Rheumatic valvular heart disease treated with traditional Chinese medicine:A case report

BACKGROUND Rheumatic heart disease(RHD)is an autoimmune disease that leads to irreversible valve damage and heart failure.Surgery is an effective treatment;however,it is invasive and carries risks,restricting its broad application.Therefore,it is essential to find alternative nonsurgical treatments for RHD.CASE SUMMARY A 57-year-old woman was assessed with cardiac color Doppler ultrasound,left heart function tests,and tissue Doppler imaging evaluation at Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University.The results showed mild mitral valve stenosis with mild to moderate mitral and aortic regurgitation,confirming a diagnosis of rheumatic valve disease.After her symptoms became severe,with frequent ventricular tachycardia and supraventricular tachycardia>200 beats per minute,her physicians recommended surgery.During a 10-day preoperative waiting period,the patient asked to be treated with traditional Chinese medicine.After 1 week of this treatment,her symptoms improved significantly,including resolution of the ventricular tachycardia,and the surgery was postponed pending further follow-up.At 3-month follow-up,color Doppler ultrasound showed mild mitral valve stenosis with mild mitral and aortic regurgitation.Therefore,it was determined that no surgical treatment was required.CONCLUSION Traditional Chinese medicine treatment effectively relieves symptoms of RHD,particularly mitral valve stenosis and mitral and aortic regurgitation.

Mafic-ultramafic magma activity and copper-nickel sulfide metallogeny during Paleozoic in the Eastern Kunlun Orogenic Belt,Qinghai Province,China

The Eastern Kunlun Orogenic Belt(EKOB)has a complex geological structure and diverse magmatic activities,which are closely related to the Qaidam Basin and the Tethys tectonic evolution.There are at least 3 stages mafic-ultramafic rocks occurred in the Early Paleozoic in EKOB.The first stage is the Later-Silurian to Early Devonian,represented by the giant Xiarihamu super large magmatic Cu-Ni deposit,containing about 1.18 million metric tons(Mt)of nickel with average grades of 0.65%Ni,and its age of ore-forming pyroxene peridotite is 411 Ma;The second stage is the Early Carboniferous,represented by the large Shitoukengde magmatic Cu-Ni sulfide deposit,and its ore-forming age of the olivine websterite is 334 Ma;The third stage of mafic-ultramafic rocks occurred mainly during the Middle-Late Triassic,represented by Xiaojianshan,Lalinggaoli,and Kaimuqi complexes,and no economical ore bodies have been found in this period.The authors summarized the difference between the ore-bearing and the nonmineralized mafic-ultramafic rocks in the EKOB.The olivine of the ore-bearing complexes contains higher MgO and SiO2 content but lower FeO and CaO contents,and the clinopyroxene of ore-bearing complexes contains lower FeO and CaO contents.Crustal sulfur contamination is key to the formation of the giant Xiarihamu Ni deposit,and crustal sulfur contamination degree of the giant magmatic Ni deposit is higher than that of large Ni deposit.The above indicators could guide the exploration and evaluation of similar deposits in the EKOB.

Microstructure, sintering behavior and mechanical properties of SiC/MoSi_2 composites by spark plasma sintering

SiC/MoSi2 composites were synthesized at different temperatures by spark plasma sintering using Mo, Si and SiC powders as raw materials. The phase composition, microstructure and mechanical properties of the as-prepared composites were investigated and the sintering behavior was also discussed. Results show that SiC/MoSi2 composites are composed of MoSi2, SiC and trace amount of Mo4.8Si3C0.6 phase and exhibit a fine-grain texture. During the synthesis process, there was an evolution from solid phase sintering to liquid phase sintering. When sintered at 1600 °C, the SiC/MoSi2 composites present the most favorable mechanical properties, the Vickers hardness, bending strength and fracture toughness are 13.4 GPa, 674 MPa and 5.1 MPa·m^1/2, respectively, higher 44%, 171%, 82% than those of monolithic MoSi2. SiC can withstand the applied stress as hard phase and retard the rapid propagation of cracks as second phase, which are beneficial to the improved mechanical properties of Si C/MoSi2 composites.

The neuroprotective role of Panax notoginseng saponins in APP/PS1 transgenic mice through the modulation of cerebrovascular

Background:Panax notoginseng saponins(PNS)is extracted from Sanqi(Panax notoginseng),which is a valuable herb and has been widely used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of cerebrovascular diseases and pain.PNS has been proved to promote blood circulation and angiogenesis by inhibiting platelet aggregation.In our previous study,PNS accompanied with geniposide can prevent Alzheimer’s disease(AD).However,the efficacy of PNS and its potential mechanism in AD remain unclear.Methods:Amyloid precursor protein/presenilin-1(APP/PS1)transgenic(Tg)mice were used as AD-like animal models.Wild-type mice and APP/PS1 transgenic were administrated with saline solution while mice in PNS treatment group were administrated with PNS at a dosage of 17 mg/kg/day for three months.Morris water maze(MWM)was applied to evaluate the spatial learning and memory and step-down test was used to evaluate the cognitive function.1%Thioflavin-S staining was used to calculate the average number amyloid plaques in cortex and hippocampus.CD31 staining was detected to observe the density of cerebrovascular in hippocampus areas and CD105 staining was further detected to evaluate angiogenesis.Laser Doppler PeriFlux 5000 was further measured the change of cerebrovascular blood flow.ChemDraw was used to draw the molecular structures of five main ingredients of PNS.AlzPlatform were used to estimate the potential targets of PNS.Results:By a bench of behavioral tests,PNS showed a better tendency in proving cognitive functions.In addition,the amyloid plaques in both cortex and hippocampus were significantly reduced after PNS intervention(P<0.05 and P<0.001 respectively).Furthermore,the density of cerebrovascular in the hippocampus areas was increased under PNS administration(P<0.001),which accompanied with angiogenesis in dentate gyrus areas and cerebrovascular blood flow promotion(P<0.05).By AlzPlatform docking serve,we screened five major ingredients of PNS-R1,Rd,Rb1,Re and Rg1.These screening data suggested that vascular related proteins could be the one of potential targets of PNS,such as platelet activating factor receptor and vasopressin V1a receptor.Conclusion:By modulating cerebrovascular function,PNS can reduce the deposition of amyloid plaques and exhibit the role of neuroprotection in a preventive strategy.