Journal of traditional Chinese medicine = Chung i tsa chih ying wen pan最新文献

Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of the Qingyanyin formulated granules (, QYY), press needles (PN), and their combined application in addressing abdominal obesity (AO). This trial aims to offer a more scientifically grounded therapeutic regimen for clinical interventions.

Methods: From March 2021 to July 2021, a multicenter, triple －blind, randomized 2 × 2 factorial design clinical trial was conducted across 7 centers in 4 major cities within mainland China. The trial participants were patients diagnosed with AO. The trial followed a 1∶1∶1∶1 random allocation ratio, assigning participants to one of four groups: QYY placebo plus simulated press needles (SPN) (placebo + SPN), QYY plus SPN (QYY + SPN), QYY placebo plus PN (placebo + PN), and QYY plus PN (QYY + PN). The trial participants received treatment for 12 weeks. Observe the changes in waist circumference, body weight, body mass index (BMI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) scores, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) before and after treatment.

Results: The QYY + PN group exhibited significant improvements in waist circumference compared to placebo + PN [Difference = －1.59, 95% CI (－3.03, －0.16)] and placebo + SPN groups [Difference = －2.01, 95% CI (－3.46, －0.57)]. QYY + PN demonstrated a significant advantage over placebo + SPN [Difference = －2.01, 95% CI (－3.46, －0.57)], and no statistically significant interaction was observed between the two interventions (P > 0.05). In terms of weight and BMI improvements, the QYY + PN, QYY + SPN, and the PN + placebo groups all experienced trending greater reductions in weight compared to the placebo group. In terms of the total scores of PSQI, BAI, and BDI, all four groups exhibited improvements compared to the baseline. Specifically, concerning the change in total PSQI scores, the QYY + PN group exhibited a greater reduction; Regarding the change in total BAI scores, the PN + placebo group demonstrated a greater decrease;As for the change in total BDI scores, the QYY + SPN group displayed a greater reduction.

Conclusion: This study confirmed that QYY + PN can effectively reduce the waist circumference of patients with AO. Furthermore, the combined approach offers greater benefits than either treatment alone, all without any reported serious adverse events.

Objective: To examine the effect of electro-acupuncture (EA) application on postoperative pain levels and the amount of analgesic use in patients who underwent periodontal flap surgery.

Methods: In this prospective, randomized and controlled study, patients planned for periodontal surgery were divided into two groups [EA group (n = 22): patients who received electroacupuncture and control group (n = 22): patients who did not receive electroacupuncture]. Electroacupuncture was applied bilaterally to the Hegu (LI4), Daying (ST5), and Jiache (ST5) points of the patients in the EA group immediately before and after the flap surgery for 30 min at a frequency of 50 Hz to each point at a current that the patient could tolerate. The patients in the control group underwent flap surgery without applying electroacupuncture. Patients were asked to record their pain levels on the visual analog scale and the number of analgesic tablets they took during the 7 postoperative days on the given form.

Results: The total mean score of pain felt in the EA group (16.60 ± 2.78) was found to be significantly lower than that in the control group (31.37 ± 2.78) (P = 0.001). No significant difference was found between the groups regarding the amount of analgesics taken (4.77 ± 4.72, 5.82 ± 3.11) (P = 0.111).

Conclusions: Our study shows that electro-acupuncture application is beneficial in reducing pain after periodontal flap surgery. Overall, more research is needed to fully understand the effects of electro-acupuncture on postoperative pain.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of Persian shallot extract on the serum markers and blood pressure of patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS).

