Effect of Chinese herbal medicine therapy on risks of all-cause mortality, infections, parasites, and circulatory-related mortality in HIV/AIDS patients with neurological diseases

Abstract

Introduction: Long-term living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and/or antiretroviral therapy (ART) is associated with various adverse effects, including neurocognitive impairment. Heterogeneous neurocognitive impairment remains an important issue, affecting between 15–65% of human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) patients and resulting in work performance, safety, and health-related outcomes that have a heavy economic burden.Methods: We identified 1,209 HIV/AIDS patients with neurological diseases during 2010–2017. The Kaplan–Meier method, log-rank test, and Cox proportional hazards model were used to analyze 308 CHM users and 901 non-CHM users within this population. Major CHM clusters were determined using association rule mining and network analysis.Results and Discussion: Results showed that CHM users had a 70% lower risk of all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) = 0.30, 95% confidence interval (CI):0.16–0.58, p < 0.001) (p = 0.0007, log-rank test). Furthermore, CHM users had an 86% lower risk of infections, parasites, and circulatory-related mortality (aHR = 0.14, 95% confidence interval (CI):0.04–0.46, p = 0.001) (p = 0.0010, log-rank test). Association rule mining and network analysis showed that two CHM clusters were important for patients with neurological diseases. In the first CHM cluster, Huang Qin (HQ; root of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi), Gan Cao (GC; root of Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch.), Huang Lian (HL; root of Coptis chinensis Franch.), Jie Geng (JG; root of Platycodon grandiflorus (Jacq.) A.DC.), and Huang Bai (HB; bark of Phellodendron amurense Rupr.) were identified as important CHMs. Among them, the strongest connection strength was identified between the HL and HQ. In the second CHM cluster, Suan-Zao-Ren-Tang (SZRT) and Ye Jiao Teng (YJT; stem of Polygonum multiflorum Thunb.) were identified as important CHMs with the strongest connection strength. CHMs may thus be effective in treating HIV/AIDS patients with neurological diseases, and future clinical trials are essential for the prevention of neurological dysfunction in the population.

Evaluation of the key ingredient from the main production areas of Phellodendri Amurensis Cortex using ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography‐quadrupole time‐of‐flight tandem mass spectrometry and ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled to triple‐quadrupole mass spectrometry

“…Up to now, phytochemical research has shown that PAC contains several kinds of chemical constituents, including alkaloids, flavonoids, phenolic acids, limonoids, etc [2,3]. PAC exhibits diverse biological activities, such as anti-inflammatory [4], antipyretic [2], antibacterial [5], antivirus [6], hypoglycemic [7], antioxidant [8], and anticancer actions [9]. Nowadays, it is widely used in clinical practice with other Chinese medicine compatibility [10,11].…”