Traditional Chinese herbal medicines have been used for treating various ailments since medicine be- gan.The belief that natural products are much safer than synthetic drugs has led to dramatic growth of herbal medi- cine usage.Like synthetic drugs,herbal preparations also have potential to cause adverse effects and drug interac- tions.In this paper,pharmacokinetic studies on herb- drug interactions are reviewed and discussed in order to promote usage of herbs rationally and safely.

OBJECTIVE:To establish a method for the content determination of zolpidem tartrate in microsamples of rat plas-ma. METHODS:Rats were given zolpidem tartrate solution 3 mg/kg intragastrically,and 0.2 ml blood sample were collected and isolated. 50 μl plasma was precipitated by methanol,and the supernatant was determined by HPLC-fluorescence combined with ex-ternal method. Agilent HC-C18 column was used with mobile phase consisted of 0.03 mol/L KH2PO4 solution(containing 0.2% tri-ethylamine)-methanol (33∶67,V/V) at flow rate of 1.0 ml/min. The excitation and emission wavelengths were 254 nm and 390 nm,respectively. The sample size was 20 μl. RESULTS:The linear ranges of zolpidem tartrate in plasma was 2-200 μg/L(r=0.999 7),and the limit of quantification was 2 μg/L. The method recoveries of zolpidem were (96.96 ± 1.35)%-(105.0 ± 5.36)%(RSD=2.20%-4.88%,n=5),and extraction recoveries were (79.72 ± 0.01)%-(80.77 ± 0.02)%(RSD=1.34%-3.90%,n=5). The intra-day and inter-day RSDs were 1.40%-5.10% and 3.22%-9.25%(n=5),respectively. CONCLUSIONS:The method is simple,sensitive and suitable for the content determination of zolpidem tartrate in microsamples of plasma.

This paper introduced the management of focus drugs in Ningbo, and evaluated the preliminary results by comparing the changes in terms of the income of these drugs before and after the measures taken. More measures should be taken by establishing a unified drug catalogue, strengthening the assessment, carrying prescription comment and periodic notification. The pharmacists can play a leading role in clinical rational drug use. These efforts can serve for scientific control of the unreasonable growth of medical expenses.

Objective: To observe the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) pretreatment on M1 polarization of alveolar macrophages (AMs) in rats with acute lung injury (ALI) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and to explore the potential protective mechanism of EA.Methods: Forty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a normal group, a model group, and three groups of EA pretreatment [including a Chize (LU5) group, a Zusanli (ST36) group and a Chize (LU5) plus Zusanli (ST36) group], with eight rats in each group. The model rats of ALI were established by instilling LPS [2 mg/(kg·bw)] into the trachea of rats for 3 h. The rats in each EA pretreatment group were pretreated with EA for 30 min per day at the corresponding bilateral acupoints 6 d before instilling LPS. Three hours after modeling, the pulmonary function of the rats was tested, and the lung tissue was taken to calculate the ratio of lung wet weight to dry weight (W/D). The pathological lung changes and the injury score were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining. The contents of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and myeloperoxidase (MPO) in rat's bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The mRNA and protein expression levels of M1 macrophage markers clusters of differentiation 86 (CD86), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and its signaling pathway factor Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4, and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) p65 in the alveoli were detected by fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot, respectively. Results: After being induced by LPS, the pulmonary function of the model rats showed that the forced expiratory volume in 0.1 s (FEV0.1), forced expiratory volume in 0.3 s (FEV0.3), and their respective ratios of FEV to forced vital capacity (FVC) (including FEV0.1/FVC and FEV0.3/FVC) were significantly decreased (P<0.01), while the W/D of lung tissue was increased (P<0.01). The score of lung injury was significantly higher (P<0.01). The contents of TNF-α, IL-1β, and MPO in the BALF and the mRNA and protein expression levels of CD86, iNOS, TLR4, and NF-κB p65 in the lung tissue were significantly increased (P<0.01). After EA pretreatment, the FEV0.1, FEV0.3, FEV0.1/FVC, and FEV0.3/FVC were significantly increased, the lung injury score decreased significantly, and the contents of TNF-α, IL-1β, and MPO in the BALF and the expression levels of CD86, iNOS, TLR4, and NF-κB p65 mRNAs and proteins in the alveoli decreased significantly (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Compared with the other two single acupoint groups, the contents of TNF-α, IL-1β, and MPO in the BALF and the expression levels of CD86, iNOS, TLR4, and NF-κB p65 mRNAs in the alveoli in the Chize (LU5) plus Zusanli (ST36) group were significantly lower (P<0.01). Conclusion: EA pretreatment at Chize (LU5) and Zusanli (ST36) can inhibit inflammation and reduce pulmonary injury in ALI rats induced by LPS. The effect of the combination of Chize (LU5) and Zusanli (ST36) is better than that of using these two acupoints separately, and its mechanism may be related to the inhibition of AMs' M1 polarization by down-regulation TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) can cause pulmonary vascular dysfunction, increase right ventricular afterload and lead to right ventricular failure,also known as acute cor pulmonale. Mechanical ventilation to maintain oxygenation and ventilation has a negative impact on right ventricular function,which may lead to lung-right ventricular interaction and aggravate the deterioration of right ventricu-lar failure,which may be one of the causes of right ventricular failure. Therefore,in the treatment of mechani-cal ventilation for ARDS,attention must be paid to the right ventricular function of patients.

Objective:To explore the application of microvascular flow imaging (MVFI) combined with high-frequency ultrasonography in children with haemophilic arthropathy A (HAA).Methods:Retrospective study.A total of 82 children diagnosed with HAA in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from October 2018 to October 2020 were recruited.The elbow, knee and ankle joints of each child were examined by high-frequency ultrasonography.The numbers of thickened synovial joints were recorded.Blood flow signals of the thickening of synovial joints was checked by the MVFI and power Doppler ultrasound (PDUS), respectively.Color flow signals were graded by the semi-quantitative scoring systems.The chi- square test and independent multi-group ordinal multi-category rank-sum test were used to compare the differences of MVFI and PDUS in the display of thickened synovial blood flow. Results:A total of 254 joints were involved in 82 children with HAA, including synovial hypertrophy in 188 joints, hydrops articuli in 146 joints, fibrotic septa in 66 joints, cartilage damage in 63 joints, haemosider indeposition in 45 joints, bone erosion in 25 joints, osteophytes in 15 joints and bone remodeling in 8 joints.Grade Ⅱ synovial thickened joints were the most common.The proportion of blood flow signals detected by PDUS in thickened synovial membranes was significantly higher than that detected MVFI (52.66% vs.70.21%, χ2=12.225, P<0.05). Numbers of grade 0 and Ⅰ joints with thickened synovial membranes detected by MVFI were less than those of PDUS, while the opposite result was obtained in detecting grade Ⅱ and Ⅲ joints ( H=21.158, P<0.05). Compared with PDUS, MVFI more sensitively visualized the blood flow of the thickened synovial membrane. Conclusions:MVFI can more prominently detect the thickened synovial blood flow in children with HAA.A combined application of MVFI and high-frequency ultrasonography contributes to the evaluation of children with HAA.