Methods: Fifty patients with MetS diagnosis were randomly assigned to the intervention (Persian shallot extract) and the control (placebo) group. Both groups received treatment for three months. Before the study and at the end of the study, 5 mL peripheral blood was taken from each patient. The measured factors included total antioxidant capacity (TAC), superoxide dismutase enzyme (SOD), malondialdehyde, oxidized low-density lipoprotein (Ox-LDL), apolipoprotein H (Apo-H), fasting blood glucose (FBS), total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), LDL, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

Results: At baseline, the evaluated parameters were not significantly different between the intervention and control groups. At the end of the study, the mean serum levels of malondialdehyde and ox-LDL were significantly lower in the intervention group. The mean FBS, cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL were significantly lower in the intervention group. The mean TAC and HDL were significantly higher in the intervention group (P < 0.05). Moreover, the intervention group significantly reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure. No other significant association was observed.

Conclusion: Persian shallot extract has several beneficial effects in MetS patients, including optimizing oxidative balance, reducing blood pressure, fasting blood sugar, and blood lipid profile.

Objective: To investigate the difference in gut microbiota between population with damp-heat constitution (DHC) and balanced constitution (BC).

Methods: A multi-centered cross-sectional case-control study was conducted, which included 249 participants with damp-heat constitution or balanced constitution. Baseline information of participants was collected, and stool samples were collected for gut microbiota analysis. Principal coordinate analysis, linear discriminant analysis effect size analysis, receiver operating characteristic, random forest model, and phylogenetic investigation of communities by reconstruction of unobserved states methods were used to reveal the relationship between gut microbiota and the damp-heat constitution.

Results: Compared to those in the BC group, the richness and diversity of the microbiota, specifically those of several short-chain fatty acid producing genera such as Barnesiella, Coprobacter, and Butyricimonas, were significantly decreased in the DHC group. Regarding biological functions, flavonoid biosynthesis, propanoate metabolism, and nucleotide sugar metabolism were suppressed, while arachidonic acid metabolism and glutathione metabolism were enriched in the DHC group. Finally, a classifier based on the microbiota was constructed to discriminate between the DHC and BC populations.

Conclusion: The gut microbiota of the DHC population exhibits significantly reduced diversity and is closely related to inflammation, metabolic disorders, and liver steatosis, which is consistent with clinical observations, thus serving as a potential diagnostic tool for traditional Chinese medicine constitution discrimination.

Objective: To explore the potential of combining natural herbs like chamomile and saffron for the management of anxiety and depression.

Methods: A rodent model of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and anxiety, secondary to streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus was made. A total of 6 rat groups were chosen; healthy and diseased controls; and diseased test groups of fluoxetine, saffron, chamomile, and combined saffron and chamomile treated (n = 6/group). Activity by forced swim test (FST), elevated plus maze test (EPMT), and correlations with biochemical markers like serum glucose, tryptophan, C-reactive protein (CRP), brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and 5-hydrox-ytryptamine 2C receptor (5HT2CR) expression, were assessed at the end of the 3rd week of the treatment. A one-way analysis of variance with a post-hoc Tukey's test was applied.

Results: The combined herbal treatment group showed significantly better (P <0.05) than all other groups in terms of anti-hyperglycemic effect. All treatments improved the CRP levels; however, the combination group was also significantly better than fluoxetine and the individual herb groups. Only the herb groups showed efficacy in the FST with added benefits of the combination group over the healthy controls and similar trends in the EPMT. However, expression of 5HT2CR was repressed while BDNF was elevated through treatment.

Conclusion: This study shows that in comparison to treatment with a SSRI, and individual herbs, the combination of chamomile and saffron showed overall improved outcomes.

Objective: To propose an automatic acupuncture robot system for performing acupuncture operations.

Methods: The acupuncture robot system consists of three components: automatic acupoint localization, acupuncture manipulations, and De Qi sensation detection. The OptiTrack motion capture system is used to locate acupoints, which are then translated into coordinates in the robot control system. A flexible collaborative robot with an intelligent gripper is then used to perform acupuncture manipulations with high precision. In addition, a De Qi sensation detection system is proposed to evaluate the effect of acupuncture. To verify the stability of the designed acupuncture robot, acupoints' coordinates localized by the acupuncture robot are compared with the Gold Standard labeled by a professional acupuncturist using significant level tests.

