Fifty-six Cases of Stubborn Eczema Treated by Oral Administration and Topical Application of Herbal Medicine

Eczema is a kind of very common dermatopathy. The cases with a long course of illness and hard to be cured are termed as stubborn eczema. We have obtained good results in its treatment since 1995 with the Chu Shi Tang (除湿汤Dampness-Clearing Decoction) for oral intake and the Fu Fang Ku Shen Xi Ye (复方苦参洗液) for topical application. The following is a clinical report for treating 56 patients with stubborn eczema.

Dexamethasone does not affect endolymphatic hydrops(EH)in patients with Meniere's disease within 24 h,and intratympanic administration of gadolinium plus dexamethasone simplifies high-quality imaging of EH using a novel protocol of 7 min

Background:Intratympanic administration of gadolinium chelate allows for a better visualization of endolymphatic hydrops(EH)using MRI than intravenous injection and was recently further improved to facilitate high-quality imaging of EH in 7 min.The aim of the present study was to simplify the intratympanic administration protocol by mixing gadolinium chelate with therapeutic dexamethasone and to evaluate the effects of this mixture on the visualization of EH in MRI.Materials and methods:In an in vitro study,the potential impact of gadolinium-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid(Gd-DTPA)on the stability of dexamethasone was evaluated by analyzing dynamic changes in dexamethasone with high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC)after mixing with GdDTPA.Ten patients with definite Meniere's disease(MD)were recruited to study the potential interference of dexamethasone on MRI visualization of EH,and 49 patients with MD were recruited to evaluate the effect of intratympanic injection of Gd-DTPA mixed with dexamethasone on MRI of EH using a 3T MR machine and a novel heavily T2-weighted 3-dimensional fluid-attenuated inversion recovery reconstructed using a magnitude plus zero-filled interpolation(hT2FLAIR-MZFI)sequence.Results:The retention times and peak area of dexamethasone in HPLC were not modified by the addition of Gd-DTPA.EH grading in the cochlea and vestibule was not influenced in any ear by intratympanic injection of dexamethasone.Excellent inner ear images were obtained from all patients,and EHs with various grades were displayed.There were significant correlations between diagnosis and cochlear EH(p<0.01,Spearman's Rho),between diagnosis and vestibular EH(p<0.01,Spearman's Rho),and between cochlear and vestibular EH(p<0.01,Spearman's Rho).The distribution of Gd-DTPA plus dexamethasone negatively correlated with the grade of vestibular EH.Injury of the endolymph-perilymph barrier was detected in one cochlea and three vestibules of 59 inner ears with MD.Conclusions:Intratympanic administration of Gd-DTPA plus dexamethasone yielded high-quality MRI images of EH in patients with MD using a novel 7-min protocol and simplified the clinical application.Intratympanic administration of Gd-DTPA plus dexamethasone might be used to test its therapeutic effect in future work.

Topically administered bevacizumab had longer standing anti-angiogenic effect than subconjunctivally injected bevacizumab in rat corneal neovacularization

AIMTo compare the effect of topically administered and subconjunctivally injected bevacizumab on experimental corneal neovascularization in rats for two weeks after treatment.

Emerging treatments for complex perianal fistula in Crohn's disease

Complex perianal fistulas have a negative impact on the quality of life of sufferers and should be treated.Correct diagnosis,characterization and classification of the fistulas are essential to optimize treatment.Nevertheless, in the case of patients whose fistulas are associated with Crohn's disease,complete closure is particularly difficult to achieve.Systemic medical treatments(antibiotics, thiopurines and other immunomodulatory agents,and, more recently,anti-tumor necrosis factor-αagents such as infliximab)have been tried with varying degrees of success.Combined medical(including infliximab)and less aggressive surgical therapy(drainage and seton placement)offer the best outcomes in complex Crohn's fistulas while more aggressive surgical procedures such as fistulotomy or fistulectomy may increase the risk of incontinence.This review will focus on emerging novel treatments for perianal disease in Crohn's patients. These include locally applied infliximab or tacrolimus, fistula plugs,instillation of fibrin glue and the use of adult expanded adipose-derived stem cell injection.More welldesigned controlled studies are required to confirm the effectiveness of these emerging treatments.

