BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Interstitial fibrosis plays a causal role in the development of heart failure after chronic myocardial infarction (MI), and anti‐fibrotic therapy represents a promising strategy to mitigate this pathological process. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of long‐term administration of scutellarin (Scu) on cardiac interstitial fibrosis of myocardial infarct rats and the underlying mechanisms. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH Scu was administered to rats that were subjected to coronary artery ligation. Eight weeks later, its effects on cardiac fibrosis were assessed by examining cardiac function and histology. The number and collagen content of cultured cardiac fibroblasts exposed to angiotensin II (Ang II) were determined after the administration of Scu in vitro. Protein expression was detected by Western blot technique, and mRNA levels by quantitative reverse transcription‐PCR. KEY RESULTS The echocardiographic and haemodynamic measurements showed that Scu improved the impaired cardiac function of infarct rats and decreased interstitial fibrosis. Scu inhibited the expression of FN1 and TGFβ1, but produced no effects on inflammatory cytokines (TNFα, IL‐1β and IL‐6) in the 8 week infarct hearts. Scu inhibited the proliferation and collagen production of cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) and the up‐regulation of FN1 and TGFβ1 induced by Ang II. The enhanced phosphorylation of p38‐MAPK and ERK1/2 in both infarct cardiac tissue and cultured CFs challenged by Ang II were suppressed by Scu. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Long‐term administration of Scu improved the cardiac function of MI rats by inhibiting interstitial fibrosis, and the mechanisms may involve the suppression of pro‐fibrotic cytokine TGFβ1 expression and inhibition of p38 MAPK and ERK1/2 phosphorylation.

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The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of targeted nursing for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). A total of 114 patients clinically diagnosed with stable SLE were prospectively selected. The patients were randomly divided into the regular special nursing group, comprising 56 patients and the targeted nursing group (i.e., taylor made according to different pathogenic conditions and treatment period), comprising 58 patients. The patients received standard medical treatment for SLE, irrespective of their group, and the efficacy of targeted nursing on disease activity, incidence of complications, therapeutic compliance, quality of life and nursing satisfaction was compared with regular special nursing. The patients were followed up for a period of 20 months. The results showed that, disease activity and injury index score and incidence of complications were significantly less in the targeted nursing group than in the regular special nursing group (P<0.05). Additionally, therapeutic compliance, quality of life score and nursing content satisfaction were significantly higher in the targeted nursing group in comparison with the regular special nursing group (P<0.05). Thus, the results indicated that targeted nursing significantly improved therapeutic compliance and quality of life, and simultaneously, reduced complications and disease activity in patients receiving standard treatment for SLE.

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