Results: Through repeated experiments for eight acupoints, the acupuncture robot achieved a positioning error within 3.3 mm, which is within the allowable range of needle extraction and acupoint insertion. During needle insertion, the robot arm followed the prescribed trajectory with a mean deviation distance of 0.02 mm and a deviation angle of less than 0.15°. The results of the lifting thrusting operation in the Xingzhen process show that the mean acupuncture depth error of the designed acupuncture robot is approximately 2 mm, which is within the recommended depth range for the Xingzhen operation. In addition, the average detection accuracy of the De Qi keywords is 94.52%, which meets the requirements of acupuncture effect testing for different dialects.

Conclusion: The proposed acupuncture robot system streamlines the acupuncture process, increases efficiency, and reduces practitioner fatigue, while also allowing for the quantification of acupuncture manipulations and evaluation of therapeutic effects. The development of an acupuncture robot system has the potential to revolutionize low back pain treatment and improve patient outcomes.

Objective: To explore the therapeutic effect and target of atractylenolide I (AT-I) on post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome (PI-IBS) rats.

Methods: Therefore, the preliminarily mechanism of AT-I in anti-PI-IBS were first predicted by network pharmacology and molecular docking, then the possible signaling pathways were systematically analyzed. Finally, the potential therapeutic targets and possible signaling pathways of AT-I on PI-IBS in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat model were verified by experiments.

Results: AT-I could alleviate PI-IBS symptoms and reduce the expression of tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin-6 and Interferon-gamma in PI-IBS SD rat model and inhibit the c-Jun N-terminal kinase/inducible nitric oxide synthase (JNK/iNOS) pathway. Notably, AT-I treatment could inhibit the overexpression of polymerase I and transcript release factor (PTRF).

Conclusion: AT-I could alleviate PI-IBS symptoms through downregulation of PTRF and inhibiting the JNK/ iNOS pathway. This study not only provides a scientific basis to clarify the anti-PI-IBS effect of AT-I and its mechanism but also suggests a novel promising therapeutic strategy to treat the PI-IBS.

Objective: To explore the mechanism of Tangfukang formula (, TFK) in treating type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methods: We employed network pharmacology combined with experimental validation to explore the potential mechanism of TFK against T2DM. Initially, we filtered bioactive compounds with the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP) and Symptom Mapping (SymMap), and gathered targets of TFK and T2DM. Subsequently, we constructed a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, enriched core targets through Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and adopted molecular docking to study the binding mode of compounds and the signaling pathway. Finally, we employed a KKAy mice model to investigate the effect and mechanism of TFK against T2DM. Biochemical assay, histology assay, and Western blot (WB) were used to assess the mechanism.

Results: There were 492 bioactive compounds of TFK screened, and 1226 overlapping targets of TFK against T2DM identified. A compound-T2DM-related target network with 997 nodes and 4439 edges was constructed. KEGG enrichment analysis identified some core pathways related to T2DM, including adenosine 5-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling pathway. Molecular docking study revealed that compounds of TFK, including citric acid, could bind to the active pocket of AMPK crystal structure with free binding energy of －4.8, －8 and －7.9, respectively. Animal experiments indicated that TFK decreased body weight, fasting blood glucose, fasting serum insulin, homeostasis model of insulin resistance, glycosylated serum protein, total cholesterol, triglyceride, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and improve oral glucose tolerance test results. TFK reduced steatosis in liver tissue, and infiltration of inflammatory cells, and protected liver cells to a certain extent. WB analysis revealed that, TFK upregulated the phosphorylation of AMPK and branched-chain α-ketoacid dehydrogenase proteins.

Conclusion: TFK has the potential to effectively manage T2DM, possibly by regulating the AMPK signaling pathway. The present study lays a new foundation for the therapeutic application of TFK in the treatment of T2DM.

