Gastric ulcer is a common disorder of the digestive system. Current therapeutic regimens largely rely on Western medicine. However, numerous studies have demonstrated that herbal medicines can effectively treat gastric ulcer in humans and various animal models via divergent mechanisms. This review updates the efficacy and safety of herbal medicines in treating gastric ulcer, and the mechanisms of their action in humans and animal models. Studies have demonstrated that the efficacy of herbal medicines is comparable or superior to that of drugs such as omeprazole or cimetidine in humans and animal models, and herbal medicines display fewer adverse effects. The mechanisms by which herbal medicines benefit gastric ulcer include stimulation of mucous cell proliferation, anti-oxidation, and inhibition of gastric acid secretion and H(+)/K(+)-ATPase activity. Some herbal medicines also exhibit antimicrobial properties. Utilization of herbal medicines could be a valuable alternative to treat gastric ulcer in humans effectively, with few adverse effects.

BackgroundWe previously showed that the number of publications in dermatology is increasing year by year, and positively correlates with improved economic conditions in mainland China, a still developing Asian country. However, the characteristics of publications in dermatology departments in more developed Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea are unknown.MethodsIn the present study, publications from 2003 through 2012 in dermatology in Japan, South Korea and mainland China were characterized. All data were obtained from http://www.pubmed.com.ResultsDermatology departments in Japan published 4,094 papers, while mainland China and South Korea published 1528 and 1,758 articles, respectively. 48% of articles from dermatology in Japan were original research and 36% were case reports; The number of publications in Japan remained stable over time, but the overall impact factors per paper increased linearly over the last 10 year period (p < 0.05). In mainland China, 67% of articles from dermatology were original research, while 19% were case reports; The number of publications and their impact factors per paper increased markedly. In South Korea, 65% of articles from dermatology were original research and 20% were case reports. The impact factors per paper remained unchanged, despite of the fact that the number of publications increased over the last 10 year period (r2 = 0.6820, p = 0.0032). Only mainland China showed a positive correlation of the number of publications with gross domestic product per capita during this study period.ConclusionsThese results suggest that the total number of publications in dermatology correlates with economic conditions only in developing country, but not in more developed countries in Asia. The extent of economic development could determine both the publication quantity and quality.

Background Preliminary microarray data in our laboratory indicated that the novel long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), GASL1, was downregulated in patients with intracranial aneurysms. This study aimed to investigate the expression of lncRNA GASL1 in patients with intracranial aneurysms and its role in the regulation of vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation by transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1). Material/Methods The study included 68 patients with unruptured intracranial aneurysms and 56 healthy volunteers. In both groups, serum levels of TGF-β1 were measured using an enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) and Western blot. Human VSMCs in vitro underwent lncRNA GASL1 overexpression using the insertion of an EcoRI-EcoRI fragment into the pIRSE2 vector. Cell viability and proliferation were measured by a cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. RNA extraction and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) determined GASL1 expression. Results The lncRNA, GASL1, was significantly downregulated, while TGF-β1 was significantly upregulated in the serum of patients with an intracranial aneurysm compared with healthy controls, which was confirmed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. In human VSMCs, lncRNA GASL1 overexpression increased cell proliferation and downregulated TGF-β1 expression, while treatment with TGF-β1 reduced VSMC proliferation but showed no effects on GASL1 expression. Conclusions Expression of the novel lncRNA, GASL1, was downregulated in patients with intracranial aneurysms and regulated the proliferation of VSMCs in vitro by targeting TGF-β1.

a b s t r a c tEpidermal permeability barrier function plays a critical role in regulating cutaneous functions. Hence, researchers have been searching for effective and affordable regimens to enhance epidermal permeability barrier function. In addition to topical stratum corneum lipids, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor, and liver X receptor ligands, herbal medicines have been proven to benefit epidermal permeability barrier function in both normal and diseased skin, including atopic dermatitis, glucocorticoid-induced skin damage, and UVB-damaged skin. The potential mechanisms by which herbal medicines improve the permeability barrier include stimulation of epidermal differentiation, lipid production, antimicrobial peptide expression, and antioxidation. Therefore, utilization of herbal medicines could be a valuable alternative approach to enhance epidermal permeability barrier function in order to prevent and/or treat skin disorders associated with permeability barrier abnormalities.

Background: Gastric ulcer is a common disorder in digestive system. Alcohol consumption is one of the key risk factor in the pathogenesis of gastric ulcer. Although therapeutic approaches are widely available, preventive regimens are limited. Numerous studies have demonstrated that herbal medicines display preventive benefit in the development of ethanol-induced gastric ulcers in both rat and mouse models. The preventive efficacy of herbal medicines on the development of ethanol-induced gastric ulcers is comparable or superior to histamine receptor 2 antagonists. But herbal medicines have fewer side effects. Materials and Methods: Keywords including gastric ulcer, herbal medicines, prevention and natural ingredients were used to search on http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed. The search was performed on January 12, 2014. Only articles published in English were used in this review. Result and Conclusion: According to the mechanisms of their action and pathogenesis of gastric ulcer, combination of certain herbal medicines could be a valuable alternative to prevent the development of gastric ulcer, particularly for the subjects who are at a higher risk of developing gastric ulcer.