Clinical observation of kidney-qi deficiency syndrome patients with hypertension by Bushenjiangya decoction

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical efficacy of Bushenjiangya(reinforcing kidney and lowering blood pressure) decoction in curing hypertension of kidney Qi deficiency type. METHODS: First 60 patients with hypertension of kidney Qi deficiency type were divided into control group and treatment group randomly; the conventional western medicine was given to patients of the control group for antihypertensive therapy, while the traditional Chinese medicine Bushenjiangya decoction was added for patients in the treatment group based on the therapy for those in control group; after 2 months, the blood pressure, clinical efficacy and urine microalbumin changes of patients in the two groups before and after the treatment were observed. RESULTS: a. The systolic pressure of patients in the two groups was all reduced obviously(P<0.05); b. The total effective rate of experiment group in antihypertensive effect was 76.7%, while that of control group was 83.3%(P>0.05); c. The total effective rate of experiment group in TCM syndrome effect was 86.7%, while that of control group was 63.3%, showing that the effect of experiment group was better than that of control group(P<0.05); d. The 24 h urine microalbumin reduction of experiment group was better than that of control group(P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The curative effect of Bushenjiangya decoction in combination with the western medicine is better than that of simple western medicine for hypertension of kidney Qi deficiency type, and also the urine microalbumin can be obviously reduced to protect the kidney function.

Efficacy and advantages of modified Traditional Chinese Medicine treatments based on"kidney reinforcing"for chronic aplastic ane-mia:a randomized controlled clinical trial

OBJECTIVE:To compare the efficacy of modified treatments based on "kidney reinforcing" in the management of chronic aplastic anemia(CAA),and explore their advantages and specialties.METHODS:One hundred and eleven patients with CAA were randomly divided into three groups:kidney reinforcing alone(KA),"kidney reinforcing and Qi tonifying"(KQ),and "kidney reinforcing and blood circulation invigorating"(KC).Normal and positive control groups were also formed.All patients were treated for 6 months(two courses).Hemograms,Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM) syndrome scores,and therapeutic effects were assessed,and changes in T-lymphocyte subsets,regulatory T cells and cytokines were detected.RESULTS:The KQ and KC groups had lower TCM syndrome scores than the positive control group after 6 months(P < 0.05).The KQ group had a higher overall efficacy than the positive control group after 3 months(P < 0.05),while platelet counts increased in the KC group after 6 months(P < 0.05).CD3+ T-lymphocyte ratios decreased only in the KQ group,while CD3 + CD4 + CD8-Tlymphocytes increased only in the KC group after 6 months(P <0.05).Levels of interferon-γ,tumor necrosis fac-tor-α,interleukin(IL)-2 and IL-6 decreased and levels of IL-4 and IL-10 increased in all treated groups after 6 months.Levels of IL-6 in the KQ and KC groups were lower than those in the positive control group(P < 0.05).CONCLUSION:Treatments based on kidney reinforcing have a rebalancing effect on cytotoxic and T helper cells,and regulate expression of interferon-γ,IL-2,IL-6 and IL-4.KQ may be more effective in treating CAA,and KC may have an advantage in platelet recovery.

Brain neural effects of the ’tonifying kidney and benefiting marrow’ method in the treatment of osteoporosis

In Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM),the'tonifying kidney and benefiting marrow'(TKBM)method is based on the theory that kidney controls bones,while marrow moistens bones.There have been aboundant theoretical studies on kidney controlling bones since Huangdi's Internal Classics.Howev-er,there are too few ones about the marrow moistening the bones.Researchers generally use the tonifying kidney method instead of the TKBM method,which causes lack of a unified standard and theoretical basis in evaluating the TKBM method.Herein,we first proposed the hypothesis that deficiency of marrow sea causes osteoporosis.Next,we prove the scientific validity of this hypothesis from the side of the TCM theory on the relationship among kidney,bone and marrow sea physiologically and pathologically.Based on this,we find that the TCM theory provides theoretical basis for deficiency of marrow sea causing osteoporosis.On the other side,Western Medicine theory holds that(a)physiologically,the brain regulates the bone mass via three pathways:the neuro-osteogenic network,neuro-endocrine-bone network,and neuropeptide-bone network;(b)pathologically,brain impacts bone mass via three major passways including the regulation of the sympathetic nervous system,secreting hormones that directly act on bone cells and regulating the synthesis and secretion of hormones in the intermediary organs,and neuropeptides such as neuropeptide Y(NPY),substance P(SP),and calcitonin gene-related peptide(CGRP).Evidences involving estrogen deficiency,sympatheticotonia,or neuropeptides imbalance prove that brain-bone mass regulation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis.Finally,we find that kidney invigoration method can change the concentrations of central neurotransmitters of norepinephrine and glutamate to regulate neuro-osteogenic network,and promote the recovery of ovarian function and have an estrogen-like effect by regulating the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian axis,which thus influences bone metabolism without clinically significant estro-gen-like side effects,and regulate NPY,CGRP and SP involved in the bone metabolism.These further support our hypothesis by revealing the brain neural mechanism of the TCM kidney invigoration method for preventing and treating osteoporosis.In the future,neuroimaging techniques may be useful in exploring its neural effects and also aid in developing new strategies for treating osteoporosis.

Tonifying kidney therapy for stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a systematic review

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of tonifying kidney therapy(Bushen, TK) for stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD).METHODS: Randomized controlled trials(RCTs) of TK use for treatment of stable COPD were searched in four databases including Pub Med, the Cochrane Library, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database,and China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database from inception to December 2017. Two reviewers independently screened the literature, extracted the data, and assessed the risk of bias in the included studies. Rev Man 5.3 software was used for the Meta-analysis.RESULTS: Eight RCTs involving 809 patients with stable COPD were included. Compared with the conventional Western Medicine(CWM) group, the TK group(TK combined with CWM) showed significant improvements in the effectiveness rates(RR =1.37, 95% CI 1.22 to 1.53, P < 0.000 01) and 6-min walk distance in meters(MD 11.92, 95% CI 3.52 to20.32, P = 0.005), this study also showed that the TK group can decrease The Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome Score(MD-8.01, 95% CI-12.89 to-3.13, P = 0.001). The lung function [forced expiratory volume in one second%(FEV1%), FEV1/forced vital capacity] showed no difference between the TK and control groups.CONCLUSION: For patients with stable COPD, TK can improve the clinical effectiveness and exercise capacity but fail to improve the patient's symptoms. Because of the low methodological quality of the included trials, additional high-quality and large-scale RCTs are required.