Microglia (MG) are immune effector cells in the central nervous system (CNS) and play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of various CNS diseases. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is defined as a severe chronic degenerative neurological disease in humans. The amyloid cascade hypothesis is a hypothesis on the pathogenesis of AD that suggests that abnormal extracellular aggregation of β-amyloid (Aβ) peptides is the main cause of the disease. Although this hypothesis has been found to be convincing, a growing body of evidence suggests that it does not fully explain the pathogenesis of AD. Neuroinflammation is a crucial element in the pathogenesis of AD, as evidenced by elevated levels of inflammatory markers and the identification of AD risk genes associated with innate immune function. This paper will first summarize the impact of microglia-mediated neuroinflammation on AD, exploring the phenotypic changes that follow microglia activation. Secondly, the interactions between microglia, Aβ, microtubule-associated protein, apolipoprotein E and neurons are thoroughly investigated, with particular focus on the interactive mechanisms. Furthermore, the recent progress and prospects of microglia as a diagnostic and therapeutic target for AD are analysed. A review of the literature on the mechanisms regulating MG for AD at home and abroad revealed that acupuncture modulation of microglia could help to delay the progression of AD. This was followed by an extensive discussion of the clinical possibilities and scientific validity of acupuncture treatment for AD, with the aim of providing new insights for acupuncture modulation of MG targeting for the treatment of AD.
Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of electroacupuncture (EA) at scalp motor area for treating post-stroke wrist dyskinesia and its influence on the function of wrist movement-related agonistic muscles.
Methods: A randomized, single-blind, controlled clinical trial was conducted. Sixty-six patients undergoing post-stroke wrist dyskinesia were enrolled and randomized 1 : 1 to EA or control group. Patients in the control group received manual acupuncture in the scalp motor area (MS 6) on the lesion side. The same acupoint was selected to accept EA stimulation in the EA group. All patients were treated six times a week for three weeks. The primary outcome was the Chinese Stroke Scale (CSS) score. The secondary outcomes included upper limb-related Barthel Index (BI) score, active range of motion (AROM) of the wrist joint, and root mean square (RMS) of the four agonistic muscles associated with wrist motion on the hemiplegic side of patients, i. e., the extensor carpi radialis longus (ECRL), extensor digitorum (ED), flexor carpi radialis (FCR) and flexor carpi ulnaris (FCU). The above indicators were measured before and after three weeks of treatment.
Results: After 3-week treatment, the CSS score and AROM of wrist dorsiflexion of the EA group were better than those in the control group (P = 0.038, P = 0.047). The differences between the two groups of BI scores and AROM of wrist flexion were not significant (P > 0.05). All RMS of the EA group were higher than those in the control group (ECRL: P = 0.047, ED: P = 0.048, FCR: P = 0.049, FCU: P = 0.047). The total effective rate in the EA group was 87.50% (28/32), which was higher than that in the control group (77.42%, 24/31, P = 0.048).
Conclusion: EA stimulation of the scalp motor area can promote the recovery of the strength and function of the agonistic muscles related to wrist movement and effectively improve post-stroke wrist dyskinesia.
Objective: To investigate the mechanism of electroacupuncture of sympathetic nerve activity and blood pressure reduction in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHRs).
Methods: A total of 64 male SHRs were divided into four groups: model, sham-operated (Sham), electro-acupuncture (EA), and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist and electroacupuncture (NRA + EA). In addition, 16 Wistar-Kyoto rats were used as controls. PVN stereotaxic surgery was performed in both the Sham and NRA + EA groups, while the EA and NRA + EA groups received 14 d of electroacupuncture. Blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) were measured the day before the intervention and every other day. After 14 d of intervention, the rats in each group were tested for renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA). The associated factor levels were determined using Western blotting, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunofluorescence assays.
Results: In comparison to the model group, the EA and NRA + EA groups had significantly lower BP, HR, and RSNA (P < 0.01). The expression of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR), angiotensin II (Ang II), angiotensin II type 1 (AT1), tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, norepinephrine and arginine vasopressin was significantly lower in the EA and NRA + EA groups (P < 0.01). Moreover, the antihypertensive effect of NRA+EA group outperformed to the EA group.
