Effect of Traditional Chinese Medicine inImproving Hot Flashes Symptom ofBreast Cancer

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignant tumor in women. Around 50% of BC receptor-positive patients are hormone-dependent cases, and it is necessary for them to use endocrine after operation. Through inhibition of estrogen level

Effect of different therapies of Chinese medicine on the expressions of c-Fos and c-Jun proteins in hippocampus of rats with post-stroke depression

BACKGROUND ： c-fos and c-jun, the important immediate early genes （IEG）, are regarded as the markers for the location and function of neuronal activity, as well as the third signal messengers, they couple the stress stimulation and the gene expression in neuron, and hippocampus is involved in the process of signal transmission after stress stimulation induced depression. OBJECTIVE： To observe the therapeutic effects of Bushen Yiqi （tonifying kidney to benefit qi）, Huoxue Huayu （promoting blood circulation to dissipate blood stasis） and Ditan Kaiqiao （eliminating phlegm for resuscitation） on the expressions of c-Fos and c-Jun proteins in hippocampus and spontaneous behaviors of rats with post-stroke depression （PSD）, and compare the results with those of fluoxetine, which is known to have definite effect on depression. DESIGN： A randomized controlled tna SETTING ： Zhejiang College of Traditional Chinese Medicine MATERIALS ： The trial was completed in Zhejiang College of Traditional Chinese Medicine from January to July in 2003. Fifty-six healthy adult Wistar male rats of clean grade, weighing （250±50） g, were randomly divided into 7 groups with 8 rats in each group： control group, model group, forced swimming group, Bushen Yiqi group; Huoxue Huayu, Ditan Kaiqiao group and fluoxetine group. The Bushen Yiqi Tang contained Renshen, Huangqi, Heshouwu, Gouqi, Shudi, etc., crude drugs 1 800 g/L. The Huoxue Huayu Tang contained Danshen, Chuanxiong, Chishao, Yujin, etc., crude drugs 3 600 g/L. The Ditan Kaiqiao Tang contained Banxia, Danxing, Changpu, Yuanzhi, etc., crude drug 1 000 g/b METHODS： ① Except the control group and forced swimming group, rats in the other groups were made into PSD models by deligating the bilateral common carotid artedes permanently. ② Rats in the control group, model group and forced swimming group were intragastncally perfused by saline （3 mL for each time）; those in the Bushen Yiqi group, Huoxue Huayu, Ditan Kaiqiao group and fluoxetine group were intragastncally perfused with Bushen Yiqi Tang （18 g/kg）, Huoxue Huayu Tang （9 g/kg）, Ditan Kaiqiao Tang （9 g/kg） and fluoxetine （2.5 mg/kg） respectively, once a day. ③ At 55 days after model establishment, rats in the forced swimming group were managed according to the Porsolt＇s method. They were placed in water for 15 minutes, and then taken out and dned, no moving-time within 5 minutes was recorded at drying and 24 hours after drying. ④ Measurement of spontaneous behaviors： Except the forced swimming group, the spontaneous behaviors and activities （including horizontal and vertical movements） of rats were observed with the Open-Field method at 28, 42 and 56 days after administration in the other groups. ⑤ The expressions of c-Fos and coJun proteins in hippocampus were determined with the immunohistochemical method, the relative sectional area ratio and average objective gray value of c-Fos and c-Jun positive cells in hip- pocampus were measured with the computerized image analytical system. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： The spontaneous behaviors of rats, the relative sectional area ratio and average objective gray value of c-Fos and c-Jun positive cells in hippocampus were observed. RESULTS： Of the 56 rats, 1 died in the forced swimming group, and finally 55 rats were involved in the analysis of results. ① Results of spontaneous activities： At 28 days, the times of crossing movements were obviously fewer in the model group and fluoxetine group [（69.00±37.01）, （98.11 ±36.68） times/3 minutes] than in the control group [（128.44±16.85） times/3 minutes, P 〈 0.01, 0.05], but those in the Bushen Yiqi group, Huoxue Quyu group and Ditan Kaiqiao group had no obvious differences as compared with those in the control group （P 〉 0.05）. At 42 and 56 days, the times of crossing movements were obviously more in the Bushen Yiqi group, Huoxue Quyu group and Ditan Kaiqiao group [（106.44±31.24）, （117.20±23.95）, （134.80±28.18）, （136.36±40.95） times/3 minutes; （117.33±35.91）, （129.60 ±23.78）, （131.90 ±26.81）, （136.09±28.34） times/3 minutes] than in the model group [（64.00±17.51）, （72.86±20.68） times/3 minutes, P 〈 0.01]. The times of rearing movements had no obvious differences among the groups for the three times （P 〉 0.05）. ② The no moving-time within 5 minutes 24 hours after drying was obviously longer than that at drying in the forced swimming group. ③ The average objective gray values of c-Fos positive cells were not obviously different in the Bushen Yiqi group and Ditan Kaiqiao group from the control group （P 〉 0.05）, but lower in the model group than in the control group （69.84±9.82, 75.78±5.89, P 〈 0.01）, and higher in the forced swimming group than in the control group （85.97±10.99, P 〈 0.01）; all higher in the fluoxetine group, Bushen Yiqi group, Huoxue Quyu group and Ditan Kaiqiao group than in the model group （81.27±10.73, 74.04±8.34, 83.29±9.89, 70.14±4.92, P 〈 0.05-0.01）. The average objective gray values of c-Jun positive cells were obviously lower in the Bushen Yiqi group than in the control group （68.11 ±6.89, 79.58±5.86, P 〈 0.01）, but all higher in the other groups than in the control group （84.68±7.15, 81.34 ±8.36, 97.51±10.55, 85.68±9.25, 86.19±10.98, P 〈 0.05-0.01）; Those were obviously higher in the fluoxetine group, Huoxue Quyu group and Ditan Kaiqiao group than in the model group （P 〈 0.05-0.01 ）, lower in the Bushen Yiqi group than in the model group （P 〈 0.05）, all obviously lower in the Bushen Yiqi group, Huoxue Quyu group and Ditan Kaiqiao group than in the fluoxetine group （P 〈 0.01）. The relative sectional area ratios of c-Fos and c-Jun positive cells had no obvious differences among the groups （P 〉 0.05）. CONCLUSION ： The methods of Bushen Yiqi, Huoxue Quyu and Ditan Kaiqiao can effectively treat PSD in rats, and the results were equivalent with those of fluoxetine, the actions of the above-mentioned drugs may correlated with their regulation to c-Fos and c-Jun expressions in hippocampus. PSD animal models can be successfully established by both permanent deligation of bilateral common carotid arteries and forced swimming, and the models induced by the former has similar basic cerebrovascular lesions as human stroke in clinic.

