short-term memory capacity, short-term memory span, and the latency and amplitude of P300 and MMN in patients were observed. After treatment, in all groups, the IA score was lowered significantly (P <0.05) and scores of short-term memory capacity and short-term memory span increased significantly (P <0.05), while the decreased IA score in the CT group was more significant than that in the other two groups (P <0.05). ERP measurements showed that P300 latency was depressed and its amplitude raised in the EA group; MMN amplitude increased in the CT group (all P<0.05). The EA in combination with PI could improve the cognitive function of IA patients, and its mechanism might be related to the speedup of cerebral discrimination on external stimulus and the enhancement of effective resource mobilization during information processing of the brain.  
      Keywords:internet addiction;cognitive function;event-related potential;electroacupuncture;psychointervention   
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      ReviewPaper

    • Hui Dong,Fu-er Lu,Li Zhao
      2012, 18(2): 152-160. DOI: 10.1007/s11655-012-0993-2
      Abstract:Chinese herbal medicine has developed new therapies for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) based on its unique theory system and substantial herb remedies. In this review, 21 traditional Chinese herbs were introduced for their potential benefit in the treatment of NAFLD. Majority of them are evaluated by experimental studies and few by multicenter clinical trials. Herbal monomers as berberine and resveratrol, extracts from Polygonum hypoleucum Ohwi, and Artemisia sacrorum Ledeb., and formulae including Yinchenhao Decoction (茵陈蒿汤, YCHD), Qushi Huayu Decoction (祛湿化瘀汤, QSHYD), and Danning Tablet (胆宁片) were discussed in detail on their therapeutic potentials. Most of these herbal medicines were proved to improve biochemical and histological changes of NAFLD both in vitro and in vivo. Also, their therapeutic activities were associated with inhibiting lipid accumulation through adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase activation or upregulating low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) expression, alleviating lipid peroxidation, and reducing the production of inflammatory cytokines. Although the efficacy and safety of these herbal medicines needed to be evaluated in multicenter large-scale clinical trials, Chinese medicine is promising and effective for preventing and treating NAFLD disease.  
      Keywords:nonalcoholic fatty liver disease;Chinese Herbal Medicine   
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