Conclusions: Electroacupuncture effectively reduced the BP and sympathetic nerve excitability in SHRs. The mechanism was linked to the inhibition of NMDAR-mediated Ang II /AT1 and the inflammatory response in PVN.
Objective: To clarify the effect of Hamayou (Oviductus Ranae) protein hydrolysate (ORPH) on depression and its exact underlying mechanism from a new perspective.
Methods: We used the Chronic Unpredictable Mild Stress (CUMS) method to prepare a mouse model of depression and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to prepare a model of BV2 cellular inflammation to investigate the antidepressant effect and mechanism of action of ORPH. Behavioral changes in mice and cerebral blood flow were detected by behavioral experiments and scatter imaging. Levels of corticosterone (CORT), proinflammatory cytokines and neurotransmitter were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Furthermore, hematoxylin-eosin staining, Tunel staining were used to evaluate the effect of ORPH. The distribution and expression of ionized calcium bindingadaptor molecule-1 (Iba-1) in mouse hippocampal tissue and BV2 cells were detected by immunofluorescence. Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway related protein expression was detected by Western blot.
Results: ORPH improved depression-like behavior, ameliorated brain tissue damage and apoptosis, and inhibited microglia activation in brain tissue in mice. In addition, ORPH reduced expression of B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2)-associated X (Bax), cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase 3 (Caspase3), cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase 9 (Caspase9), nuclear factor- kappa B (NF-κB), phosphorylation-p38 (p-p38), phosphorylation-Jun N-terminal kinase (p-JNK) proteins, and increased expression of Bcl-2, inhibitory kappa B alpha (IκB-α), phosphorylation-extracellular regulated protein kinases 1/2 (p-ERK1/2) proteins. On the other hand, there were fewer Iba-1-positive cells, lower expression of NF-κB, p-p38, p-JNK and p-ERK1/2 proteins, and higher expression of IκB-α proteins in BV2 cells in the ORPH group. In addition, ORPH increased 5-hydroxytryptamine, norepinephrine levels and decreased CORT, interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin -6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels.
Conclusion: ORPH was able to improve depression-like behaviors and that it took effects by promoting cerebral blood flow, inhibition of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis overactivation, improving the structural damage of hippocampal tissues, and inhibiting the inflammatory response. ORPH can reduced neuronal damage and inhibiting apoptosis by promoting the MAPK pathway.
Objective: To observe and analysis of the influence of the 12 meridians on edema, the constant value of the detection of the thermal sensitivity was further verified, which provided a basis for the diagnosis and identification of edema by the thermal sensitivity measurement method.
Methods: A total of 1426 patients who attended Doshisha University in Japan and Xi'an Chengxintang Clinic from March 2019 to March 2023 were selected for observation and analysis and divided into 3 groups according to their diseases; 112 patients with edema in Group 1, 488 symptomatic patients with non-edema in Group 2, and 826 asymptomatic subjects in Group 3. The Thermal Sensitivity Measurement was conducted in the twelve meridians and compared among the groups. Multivariate analysis was performed to estimate meridians useful for diagnosing edema.
Results: In the healthy physiological state, the value of thermal sensitivity is relatively constant, which may be affected by age factors. Through the stepwise analysis, left Taiyin lung, right Jueyin pericardium, left Shaoyang Sanjiao, bilateral Jueyin liver, right Shaoyang gallbladder, right Taiyang bladder, and right Shaoyin kidney were extracted as effective meridians for diagnosing edema. Its accuracy was high, with receiver operating characteristic, area under the curve (ROC AUC) of 96%. These findings were not incompatible with the edema-associated meridians in the Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Conclusion: The thermal sensitivity measurement is thought to be useful in diagnosing edema and predicting prognosis by combining appropriate meridians. In the future, we will conduct more detailed research on how this method is useful for evaluating medical care and acupuncture treatments.