A STUDY OF THE RADIOSENSITIVE EFFECTS ON MAMMARY CARCINOMA IN MICE BY CHINESE MEDICINE (SALVIA PLUS ASTRAGALUS) AND ASPIRIN

The effect of treatment with Chinese medicine including Salvia miltiorrhizan and Astragalus, and the nonsteroid anti-inflammatory drug aspirin alone or combining radiotherapy, was investigated in 6-8 week-old TA2 mice being inoculated mammary carcinoma. The date indicated the following conclusions: the tumor growth could be inhibited by aspirin alone (p<0.01) but Chinese medicine group was observed. Mice treated with radiotherapy together with medicine both Chinese medicine and aspirin, had a statistically significant tumor inhibiting (p<0.01) as compared to mice treated with radiotherapy alone. The function to prevent the normal tissues from radiation by these two medicine groups were observed simultaneously. In addition, blood-flow volume of microcirculation, immune function and lymphocyte micronucleus were examined, which were used to analyse potential mechanism of sensitizing enhancement for Chinese medicine and aspirin.

Investigation of paeonol-geniposide on acute alcoholic liver injury based on uniform design method

Objective:To explore the optimal ratio and compatibility effect of paeonol-geniposide combination on acute alcoholic liver injury by uniform design.Methods:Lieber-DeCarli alcoholic liquid feed was used to induce acute alcoholic liver injury in mice.Uniform design was used to select the best dosage combination of paeonol and geniposide,and the related indexes of liver injury and oxidative stress were detected by kit.Serum inflammatory factors were detected by ELISA,and the expressions of p38 MAPK,JNK and NF-κB P65 related proteins in liver were detected by Western-blot.Results:The regression equation suggested that paeonol:geniposide=220:20 was the best ratio of paeonol and geniposide to resist alcoholic liver injury.Compared with the model group,the liver injury indexes and oxidation products of the paeonol+geniposide group decreased significantly,the antioxidant activity of liver tissue increased significantly,and the expression levels of p-p38 MAPK,p-JNK and NF-κB P65 protein decreased significantly.Conclusion:The optimal dosage of paeonolgeniposide was effectively optimized by uniform design and pharmacodynamic analysis.The combination of the two drugs could reduce the alcoholic liver injury by reducing the oxidative stress injury and inflammatory response in the liver tissue of mice,and its effect might be related to the targeting of p38 MAPK/JNK/NF-κB channel.

