No abstract

Purpose. To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupoint catgut embedding therapy (ACET) in postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP). Methods. Review of some databases from their inception to June 2018 and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in which ACET with PMOP were included. Two researchers extracted and evaluated the information independently. Cochrane Collaboration’s tool and Jadad scale were used to evaluate the quality of the studies. RevMan V.5.3.3 software was used to carry out the meta-analysis while trial sequential analysis (TSA) performed with TSA 0.9 software. Results. 12 RCTs with 876 participants were included in this review. Meta-analysis showed that ACET alone was not superior to medication in effectiveness rate (RR= 1.11; 95% CI (0.89, 1.40); P=0.35) and E2 (SMD= 0.20; 95% CI (-0.17, 0.57); P=0.28; I2=20%) while ACET combining medication was more effective on the effectiveness rate (RR= 1.32; 95% CI (1.20, 1.46); P<0.000 01) and E2 (SMD= 1.24; 95% CI (0.63, 1.84); P<0.0001). Additionally, ACET combining calcium could increase the bone mineral density (BMD) of the L2~4 vertebrae and femur-neck [WMDL2~4 = 0.03; 95% CI (0.01, 0.05); P=0.003; and WMDFemur-neck = 0.07; 95% CI (0.03, 0.10); P = 0.0006], reduce TCM syndrome score [WMD = -1.85; 95% CI (-2.13, -1.57); P<0.000 01], improve patient’s quality of life [WMDthree  months = 6.90; 95% CI (3.90, 9.89); P<0.000 01; and WMDsix  months = 12.34; 95% CI (5.09, 19.60); P=0.0009], and relieve pain [WMDVAS = -1.26; 95% CI (-1.66, -0.85); P<0.000 01; and WMDPain  score = -2.59; 95% CI (-4.76, -0.43); P= 0.02]. The TSA showed that the effectiveness of ACET for PMOP was demonstrated accurately. Conclusions. ACET combining medication but not ACET alone is more effective than medication as comparison in the treatment of PMOP. As a novel treatment, ACET shows the potential of effectiveness and deserves further high quality of well-designed study.

Si-Miao-Yong-An decoction (SMYAD), a traditional Chinese medicine formula, is mainly used to clear away heat and detoxify and to promote blood circulation and relieve pain. Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the most common type of microvascular complication caused by diabetes. This study is designed to examine the protective effect of SMYAD against DR and further to reveal the engaged mechanism via integrating network pharmacology and in vivo experimental evidence. Streptozotocin (STZ) was intraperitoneally injected into mice to induce diabetes. The dysfunction of the blood retina barrier (BRB) was observed by conducting Evan’s blue leakage assay, detecting tight junction (TJ) protein expression and counting the number of acellular capillaries in retinas. Our results showed that SMYAD alleviated BRB breakdown in vivo. Network pharmacology results demonstrated that regulating inflammation, immune responses, and angiogenesis might be associated with the efficacy of SMYAD in alleviating DR, in which the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and hypoxia inducible factor 1 (HIF1) signal pathways were involved. Next, immunofluorescence staining results showed that SMYAD decreased microglia activation in retinas and reduced the enhanced adhesion of leukocytes into retinal vessels. SMYAD reduced the elevated serum TNFα content and retinal TNFα expression. SMYAD abrogated the activation of nuclear factor κB (NFκB) and HIF1α and consequently decreased the enhanced expression of some pro-inflammatory molecules and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in retinas. These results indicate that SMYAD attenuated DR development through suppressing retinal inflammation and angiogenesis via abrogating NFκB-TNFα and HIF1α-VEGF signal pathways.

Relinqing granule (RLQ) is the best-selling Chinese patent drug for treatment of urinary system diseases. In this study, the effects of RLQ on the pharmacokinetics of ciprofloxacin, sulfamethoxazole, and trimethoprim in SD rats were investigated. Rats were randomly divided into control group 1, control group 2, RLQ group 1, and RLQ group 2. RLQ group 1 and RLQ group 2 were treated orally with RLQ for 7 days, and rats were treated with the same volume of water in control group 1 and control group 2. Then, RLQ group 1 and control group 1 were given intragastrically ciprofloxacin on day 8, while RLQ group 2 and control group 2 were given intragastrically sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim on day 8. Blood samples were collected and determined. There was no significant influence of pharmacokinetic parameters of trimethoprim on two groups. But some pharmacokinetic parameters of ciprofloxacin and sulfamethoxazole in RLQ pretreated rats were evidently altered (P < 0.05), which indicated that absorption of ciprofloxacin and sulfamethoxazole in RLQ pretreated rats was significantly affected. It indicated the coadministration of RLQ would have an influence on the efficacy of ciprofloxacin and sulfamethoxazole, and the doses of ciprofloxacin tablet and compound sulfamethoxazole tablet need adjustment.