Under the background of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and medical data informationization, intelligent Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) emerges as a new medical model. In this study, we introduce Affective Computing into the diagnosis and treatment process of TCM Five-Tone Therapy. And proposes an intelligent diagnosis and treatment system including Five-tone diagnosis, monitoring and treatment, to achieve intelligent music matching. This system based on sound-image database for standardized collection and diagnosis of the Five-tone. The assessment and monitoring process are then visually presented, and an emotion analysis model is established by using affective computing. On the other hand, the system employs virtual reality (VR) visual media music and somatosensory music to play and intelligently match the Five-tone, solving issues in the clinical treatment of Five-tone therapy, such as the difficulties of quantifying emotional data, limited ability for generalization feature extraction, and relatively insufficient research on the intelligence of Five-tone therapy. This study can promote the integration of technology in the fields of healthcare, information, and music, thereby enhancing the accuracy of diagnosis and treatment. It holds significant importance in advancing the intelligent development of Traditional Chinese Medicine diagnosis and treatment.
Objective: To observe the effects of moxibustion at Zusanli (ST36) on rats with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and to analyze the mechanisms of moxibustion through hippocampal Proteomics.
Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into three groups: control group (CON), model group (MOD), and moxibustion group (MOX), with 12 rats in each group. The MOD and MOX groups underwent chronic multi-factor stress stimulation for 35 d to establish the CFS model. After modeling, the rats in the MOX group received mild moxibustion at Zusanli (ST36) (bilateral) for 10 minutes daily for 28 d. During the treatment period, rats in both the MOD and MOX groups continued modeling, while the CON group was kept under normal breeding conditions. The general condition of the rats was monitored, and behaviors were assessed using the Open Field Test (OFT), Exhaustion Treadmill Test, and Morris Water Maze (MWM). Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were employed to observe morphological changes in the hippocampus. Label-free Proteomics were utilized to identify differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in the hippocampus, followed by bioinformatics analysis. The reliability of the Proteomics results was verified using Parallel Reaction Monitoring.
Results: A: Moxibustion at Zusanli (ST36) significantly reduced the general condition score of CFS rats, improved their behavioral performance in OFT, treadmill and MWM, and repaired the pathological and synaptic structural damage in the hippocampus.B: We identified DEPs by applying a fold change threshold of 1.2 and a significance level of P < 0.05. In the comparison between the CON and the MOD, we identified a total of 72 DEPs (31 up-regulated and 41 down-regulated) associated with the development of CFS. In the comparison between the MOX and the MOD group, we identified a total of 103 DEPs (40 up-regulated and 63 down-regulated) related to the therapeutic effects of moxibustion. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis showed that CFS and moxibustion treatment were related to multiple biological processes, molecular functions, and cellular components. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis revealed that CFS pathogenesis was linked to base excision repair, steroid biosynthesis, and systemic lupus erythematosus, Furthermore, the treatment of CFS with moxibustion was relevant to terpenoid skeleton biosynthesis.C: Compared with the two comparison groups, we identified 16 potential biomarkers, noting that moxibustion reversed the up-regulation of 14 DEPs and the down-regulation of 2 DEPs in CFS. These proteins are mainly associated with synaptic plasticity, ribosomal function, neurotransmitter secretion, glycine metabolism, and mitochondrial function.
Conclusion: Moxibustion at Zusanli (ST36) is effective in treating CFS, the potential biomarker
Objective: To analyze the chemical components of Mudan Huaban recipe (, MHR) and evaluate its efficacy and possible mechanism in melasma mice.
Methods: The chemical compositions of MHR were determined by the ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole-exactive mass spectrometry method. Female C57BL/6 mice were exposed to ultraviolet B and progesterone for 21 d to induce melasma, and Fontana-Masson staining was used to assess the effects of MHR on melasma. Luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol, and follicle-stimulating hormone levels were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and malonic dialdehyde content were detected by chemiluminescence. Tyrosinase and related proteins expressions were detected by Western blots and immunohistochemistry.
Results: A total of 43 chemical components were identified in MHR, MHR significantly decreased the melanin particles of melasma mice. MHR treatment significantly reversed the high contents of LH and low activity of SOD in models. MHR significantly reduced the higher levels of tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related proteins-1 (TRP-1), TRP-2, microphthalmia-associated transcription factor and phosphorylation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element-binding protein (p-CREB)/CREB in the skin of melasma mice.
Conclusions: MHR protects against melasma via regulation of sex hormones, oxidative stress, and melanogenesis-related proteins, suggesting its possible use as a supplement and alternative drug therapy for melasma.
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