Integration of Chinese medical drugs (CMD) and western medicine (WM) has been widely used in the treatment of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). This systematic review aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of CMD for COVID-19.
AIM:To evaluate the application of Doppler tissue imaging (DTI) with dubitamine(DBA) stress echocardiography to assessment of global diastolic function of left ventricle for detection of coronary artery disease (CAD). METHODS:30 patients with CAD and 18 subjects of normal control group underwent dubitamine stress echocardiography,and they were given addied doses of 5,10,15,20,30 μg·kg -1 ·min -1 per 5 minutes, and their velocities of mitral valve annular were measured by DTI. RESULTS:Ea increased significantly and Ea/Aa decreased a little but not significantly in the control group after dubitamine injection. Ea increased insignificantly and Ea/Aa decreased significantly in the group with single coronary artery branch stenosis. Both Ea and Ea/Aa decreased significantly in the group with more than one coronary artery branches stenosis. Ea,Ea/Aa,ΔEa% and ΔEa/Aa% in the two CAD groups were all significantly lower than those of the control group either before or after the medication. CONCLUSION:Velocities of mitral valve annular were measured by DTI and can be used to assess global diastolic function of the left ventricle during dubitamine stress test.
Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the application effect of five elements music therapy introduced in the pain coping skills training of knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Materials and Methods: Totally, 80 patients with KOA were selected and randomly divided into the experimental group (39 cases) and the control group (41 cases). The control group was only given routine nursing measures, and the experimental group was additionally treated with five-element music therapy on the basis of the control group, twice a day, 28 days in total. The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) was used to evaluate the functional status of the knee joint of the two groups. The clinical efficacy of the two groups was evaluated by Guiding Principles for Clinical Research of New Chinese Medicine in the Treatment of Osteoarthritis. Results: WOMAC score statistically significantly decreased in the experimental group (35.92 ± 9.48 vs. 16.17 ± 5.43, P < 0.01) and the control group (36.73 ± 6.42 vs. 22.53 ± 7.51, P < 0.01) after 28 days of intervention when compared with that before intervention; WOMAC score in the experimental group was lower than that of the control group after 28 days of intervention (16.17 ± 5.43 vs. 22.53 ± 7.51, P < 0.01). The total effective rate of the experimental group was statistically higher than that of the control group (82.0% vs. 51.2%, χ 2 = 11.97, P = 0.003). Conclusion: The combination of five-element music therapy and routine nursing measures has better effect in relieving pain and bad emotions of patients with KOA when compared with routine nursing measures alone.
Abstract Background Angina pectoris (AP) is the primary symptom of coronary heart disease. Evidence has shown Chinese herbal medicines can bring benefits to patients suffering from AP. There are many kinds of herbal medicines. However, the difference between them has not been systematically analysed. It is uncertain which one is better. For comparison and ranking, a systematic review and network meta-analysis is needed. Methods We will search for the following 6 electronic databases: China Biological Medicine DataBase(CBM), China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI), WanFang Database, PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library, from inception to May 2021. Randomized controlled trials, which aim to assess the efficacy and safety of 5 kinds of Chinese herbal medicine for AP will be included. The outcomes include reduction of AP, improvement of the electrocardiogram and adverse events. The study screening and data extraction will be presented by 2 researchers. The risk of bias will be assessed according to the Cochrane handbook. A Bayesian network meta-analysis will be performed to compare the efficacy of 5 Chinese herbal medicines. Surface under the cumulative rank curve value will be calculated to rank the efficacy of each herbal medicine. Discussion Our protocol will be expected that the results of this study will provide evidence for Clinical Practice Guideline, clinical decisions, and development of proprietary Chinese medicines. Systematic review registration PROSPERO registration number: CRD42019146185.
