Long Dan Xie Gan Formula Granule Promotes Pro-Inflammatory Cytokine Expression in Female Guinea Pigs with Recurrent Genital Herpes

Objective To explore the effects of Long Dan Xie Gan formula granule(LDXGFG)on regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines in female guinea pigs with recurrent genital herpes(herpes simplex virus 2,HSV-2).Methods Levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in blood of HSV-2-infected guinea pigs,including IL-6,IL-8,IL-10,IL-12,IFN-α,IFN-β,IFN-γ,and TNF-α,were detected by ELISA;corresponding gene expression levels in tissues were detected by real-time PCR.Results IL-6,IL-10,IL-12,IFN-α,IFN-γand TNF-αdecreased significantly in both blood and diseased tissues after infection with recurrent genital herpes.Upon feeding LDXGFG to HSV-2-infected guinea pigs,IL-6,IL-10,IL-12,IFN-α,IFN-γand TNF-αdemonstrated significant increases,similar to the effects of acyclovir(ACV).LDXGFG promoted the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in blood and tissue,with a stronger effect than ACV.Moreover,LDXGFG demonstrated broader effects than ACV.Conclusion The present results suggest that LDXGFG can serve as an alternative,inexpensive,and long-term treatment for HSV-2 infection.

Long-term effect of Chinese herbal medicine Tianqi Capsule on the incidence ofdiabetes： an 8-year cohort study protocol

Background： The rapid growth of type 2 diabetes mellitus （T2DM） remains a big challenge for clinicians worldwide.Traditional Chinese medicine may bring a new approach for solving this problem. The Tianqi Capsule DiabetesPrevention Study （REDUCES Study） reported that 1 years of therapy with Tianqi capsule reduced the risk of diabetes by32.1% compared with the placebo. Here we aimed to assess the long-term effect of Tianqi capsule on prevention ofT2DM in people with impaired glucose tolerance after discontinuation of active intervention. Methods/design： 420subjects will be followed-up for 8 years to assess the long-term effect of Tianqi capsule intervention. The causes of deathand the status of living subjects will be investigated. Follow-up data for living subjects will be collected by personalinterview and clinical examination and medical record review to determine diabetes status. Questionnaires will be givento all the subjects to investigate the factors that probably affect the diabetes status during the 8-year of discontinuation ofintervention. The primary outcome is the incidence of T2DM, and the secondary outcomes are body mass index, bloodglucose, blood lipids and blood pressure. The Cox proportional hazards model will be used to estimate the hazard ratiofor diabetes incidence. Analyses will be done with SAS 8.2 software package. Discussion： Results from this study mayprovide evidence for the long-term efficacy of Tianqi capsule in patients with prediabetes. The findings will provide abasis for further confirmatory studies. Ethics： The protocol has been approved by the Medical Ethics Committee ofGuang’anmen Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences （approval number 2016-046-KY-01）. Studyregistration number： ClinicalTrials.gov; NCT02848053.