Could We Use Clinical Benefit to Evaluate the Effects of Chinese Medicine on the Treatment of Cancer?

The patients, who cannot endure the chemotherapy anymore, or internal disease or present drug resistance, normally use CM for improving their physical conditions and inhibiting tumor. CM has got excellent reputation because of the effects. Nonetheless, few clinical articles of CM to treat cancer are published on major international journals up to now.

A Deliberation for Evaluating Clinical Effects in Chinese Medicine

Chinese medicine（CM） has several thousands of years of history and has made a great contribution to human health and disease prevention in the world.Since there are so many differences between CM and Western medicine （WM） on their theory and methods indisease diagnosis and treatment, how to evaluate the clinical effects exactly and correctly in clinical practice becomes one bottleneck problem in CM.

Tocolysis Effects of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Their Effective Components

Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)for anti-abortion is based on the theory of gynecology of TCM,which aims to prevent and treat abdominal pain during pregnancy,fetal leakage,uneasy fetal movement,and fetal atrophy.Because of the complexity of the ingredients of Chinese Materia Medica,and the imprecise intervention mechanism for tocolysis,further investigation about the effects of Chinese herbs and their components on tocolysis by utilizing advanced technologies is required to be made.All the information available about TCM and its effects on pregnant women and fetuses was collected via electronic search using Web of Science,PubMed,and CNKI,and a library search was performed to locate classic herbal medicine books.The active ingredients in TCM were screened with the help of Traditional chinese medicine systems pharmacology database and analysis platform(TCMSP).The keywords being used included herbal names,pharmacology,pregnancy,threatened abortion,and fetus.Modern pharmacological studies have shown that TCM mainly prevents threatened abortion by a direct effect on the pregnant woman’s immune system,sex hormones such as estrogen and progesterone,the uterus and the endometrium,and the decidual tissue such as the placenta.It may also address pregnancy complications due to advanced maternal age,infection,polycystic ovary syndrome,diabetes,and mental disorders caused by threat of a miscarriage.TCM protects against spontaneous miscarriage,but its mechanisms are largely unknown.This research applies scientific methods to characterize and examine the effective components of TCM and their application to lower the risk of abortion to the pregnant women and fetuses.

Some Reflections on the Evaluation of Clinical Effectiveness of Chinese Medicine in China

The randomized controlled trial （RCT） as applied to medicine started in the mid last century（1） and is now deemed as the most rigorous scientific method for evaluating the clinical effectiveness of medical interventions. The earliest RCTs in Chinese medicine （CM） appeared in the early 1980s. In the past 30 years, RCT was seen to have gradually infiltrated into and have been accepted reluctantly by CM.

Study on Effect of Chinese Herbal Medicine for Enhancing Therapeutic Efficacy on Refractory Drug Resistant Leukemia

The so-called multidrug resistance （MDR） of leukemic cells means the cross resistance of leukemic cells against multiple anti-tumor agents with different constitution and acting mechanism, which takes place simultaneous after resistance to a single contacted drug has been produced. Tumor cells with MDR would now show a low sensitivity to anti-tumor agents, making chemotherapy ineffective or of little effect. Moreover, MDR is one of the pathogenetic factors for inducing refractory leukemia.

Effect of Traditional Chinese Medicine Treatment on Levels of Blocking Antibody, β-hCG, Progesterone and Estradiol in Spontaneous Abortion

Objective: To explore the effect of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) on abnormalmaternal-fetal immune and endocrine in 24cases of threatened abortion (TA) and 68 cases of recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA).Methods: The levels of blocking effect (BE),antiidiotype antibody (AIA), cytotoxin antibody (CTA), β-human chorionic gonadotropin(β-hCG), progesterone (P), estradiol (E2)were measured in all 92 patients. Results: Incidence rates of the lack of BE, AIA and CTAin 92 cases were 60. 87%, 57. 61 % and 72.83% respectively. The lower levels of BE,AIA and CTA were elevated significantly (P< 0. 05 ～0. 01 ), and the serial levels β- hCG, P and E2 were markedly increasing (P< 0. 01 ) in all successful pregnant patients.The rate of the successful pregnancy of 92 cases was 89. 13 % (to TA 91. 67%, to RSA 88.24 % respectively). Conclusions: It suggeststhat the lack of blocking antibody (BA) andendocrine hormone deficiency may result inspontaneous abortion during early pregnancy.The therapeutic mechanism of those herbs intreating spontaneous abortion was associatedwith the growing levels of BA and hormone byregulating the maternal-fetal immunity and endocrine.