Objective: To reach consensus on the diagnostic criteria of syndrome of dampness obstruction in idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN) patients by literature research and expert investigation (interviews and a Delphi method).

Methods: Our study was consistent with T/CACM 1336-2020. We searched the monographs and references published in the past 40 years (1983-2022), and established the diagnostic criteria pool of water-dampness syndrome and dampness-turbidity syndrome in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) based on literature by using frequency statistics and correlation analysis. Expert investigation (interview method and two rounds of Delphi method) was used to form the diagnostic criteria of water-dampness syndrome and dampness-turbidity syndrome of idiopathic membranous nephropathy. Clinical diagnostic test research was carried out, and compared with "Diagnostic Criteria for dampness syndrome" (T/CACM 1454-2023) to evaluate the authenticity, reliability and clinical application value of the standard.

Results: A total of 122 relevant guides, standards, monographs and documents were included through searching books and Chinese databases. Four experts were interviewed and two rounds of delphi method (75 experts nationwide) were carried out. The experts' opinions are relatively concentrated and the differences are small. Based on the weight of each index, the diagnostic criteria indexes of water-dampness syndrome and dampness-turbidity syndrome were selected. After discussion by the core group members, the diagnostic model of "necessary symptoms and optional symptoms" was established, and the final diagnostic criteria of water-dampness syndrome and dampness-turbidity syndrome were established. One hundred and ninety-one inpatients and outpatients of Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine from January 2021 to February 2023 were included in Diagnostic test study. There was no statistical difference in gender, age and course of disease (P > 0.05). The sensitivity and specificity of the trial standard were 90.34% and 73.33% respectively, while the sensitivity and specificity of T/CACM 1454-2023 were 99.43% and 6.67%, respectively.

Conclusions: The consensus-based diagnostic criteria for IMN can be widely incorporated in TCM. A further clinical study will be conducted to analyze the diagnosis value and cut-off score of our IMN criteria.

Objective: To explore if Hewei Jiangni granule (, HWJNG) could regulate esophageal hypersensitivity via stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1)/transient receptor potential vanilloid subfamily member 1 (TRPV1) pathway.

Methods: Qualitative analysis of HWJNG was analysis by high performance of liquid and gas chromatography. In vivo, animal model of non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) was established by fructose intake and restraint stress. HWJNG and Omeprazole were administered by gavage to the drug intervention group. Reflux and visceral hypersensitivity were analyzed by pathological changes, PH value test, mechanical paw withdrawal threshold, thermal withdrawal latency and mast cells (MCs) degranulation. In vitro, substance P (SP)-induced P815 cells and dorsal root ganglion (DRG) cells were co-cultured. Expression in both mice and cells of STIM1, TRPV1, and esophageal visceral hypersensitivity-related gastrointestinal neurochemicals were validated by enzyme linked immunosorbent assays, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blot. Moreover, overexpression and small interfering RNA against STIM1 were utilized to verify of the role of HWJNG in DRG cells.

Results: HWJNG significantly suppressed intercellular space widening, injury of mitochondrial, MCs degranulation, mechanical allodynia and heat neuropathic sensory and increased pH value of esophageal mucosa in NERD mice. HWJNG inhibited expression of visceral hypersensitivity-related gastrointestinal neurochemicals in esophageal mucosa and activated P815 cells, and expression of the STIM1, TRPV1 and related neurotransmitters in DRG and DRG cells. STIM1 siRNA and HWJNG both reduced P815 cells adhesion to DRGs cells and Ca²⁺ flow into the cytoplasmic space of DRG cells. Furthermore, HWJNG could reversed STIM1 overexpression induced upregulation of TRPV1.

Conclusion: HWJNG suppressed intercellular space widening in NERD mice, stabilized MCs and restored neuronal hyperexcitability by regulating visceral hypersensitivity viaSTIM1/TRPV1 pathway.