Explore the rule and mechanism of psoriasis herbal treatment based on data mining and network pharmacology

Background:To mine the rules for psoriasis herbal treatment with the traditional Chinese medicine inheritance system V2.5 and explore the possible mechanism with network pharmacology.Methods:Collect oral administrations for psoriasis treatment in the national patent network in CNKI database;then enter them into the traditional Chinese medicine inheritance system V2.5 to do data mining using the methods of frequency analysis,association rules and entropy clustering of complex systems.KEGG pathway analysis was performed by BATMAN-TCM(an online analysis tool)and the potential signaling pathways of core drugs compatibility to treat psoriasis were revealed.Results:We screened out 349 prescriptions,involving 401 drugs,39 drugs with frequency of use≥30,and 52 commonly used drug pairs.Core compatibility herbs in clinical treatment of psoriasis,Shengdi(Radix rehmanniae),Mudanpi(Cortex moutan),Danggui(Radix angelicae sinensis)which potential signaling pathways were neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction,oxidative phosphorylation,adipocytokine signaling pathway and fatty acid degradation.Conclusion:In the national patent network,oral traditional prescriptions of traditional Chinese medicine show that the basic therapies are nourishing and activating blood,detoxification and cooling the blood and dispelling wind and arresting itching.Interventions in signaling pathways like neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction,oxidative phosphorylation,adipocytokine signaling pathway and fatty acid degradation might be the mechanism to achieve.

Is Sham Acupuncture as Effective as Traditional Chinese Acupuncture? It's too Early to Say

Many clinical trials and experimental studies claim that sham acupuncture is as effective as traditional Chinese acupuncture. However, these studies have no standard sham acupuncture control and many other factors can affect the clinical effect. These factors include needle retention time, treatment frequency, and the total number of treatments needed for satisfactory results, and all can change the clinical effect. The majority of existing acupuncture treatment studies do not consider these factors and lack standard dosage criteria. Therefore, it is still too early to conclude that sham acupuncture is as effective as traditional Chinese acupuncture. This article investigates the factors that influence the curative effect of acupuncture as to help set a standard for acupuncture studies in the future.