Placebo Effects and Research in Alternative and Conventional Medicine

Abstract The placebo effect is a very powerful and unpredictable aspect of any medical treatment. Assuch, it dramatically complicates efforts at convincingly demonstrating the effectiveness of specitic effects inmedicine, conventional or alternative. This review provides a tlieoretical overview of tlie placebo effect toassist researchers in designing trials, controlled or otliereise, so that more convincing demoiistrations of spe-cific effects can be achieved.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Takes Effect in Treating AIDS

SINCE the first case of AIDS was found in the United States in June 1981, AIDS patients and persons infected with HIV have reached 17.41 million in the world. Among the more than four million AIDS patients, over two million have died. Currently, China has 1,435 patients infected with HIV. AIDS is a serious threat to health and the development of social economy, especially to women and children. Since there is still no effective cure for AIDS the death rate of AIDS patients is nearly 100 percent, many countries are trying to find medicines to combat this disease. Chinese doctors and researchers have made some progress in treating AIDS with traditional Chinese medicine. After numerous selections

Long-Term Clinical Effect of Tangyiping Granules(糖异平颗粒)on Patients with Impaired Glucose Tolerance

Objective： To evaluate the long-term clinical effect of Tangyiping Granules（糖异平颗粒, TYP） on patients with impaired glucose tolerance（IGT） to achieve normal glucose tolerance（NGT） and hence preventing them from conversion to diabetes mellitus（DM）. Methods： In total, 127 participants with IGT were randomly assigned to the control（63 cases, 3 lost to follow-up） and treatment groups（64 cases, 4 lost to follow-up） according to the random number table. The control group received lifestyle intervention alone, while the patients in the treatment group took orally 10 g of TYP twice daily in addition to lifestyle intervention for 12 weeks. The rates of patients achieving NGT or experiencing conversion to DM as main outcome measure were observed at 3, 12, and 24 months after TYP treatment. The secondary outcome measures included fasting plasma glucose（FPG）, 2-h postprandial plasma glucose（2h PG）, glycosylated hemoglobin（Hb A1c）, fasting insulin（FINS）, 2-h insulin（2hI NS）, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance（HOMA-IR）, blood lipid and patients＇ complains of Chinese medicine（CM） symptoms before and after treatment. Results： A higher proportion of the treatment group achieved NGT compared with the control group after 3-, 12- and 24-month follow-up（75.00% vs. 43.33%, 58.33% vs. 35.00%, 46.67% vs. 26.67%, respectively, P〈0.05）. The IGT to DM conversion rate of the treatment group was significantly lower than that of the control group at the end of 24-month follow-up（16.67% vs. 31.67%, P〈0.05）. Before treatment, FPG, 2h PG, Hb A1 c, FINS, 2h INS, HOMA-IR, triglyceride（TG）, total cholesterol, low- and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels had no statistical difference between the two groups（P〉0.05）. After treatment, the 2hP G, HbA 1c, HOMA-IR, and TG levels of the treatment group decreased significantly compared with those of the control group（P〈0.05）. CM symptoms such as exhaustion, irritability, chest tightness and breathless, spontaneous sweating, constipation, and dark thick and greasy tongue were significantly improved in the treatment group as compared with the control group（P〈0.05）. No severe adverse events occurred. Conclusion： TYP administered at the IGT stage with a disciplined lifestyle delayed IGT developing into type 2 DM.

Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Bathing with Chinese Medicine Taohong Siwu Decoction(桃红四物汤) for Treatment of Diffuse Cutaneous Systemic Sclerosis:A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial

Objective：To examine the efficacy and safety of bathing therapy with Taohong Siwu Decoction（桃红四物汤,TSD） in the treatment of early-stage,mild-moderate diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis（dc SSc）.Methods：This randomized,placebo-controlled trial enrolled 148 men and women（18–60 years） with dc SSc（disease duration 12 months） and baseline modified Rodnan skin score（MRSS） 10.Patients were randomized into a TSD group（71 cases bathing with TSD plus oral prednisone） or control group（71 cases bathing with placebo plus oral prednisone）.Bathing（40 ℃,30 min） of the upper and lower limbs was carried out once daily for 12 consecutive weeks.The primary outcome measure was MRSS;secondary outcomes were Raynaud＇s phenomenon（RP） score,quality of life（QOL）,physician visual analogue scale（VAS）,patient VAS,percent predicted diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide（DLCO）,percent predicted forced vital capacity（FVC）,erythrocyte sedimentation rate（ESR）,C-reactive protein（CRP） level and overall treatment effect.Results：The final analysis included 135 patients（control group,68 cases;TSD group,67 cases）.Primary and secondary outcome measures after 2 weeks of treatment showed no improvement（versus baseline） in both groups,with no differences between groups.At 12 weeks,QOL,physician VAS,patient VAS,ESR and CRP were improved in both groups,but MRSS and RP score were improved only in the TSD group（all P〈0.05）.MRSS,RP score,QOL,physician VAS,patient VAS,ESR and CRP differed significantly between groups（all P〈0.05）.Meanwhile,the overall treatment effect was significantly higher in the TSD group than in the control group（P〈0.05）.Adverse events in the two groups were similar（P〉0.05）.Conclusions：Bathing with TSD plus oral prednisone achieves better outcomes than oral prednisone alone in patients with dcS Sc and is not associated with serious adverse events.

Application of Response Evaluation Criteria of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Solid Tumor in Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Objective：To evaluate the objectivity and comprehensiveness of Response Evaluation Criteria of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Solid Tumor（Draft,REC-TCM-ST） in application of Chinese medicine therapeutic effect in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer（NSCLC）.Methods：A retrospective clinical research was used in 104 NSCLC patients in stages of Ⅲ-Ⅳ,53 cases were in Chinese medicine（CM） group and 51 cases were in Western medicine（WM） group.The therapeutic effect of the two groups was evaluated with both REC-TCM-ST and Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumor（RECIST）.Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze the survival time.Kappa test method was used to test the consistency of the two kinds of evaluation results.Results：According to REC-TCM-ST,the effective rate on relieving tumor mass in the CM group was significantly lower than that in the WM group（P〈0.05）,but there was no significant difference in tumor-mass stable rate（P〉0.05）;the symptom of weakness in the CM group was improved significantly,indicating better therapeutic effect than that in the WM group（P〈0.01）.Karnofsky score in the CM group was significantly better than that in the WM group（P〈0.01）.In terms of survival conditions,the median survival time and the survival rate of 6 months,1 year and 2 years of the CM group were higher than the WM group.The total effective rate was 9.62%,and the total stable rate was 72.12%for 104 cases according to RECIST;while the total effective rate was 34.62%,and the total stable rate was 84.62%according to REC-TCM-ST,thus there were significant differences between the results of the two criteria（P〈0.01）,and there was also some consistency between them,but not satisfactory.Conclusions：REC-TCM-ST was used to evaluate the therapeutic effect of CM in the treatment of advanced NSCLC,which shows that its evaluation results can better reflect the advantages and disadvantages of CM,and the effectiveness of CM is more objective and comprehensive than RECIST,so REC-TCM-ST is worthy of further improvement and clinical expansion.

Research methods in complementary and alternative medicine： an integrative review

The scientific literature presents a modest amount ot evidence m the use or complementary ana al[erna- tire medicine （CAM）. On the other hand, in practice, relevant results are common. The debates among CAM practitioners about the quality and execution of scientific research are important, Therefore, the aim of this review is to gather, synthesize and describe the differentiated methodological models that encompass the complexity of therapeutic interventions. The process of bringing evidence-based medicine into clinical practice in CAM is essential for the growth and strengthening of complementary medicines worldwide.

Thoughts on Intervention in HIV/AIDS with Traditional Chinese Medicine

HIV/AIDS has become a worldwide pandemic and highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is the only generally recognized effective therapy at present. However, various unresolvable problems appear with the widespread use of HAART. Traditional Chinese Medicine shows good efficacy for intervention in HIV/AIDS and could become an effective treatment option.