Combretastatin A4 phosphate (CA4P) is a prodrug that selectively destroys tumor blood vessels, and has shown efficacy as a targeted anticancer drug in both animal models and clinical trials. The aims of this single-center, open label, phase I clinical trial were to investigate the safety and tolerability of CA4P administered intravenously to patients aged 18-65 years with advanced solid tumors. Using a dose-escalation protocol, patients were assigned to five groups that received injections with 20 (n=3), 33 (n=3), 50 (n=11), 65 (n=6), or 85 (n=2) mg/m² CA4P. Patients in the 20 and 85 mg/m² groups received a single dose and the other groups received multiple doses. Adverse events (AE), cardiovascular parameters, and biochemical investigations were studied, and the maximum tolerated dose was determined. Of twenty-five patients enrolled, eight were withdrawn/excluded (not because of AE). There were no deaths. A total of 394 AE occurred in the 25 patients, with 89.3% considered related/possibly related to the drug. AE included headache and dizziness (19.8%), tumor-induced pain (14.2%), vascular vagal excitation (10.7%), and vomiting (9.4%). Ninety-five percent of AE were mild (grades 0-II), with only 5% being grade III-IV. Drug administration was associated with biphasic changes in heart rate and blood pressure, and only limited abnormalities in the laboratory investigations performed. The maximum tolerated dose was 65 mg/m². We conclude that CA4P is generally well tolerated, with the vast majority of AE that occurred being of mild severity. Further studies will establish the role of CA4P in cancer therapy.
Abstract Background: Existing literatures demonstrated that meteorological factors could be of importance in affecting the spread patterns of the respiratory infectious diseases. However, how ambient temperature may influence the transmissibility of COVID-19 remains unclear. Objectives: We explore the association between ambient temperature and transmissibility of COVID-19 in different regions across China. Methods: The surveillance data on COVID-19 and meteorological factors were collected from 28 provincial level regions in China, and estimated the instantaneous reproductive number ( R t ). The generalized additive model was used to assess the relationship between mean temperature and R t . Results: There were 12745 COVID-19 cases collected in the study areas. We report the effect of temperature on R t is not of statistical significance, which holds for most of included regions except for those in North China. Conclusions: We found little statistical evidence for that the higher temperature may reduce the transmissibility of COVID-19.
Matrine, an active constituent of the Chinese herb, Sophora flavescens Ait., and it is known for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antitumor activities. It has been demonstrated that matrine exerts protective effects against heart failure by decreasing the expression of caspase-3 and Bax, and increasing Bcl‑2 levels. In this study, we aimed to determine whether these protective effects of matrine can be applied to cerebral ischemia. Following 7 successive days of treatment with matrine (7.5, 15 and 30 mg/kg) and nimodipine (1 mg/kg) by intraperitoneal injection, male Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) mice were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). Following reperfusion, the neurobehavioral score and brain infarct volume were estimated, and morphological changes were analyzed by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining and electron microscopy. The percentage of apoptotic neurons was determined by flow cytometry. The levels of oxidative stress were assessed by measuring the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and catalase (CAT), and the total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC). Western blot analysis and immunofluorescence staining were used to examine the expression of the apoptosis-related proteins, caspase-3, Bax and Bcl-2. Our results revealed that pre-treatment with matrine significantly decreased the infarct volume and improved the neurological scores. Matrine also reduced the percentage of apoptotic neurons and relieved neuronal morphological damage. Furthermore, matrine markedly decreased the MDA levels, and increased SOD, GSH-Px and CAT activity, and T-AOC. Western blot analysis and immunofluorescence staining revealed a marked decrease in caspase-3 expression and an increase in the Bcl-2/Bax ratio in the group pre-treated with matrine (30 mg/kg) as compared with the vehicle-treated group. The findings of the present study demonstrate that matrine exerts neuroprotective effects against cerebral ischemic injury and that these effects are associated with its antioxidant and anti-apoptotic properties.
Objective To explore the value of enhanced ultrasonography in measuring artery intima-media thickness (IMT). Methods Early rabbits atherosclerotic model were established by high cholesterol diet, contrast-enhanced common carotid artery was performed using self-made contrast agents, artery intima visibility and IMT difference with and without contrast agents were analyzed and compared with pathology. Results Significant increase of intima visibility was observed using contrast agents, especially for the anterior wall. IMT became irregularly thicker, measurement using standard ultrasound (0.37±0.05) mm underestimated the anterior wall IMT by 14% as compared to the contrast method (0.43±0.04) mm and histological results, while there was no difference in the posterior wall IMT. Conclusion Enhanced ultrasonography can improve intima visibility and accuracy of IMT measurement, thus play an important role in detecting early artery disease.
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