Effects of glycyrrhetinic acid on collagen metabolism of hepatic stellate cells at different stages of liver fibrosis in rats

INTRODUCTIONLiver fibrosis is a dynamic course leading tocirrhosis from a various chronic liver diseases. Thepathological basis of fibrosis is the disturbance ofproduction and degradation of the extracellularmatrix (ECM), which causes accumulation of ECMin the liver[1,2].

Clinical Application of the Point Yongquan

Yongquan (KI 1) is a jing (well) point of the Kidney Meridian of Foot-Shaoyin. As this point is widely used for treatment of acute or chronic diseases, it has drawn attentions from physicians both in the ancient and in the present times. If this point is taken accurately and the differentiation of disease is made properly, both the needling and the external drug application can achieve satisfactory therapeutic results.

Fifty-Six Cases of Acne Treated by Auricular Needle-Embedding

Acne is an inflammatory disease often affecting the boys and girls at the pubescent age, with a tendency of affecting the females aged 30-45 years. We have treated 56 cases of acne by auricular needle-embedding with satisfactory therapeutic results as reported in the following.……

311 CASES OF CHRONIC OSTEOMYELITIS TREATED BY SOAKING WITH GANLINGSAN LIQUID

From 1992 to 1995, 311 cases of chronic osteomyelitis (including 145 cases of hematogenic osteomyelitis, 147 cases of traumatic osteomyelitis, 8 cases of secondary osteomyelitis after local infection, 4 cases due to other causes, and 7 cases with cause unknown) were treated by soaking with Ganlingsan liquid. The average treatment course was 69.5 days. The results showed that 260 cases were cured, 26 cases markedly effective, 20 cases improved, and 5 cases ineffective. The evaluation of the function revealed that 150 cases were excellent, 129 cases good, 10 cases improved, and 22 cases poor. 111 patients recovered from abnormal erythrocyte sedimentation rate. External fixation was applied at the same time for the patients accompanied by nonunion of fracture, and the therapeutic effect was also satisfactory.

228 CASES OF PAINFUL SWELLING OF THE YANG-HEAT TYPE TREATED BY COMPRESS WITH XIAO ZHONG SAN

Painful swelling of the yang-heat type can be seen in many kinds of yang-heat syndromes of surgery, gynecology and pediatrics, and in some complications of internal medicine. Since 1987, we have successfully treated 228 cases of different painful swelling syndromes of the yang-heat type by compress with Xiao Zhong San (消肿散), which was developed through repeated scanning on the basis of an ancient prescription of Tiao Wei Cheng Qi Tang (调胃承气汤) described in Treatise on Febrile Diseases written by Zhang Zhongjing. This is reported as follows.

Healing of chronic cutaneous wounds by topical treatment with basic fibroblast growth factor

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of topical application of recombinant bovine basic fibroblast growth factor (rbFGF) on the healing of chronic cutaneous wounds. METHODS: Twenty-eight patients with thirty-three chronic cutaneous wounds resulting from trauma, diabetes mellitus, pressure sore and radiation injuries were enrolled in this prospective, open-label crossover trial. Prior to treatment with rbFGF, all wounds failed to heal with conventional therapies within 4 weeks. All wounds were locally treated with rbFGF at a dose of 150 AU/cm(2). Healing time and the quality of wounds were used to evaluate the efficacy of the treatment. RESULTS: Healing of all chronic wounds was expedited. During the study, eighteen wounds completely healed within 2 weeks, four healed within 3 weeks, and another eight completely healed within 4 weeks. Only three wounds failed to heal within 4 weeks, but healed at 30, 40 and 42 days after treatment with rbFGF. Thus, compared with conventional therapies, the effective rate of rbFGF treatment within 4 weeks was 90.9%. Histological assessment showed more abundant capillary sprouts or tubes and that fibroblasts were differentiated in wounds treated with rbFGF. No adverse side effects related to basic fibroblast growth factor were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that rbFGF could be used to accelerate healing in chronic wounds. It is our belief that this may be a more effective method of chronic wound management.

