Background. Diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain (DPNP) is a common chronic pain condition affecting diabetic patients and has growing importance because of the increasing prevalence of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Pain is the most troublesome symptom of DPNP, increasingly recognized as an important and independent feature of DPNP. This meta-analysis aims to compare the efficacy and safety of duloxetine and gabapentin in the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain (DPNP) and therefore to provide evidence-based medicine for clinical treatment. Methods. Relevant randomized controlled trials on duloxetine versus gabapentin for DPNP were searched from PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CNKI, WanFang, VIP, and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database from database inception to October 2021. The data were analyzed by RevMan 5.3 software. Results. Seven studies were included. The results showed that, at the end of the study, duloxetine was significantly superior to gabapentin in terms of the incidence of adverse reactions (RR = 0.59, 95% CI: 0.45–0.79, P  < 0.01), sleep interference score (SMD = −0.35, 95% CI: −0.63 to −0.08, P  < 0.05), but no significant differences in VAS score (SMD = −0.14, 95% CI: −0.31–0.03, P  > 0.05), overall response rate (RR = 1.05, 95% CI: 0.92–1.20, P  > 0.05), and clinical global impression of change (SMD = 0.07, 95% CI: −0.20–0.35, P  > 0.05). Conclusion. Compared with gabapentin, duloxetine has no obvious advantage in the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuralgia, but it has less side effects and significantly higher safety.

Organic anion transport protein 1a1 (Oatp1a1) is the prototypical member of the Oatp family of highly homologous transport proteins that are highly expressed in the liver and kidney (Cheng et al., 2005;Imai et al., 2013). In the liver, Oatp1a1 is expressed in all hepatocytes, and uniformly distributed on the basolateral (sinusoidal) surface of hepatocytes (Wang et al., 2008). Oatp1a1 expression is influenced by gender. Oatp1a1 expression in rat liver is predominantly male (Hou et al., 2014). In contrast, Oatp1a1 in kidney is predominantly female (Cheng et al., 2006). However, it is also believed that the expression of Oatp1a1 is higher in kidney of males than that of females (Cheng et al., 2005). The expression of Oatp1a1 tends to be up-regulated and then down-regulated with increasing age. Oatp1a1 is barely detectable in the liver of fetal rats, and its expression is low at birth, and increase rapidly after weaning, reaching a peak at 60 days. It then remains stable from 60 to 180 days of age, and

To evaluate the effectiveness of regulating insulin sensitivity via the insulin receptor substrate-1 of Zingiber striolatum bud extract in C57BL/KsJ-db/db mice. The C57BL mice were randomly divided into 5 groups (n=10), including normal control group, model group, metformin group, ZS-l (ZS low dose) group, and ZS-h (ZS high dose) group. The body weight and blood glucose were determined weekly. The oral glucose tolerance test, plasma insulin and biochemical parameters, pancreas histopathology, and the expression of insulin receptor substrate-1 were assayed at the end of experimental point. The results showed that Z. striolatum bud extract can significantly decrease the fasting blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin levels and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in C57BL mice. Western blot analysis demonstrated Z. striolatum bud extract could regulate the insulin sensitivity by upregulating the express of phospho-insulin receptor substrate-1. In conclusion, Z. striolatum bud extract could prevent the progression of diabetes and pancreatic fibrosis in C57BL mice.

Illegally manufactured and counterfeit herbal medicines are growing a worldwide issue. And internet sales have simplified the distribution and payment of these counterfeit medicines. In 2019, a paper in The Lancet revealed the tip of the iceberg of counterfeit Chinese herbal medicines in Yongfeng County, Jiangxi Province, China. After 2 years, some so-called Chinese herbal poultices are still being manufactured in these districts. Here we report on a so-called herbal kids creams, which was advertised for treatment of childhood eczema. By means of NMR and HPLC-PDA, we found overdosed antimicrobial agents in the creams, including Terbinafine hydrochloride, Methylparaben, Propylparaben. Hence, compared to glucocorticoids, which are of high concern, the illegal addition of non-hormonal drugs in products for children requires particular attention.