Effect of instant moxibustion on the levels of prostaglandin and arginine vasopressin in the uterine tissues of dismenorrhea rats with cold-damp congealing and stagnation type

Objective To observe the effect of instant moxibustion on the levels of prostaglandin E_2（PGE_2）,prostaglandin F2α（PGE_（2α）） and arginine vasopressin（AVP） in the uterine tissues of dismenorrhea rats with cold-damp congealing and stagnation type and to explore its possible mechanism.Methods Female Wistar rats were randomly divided into blank group,model group,herble medicine group,pre-moxibustion group and instant moxibustion group,with 9 rats in each group.Cold-damp congealing and stagnation type primary dismenorrhea models were established by adopting（0±1）℃ ice waterextraction method combined with estradiol benzoate injection method.After modeling on the 8th day,in herble medicine group,Tongjingbao granules was given to the rats by intragastric administration.In pre-moxibustion group,mild moxibustion was carried out at ＂Shénquè＂（神阙 CV 8） and ＂Guānyuán＂（关元 CV 4） of the rats for 10 min at each acupoint.In instant moxibustion group,moxibustion as that in pre-moxibustion group was conducted for once after injection with oxytocin on the 11 th day.ELISA was adopted to detect the levels of PGE_2 and PGE_（2α） in the uterine tissues of rats,and radioimmunoassay was used for detection of AVP level in the uterine tissues of rats.Results Compared with the model group,the latent period of rats in herbal medicine group,premoxibustion group and instant moxibustion group obviously prolonged,the number of times of torsion reduced,and the total score of torsion decreased（P0.01）;compared with herbal medicine group,the latent period of rats in instant moxibustion group obviously prolonged,and the total score of torsion decreased（P0.05 or P0.01）;compared with pre-moxibustion group,the number of times of torsion of rats in instant moxibustion group reduced,and the total score of torsion decreased（P0.01）.Compared with blank group,the levels of PGE_（2α） and AVP and the ratio of PGE_（2α） and PGE_2 in the uterine tissues of rats in model group significantly increased（P0.01）,and the PGE_2 level significantly reduced（P0.01）;compared with model group,the PGE_（2α） level and the ratio of PGE_（2α） and PGE_2 in the uterine tissues of rats in herble medicine group,pre-moxibustion group and instant moxibustion group obviously reduced（P0.05 or P0.01）,the PGE_2 level obviously increased（P0.01）,and the AVP level in the uterine tissues of rats in pre-moxibustion group and instant moxibustion group obviously reduced（P0.05 or P0.01）;compared with herbal medicine group,the levels of PGE_（2α） and AVP and the ratio of PGE_（2α） and PGE_2 in the uterine tissues of rats in instant moxibustion group significantly reduced（P0.05 or P0.01）;compared with pre-moxibustion group,the PGE_（2α） level and the ratio of PGE_（2α） and PGE_2 in the uterine tissues of rats in instant moxibustion group obviously reduced（P0.05）,and the PGE_2 level obviously increased（P0.01）.Conclusion Both pre-moxibustion and instant moxibustion can obviously inhibit spasmodic uterine smooth muscle contraction of rats with dismenorrhea,regulate imbalanced levels of PGE_（2α） and PGE_2,reduce the AVP level,so as to improve the uterine hypoxia-ischemia,and play a role in alleviating pain.The efficacy of instant moxibustion was superior to that of pre-moxibustion.

Therapeutic effect of dog-day moxibustion on herbs in knee-joint osteoarthritis of yang deficiency and congealing cold type

Objective:To compare the therapeutic effect difference among dog-day moxibustion on herbs,ordinary moxibution and routine western medication in treating knee-joint osteoarthritis of yang deficiency and congealing cold type.Methods:A total of 90 patients with knee-joint osteoarthritis of yang deficiency and congealing cold type were divided into dog-day moxibustion group,ordinary moxibution group and western medication group according to the registration order,and there were 30 patients in each group.Among them,the patients in the dog-day moxibustion were given dog-day moxibustion on herbs method during the dog days of 2018(July 17 to August 25).Continuous treatment was applied on the first,second and third dog-day with 5 days for each dog-day,and once for a day,and there were totally 15 times of treatment.In the same period,the patients in the ordinary moxibustion group was treated with the pure moxa stick moxibustion,and the point selection and treatment course were the same as the dog-day moxibustion group.And in the same period,the patients in the western medication group were treated with routine western medication,and the patient took orally diclofenac sodium sustained-release capsules,with 100 mg each time,once a day.The Visual Analog Scale(VAS),Western Ontario and McMaster University Arthritis Index(WOMAC),life quality score and clinical efficacy for the knee joint of the three groups before and after treatment were observed.Results:After treatment,the effective rate of the dog-day moxibustion was 93.33%,the effective rate of the ordinary moxibustion group was 83.33%,and the effective rate of the western medication group was 53.33%.Compared with pre-treatment,the VAS scores and WOMAC scores of the patients with KOA in the three groups after treatment decreased,and the differences were statistically significant(all P<0.05).There were also statistically significant differences between the VAS score,total WOMAC score,pain score,joint stiffness score and joint function score of the three groups after treatment(all P<0.05).Conclusion:The effect of dog-day moxibustion on herbs in treating knee-joint osteoarthritis of yang deficiency and congealing cold type was significantly better than ordinary moxibustion and western medication,and it was worthy of clinical promotion.

Optimization of taste-masking on ibuprofen microspheres with selected structure features

The microsphere was a primary particulate system for taste-masking with unique structural features defined by production process. In this article, ibuprofen lipid microspheres of octadecanol and glycerin monostearate were prepared to mask the undesirable taste of ibuprofen via three kinds of spray congealing processes, namely, air-cooling, water-cooling and citric acid solution-cooling. The stereoscopic and internal structures of ibuprofen microspheres were quantitatively analyzed by synchrotron radiation X-ray micro-computed tomography(SR-μCT) to establish the relationship between the preparation process and microsphere architectures. It was found that the microstructure and morphology of the microspheres were significantly influenced by preparation processes as the primary factors to determine the release profiles and taste-masking effects. The sphericity of ibuprofen microspheres congealed in citric acid solution was higher than that of other two and its morphology was more regular than that being congealed in air or distilled water, and the contact angles between congealing media and melted ibuprofen in octadecanol and glycerin monostearate well demonstrated the structure differences among microspheres of three processes which controlled the release characteristics of the microspheres. The structure parameters like porosity, sphericity, and radius ratio from quantitative analysis were correlated well with drug release behaviors. The results demonstrated that the exterior morphology and internal structure of microspheres had considerable influences on the drug release behaviors as well as taste-masking effects.