Local sustained release of PD-1 monoclonal antibody and lenvatinib by thermo-sensitive hydrogel for improving tumor immunotherapy

In clinic,the combination of intravenous pembrolizumab(PD-1 monoclonal antibody)with oral Lenvatinib(LEN)exhibited an enhanced synergistic benefit for cancer therapy.However,the clinical outcomes were always limited by the problems of inconsistent pharmacokinetic profiles of two drugs,lower drug accumulation in tumor and obvious side effects during the combination therapy.Here,in situ-forming thermosensitive hydrogels based on PLGA-PEG-PLGA triblock copolymers were prepared for local administration of anti-PD1 and LEN(P&L@Gel)to improve therapeutic efficacy and safety.After peritumoral or surgical resection site injection,the significant increased concentrations of both drugs in tumor were observed with the local sustained release of P&L@Gel.In comparison with the group of intraperitoneal anti-PD1 plus oral LEN(P-ip&L-po),significantly higher tumor inhibition efficiency on CT26 tumor models could be obtained in P&L@Gel group,even at the dose of one-eighth of the former,same tumorinhibition effects could be achieved.The enhanced antitumor efficacy of P&L@Gel group was probably associated with the 2.2 folds of increased level of CD8+T cells and the polarization of tumor associated macrophage from M2 to M1 along with the increased drug accumulation.Moreover,compared with the obvious side effects of P-ip&L-po group,no significant changes of PLT,ALT and UA in blood,as well as IL-1αand IL-1βin mice paws were observed between P&L@Gel group and untreated group.These results suggested that local administration of anti-PD1 and LEN with thermosensitive hydrogel could offer a potential strategy for tumors or tumor postoperative adjuvant treatment.

Delivery strategies of amphotericin B for invasive fungal infections

Invasive fungal infections(IFIs)represent a growing public concern for clinicians to manage in many medical settings,with substantial associated morbidities and mortalities.Among many current therapeutic options for the treatment of IFIs,amphotericin B(AmB)is the most frequently used drug.AmB is considered as a first-line drug in the clinic that has strong antifungal activity and less resistance.In this review,we summarized the most promising research efforts on nanocarriers for AmB delivery and highlighted their efficacy and safety for treating IFIs.We have also discussed the mechanism of actions of AmB,rationale for treating IFIs,and recent advances in formulating AmB for clinical use.Finally,this review discusses some practical considerations and provides recommendations for future studies in applying AmB for combating IFIs.

Permeation into but not across the cornea:Bioimaging of intact nanoemulsions and nanosuspensions using aggregation-caused quenching probes

Nanoemulsions(NEs) and nanosuspensions(NSs) show great potential in enhancing the ocular bioavailability of therapeutics through topical delivery. However, transocular fate of intact NEs and NSs is still inconclusive. In this study, an aggregation-caused quenching fluorescent probe is used to track precorneal retention and transocular transportation of intact NEs and NSs, while coumarin 6 is used to mimick the cargo. NEs show superior precorneal retention to NSs. Both the two types of nanocarriers can permeate into but not across the cornea. The smaller NEs(100 nm) permeate better into the cornea than the bigger ones(210 nm). Nanocarriers in the cornea serves as depots. The released cargo molecules can penetrate across the cornea and diffuse into the lens. Moreover, the conjunctiva-scleral route may be potential to deliver drugs to the back of the eye, In conclusion, the study provides useful tools and information in the field of transocular transportation of nanoparticles.