Acupuncture dose-effect relationship is the essential feature of acupuncture and the key factor of acupuncture's therapeutic effect. It is a comprehensive category, including needle direction, needle strength, needle depth, selection of specific techniques, length of time between acupuncture treatment sessions, length of needle retention time, and frequency of treatment, all of which play a decisive role in the curative effect and prognosis of diseases.
Antiretroviral therapy has achieved great success in suppressing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) replication and transforming HIV infection from a fatal disease to a manageable chronic disease. However, the latent HIV reservoir persists in the body of HIV-infected individuals and is prone to reactivation. Therefore, the development of new treatment methods aimed at a complete cure for HIV is needed. The leading strategy for HIV eradication is based on eliminating and preventing the reactivation of latent reservoirs through an approach known as “shock and kill.” This strategy involves the use of latency-reversing agents (LRAs) to activate the HIV provirus in latent viral reservoir cells. Many LRAs can be obtained from natural resources, including plants and marine organisms. In this review, we provide an overview of natural products used to eliminate HIV latency.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a brain injury caused by direct external forces, and its prognosis depends on the extent of the damage and the changes in level of consciousness. Timely awakening from a coma is the first thorny problem to be solved in TBI treatment. Therefore, there is a need for the development of safe and effective methods for timely awakening after TBI coma. Dopamine (DA) and its receptors in the nervous system are involved in the regulation of wakefulness. The amount and activity of dopaminergic neurons can affect cellular function and neuroinflammatory response, and are also significant for the awakening process after TBI. The current common awakening therapy for TBI may also be related to the activation of dopaminergic neurons. Acupuncture plays a beneficial role in timely awakening, recovery of conscious level, and functional rehabilitation after TBI. The mechanism may be related to the targeted regulation of DA and its receptors via acupuncture. Among acupuncture first aid therapies, acupuncture at hand 12 Jing-Well points, with its advantages of simple operation and ultra-early intervention, has shown great promise in timely awakening following TBI and triggering a series of subsequent nerve repair effects in the treatment of TBI. We here present a review that provides a new perspective for the timely awakening from TBI-induced coma, with a focus on the role of DA in the regulation of wakefulness and the efficacy and potential mechanism of DA systems in the treatment of TBI by acupuncture.
Recently, traditional Chinese medicine-based treatment has succeeded in fighting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and Rhizoma polygonati (Huangjing) has been one of the recommended components. Its processed products play antidiabetic, antiviral, antitumor, antioxidation, antifatigue, antiaging, and immune enhancement roles. The climate in Mount Tai is mild, and the dense forest is suitable for the growth of Rhizome polygonati, which has gradually evolved into a unique specie. Considering the important medicinal value and pleasant taste of Mount Tai-Rhizoma polygonati, various healthy and functional food products, controlled by quality markers with anti-COVID-19 potential, as well as emergency foods can be developed. The study aimed to review current evidence on the nutritional value of Rhizoma polygonati from Mount Tai and its usefulness as a traditional Chinese medicine, source of herbzyme, and potential remediating agent for COVID-19 and food shortage. Most recent findings regarding herbal nanomedicine have revealed that nanoscale chemical compounds are potentially efficient in drug delivery or nanozyme catalysis upon bioprocessing. Nanoflower structure is found in processed Rhizoma polygonati by self-assembly and has wide application in enzymatic events, particularly nanoscale herbzyme. The novel findings regarding Mount Tai-Rhizoma polygonati could enhance its novel applications in chronic and hidden hunger, clinical nanomedicine, and as an anti-COVID-19 agent.
Objective: This study aimed to develop a core outcome set (COS) for use in future studies of stable angina pectoris (SAP) in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).
Methods: Systematic literature reviews and qualitative interviews with cardiologists and patients with SAP treated using TCM were conducted to generate a set of outcomes. Outcomes were prioritized by stakeholders via two rounds of an online Delphi survey and face-to-face consensus meetings. Following the final consensus meeting, a final COS was generated.
Results: An initial set of 324 outcomes was identified. A preliminary list of 65 outcomes was employed in the Delphi study. In total, 223 participants from seven stakeholder groups were invited to score outcomes in the first Delphi round: 87 completed round 1 and 47 completed round 2. Thirty-one participants attended the consensus meeting and agreed on a final core set of outcomes comprising six items across four domains: frequency of angina attack, duration of angina attack, Seattle angina questionnaire, total exercise duration in the exercise treadmill test, cardiovascular events, and QT interval on electrocardiography.
Conclusions: The COS developed in this study provides the minimum requirements for measurement and reporting in future TCM clinical trials for the treatment of SAP. The employment of this COS may reduce heterogeneity across trials and facilitate evidence-based decision-making for stakeholders.
Objective: Baoyuan decoction (BYD) is a traditional Chinese formula with myocardial protection efficacy validated by modern pharmacological tests. The present study aimed to investigate the effect and mechanism of BYD on alleviating myocardial infarction (MI).
Methods: Nuclear magnetic resonance-based serum and urinary metabolomics were employed to explore the metabolic regulation effects of BYD in rats with MI induced by left anterior descending ligation. Oxygen-glucose deprivation/recovery (OGD/R) model in H9c2 cells and multiple molecular biology approaches were used to clarify the underlying action mechanisms of BYD.
Results: BYD treatment recovered the serum and urinary metabolite profiles of the MI rats toward normal metabolic status and significantly improved mitochondrial energy metabolism and apoptosis pathways perturbed by MI. Analysis of the molecular mechanism of BYD indicated that it suppressed OGD/R-induced H9c2 cell apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner by inhibiting the mitochondria-dependent caspase-9/3-poly ADP-ribose polymerase pathway.
Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that BYD protects against myocardial apoptosis via the mitochondrial metabolic and apoptosis pathways. They also provide novel insights into the clinical application of BYD for the treatment of ischemic heart diseases.
Objective: Swertia pseudochinensis, an annual herb of the genus Swertia in the family Gentianaceae. Some constituents and extracts from the Swertia genus have been recently reported to possess neuroprotective effects, suggesting their potential utility in the prevention and treatment of Parkinson disease (PD). The aim of this work is to identify the chemical constituents and evaluate the potential biological activists of Swertia pseudochinensis.
Methods: The phytochemicals from the aerial parts of S. pseudochinensis were isolated and purified by silica gel, Sephadex LH-20 gel, semi-preparative high-performance liquid chromatography, and identified by the spectroscopic methods. All compounds were evaluated for their potential neuroprotective effects against 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium-induced apoptosis in the SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cell line using the 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay. Then, we performed an enrichment analysis using the Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery and investigated the mechanisms by which bellidifolin regulates neurodegenerative disease.
Results: Two new anthraquinone, 1,5,6-trimethoxy-2-hydroxy-3-methy-anthraquinone (1) and 1,5,6,8-tetramethoxy-2-hydroxy-3-methyanthraquinone (2), together with nine known including 7-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-1,8-dihydroxy-3-methoxyxanthone (3), gentisin (4), swertianolin (5), bellidifolin (6), gentiacaulein (7), norswertianolin (8), 5-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-1,3,8-trihydroxyapatone (9), 1-hydroxy-3,5,8-trimethoxyxanthone (10), and aurantio-obtusin (11), were isolated and compounds 6-8 and 10 exhibited neuroprotective effects at a concentration of 50 μmol/L. Among them, bellidifolin showed significant protective activity, and might have potential as a neuroprotective agent for the treatment of PD, possibly by acting on oxidative damage and reactive oxygen species.
Conclusions: These findings indicate that further research on the genus Swertia and its bioactive constituents toward neurodegenerative disorders could be extremely rewarding.