Objectives To observe the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) treatment of different intensities on learning-memory function and expression of β-amyloid protein 1-40 (Aβ1-40) in hippocampus CA1 region in rats with vascular dementia (VD) and to seek the best intensity of EA treatment.Methods A total of 60 male SD rats (SPF grade) were enrolled.Eight rats were selected as sham operation group with random number table method;others were used to copy the VD model with the modified four-vessel occlusion (4-VO) method.According to the random number table method,the successful model of the rats (n=24) were completely randomly divided into a model group,a 1 am EA group (frequency,2/15 Hz,intensity,1 mA,needle retention time,20 min),and a 3 mA EA group (frequency,2/15 Hz,intensity,3 mA,needle retention time,20 min;n=8 in each group).DU20 (BaiHui) and DU14 (DaZhui) in the EA group were acupunctured once a day for 10 d,and took a rest for 2 d as 1 treatment course.After 2 treatment courses,Morris water maze test was used to detect the ability of learning and memory of rats in each group.Fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the expression level of Aβ1-40 mRNA.Results The mean escape latencies of the water maze test from 2 to 5 days in the sham operation group,model group,1 mA EA group,and 3 mA EA group were 46.8±1.9,40.6±2.3,24.6±1.5,19.4 ±1.2 s;56.3±3.5,51.2±2.6,45.9±2.1,40.8±1.4 s,52.7±1.5,46.0±2.3,31.3±1.2,27.7±1.6 s;and 50.8±3.9,41.5±2.1,29.0±1.1,25.6±1.3 s,respectively;the first time across the original platform were 23.3±1.6,53.9±1.3,30.2±1.4,and 28.1±0.8 s,respectively;the first across the original platform within 120 s were 9.4±0.9,2.6±0.5,6.4±0.7,and 7.2±0.9,respectively;the expression levels of Aβ 1-40 mRNAs in the CA1 regions were 17.3±1.1,40.7±1.1,24.0±1.7,and 22.4±1.8,respectively.There were significant differences among the groups (the F values were 195.88,861.605,103.876,and 380.609,respectively;all P<0.01).Compared with the model group,the mean escape latencies,the first time across the original platform were reduced significantly.Compared with the model group,the times across the original platform within 120 s were increased significantly.Compared with the model group,the gene expression level of Aβ 1-40 mRNA in the center of CA1 region was decreased significantly,and the 3 mA EA group was significantly superior to that of the 1 mA EA group.The difference was statistically significant (all P<0.05).Conclusion EA may improve the learning and memory ability in VD rats and lower the expression level of Aβ 1-40 mRNA in the CA1 region of hippocampus.Effect of 3 mA EA is better than that of the 1 mA EA.

A chronic refractory wound is caused by continuous skin damage. At the same time， it may be formed due to repeated infection， vascular insufficiency， diabetes， tumors， chronic osteomyelitis， and other reasons， resulting in wound repair interruption and recovery delay. Chronic refractory wound seriously affects the quality of life of patients and consumes a lot of medical resources. Polysaccharides in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） are the effective components of most TCM. Modern pharmacological studies have found that polysaccharides contained in TCM have anti-inflammatory， antioxidant， anti-radiation， hypoglycemic， antiviral， anti-tumor， hypolipidemic， and immunomodulatory effects. Through the summary and analysis of the literature， it was found that the mechanism of polysaccharides in TCM to promote chonic refractory wound repair was mainly realized from the following aspects： firstly， regulating inflammatory cytokines like interleukin-4 （IL-4）， interleukin-10 （IL-10）， interleukin-8 （IL-8）， and tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） or regulating macrophage-related inflammatory proteins and chemotactic proteins like MIP-2， MCP-1， to shorten the inflammatory period. Secondly， activating growth factors like platelet-derived growth fator （PDGF）， basic fibroblast growth factor （bFGF）， TGF-α， and vascular endothelial growth factor （VEGF） to recruit endothelial cells and fibroblasts into tissue proliferation. Thirdly， activationg VEGF and its downstream receptor vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 （VEGFR-1） and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 （VEGFR-2）-mediatated protein kinase C/extracellular regulated kinases （PKC/ERK） signaling pathway or promoting angiogenesie and improving wound blood flow through angiotensin （ANG）. Fourthly， promoting the ablility of collagen synthesis by enhancing the secretion of hydroxyproline and hyaluronic acid （HA） from fibroblasts （FB） and regulating relevant matrix metalloenzymes and their enzyme inhibitor to regulate the extracellular matrix. Fifthly， eliminating free radiccals to reduce the damage caused by oxidative stress to tissue. Sixthly， enhancing the phagocytic ability of macrophages， the activity of natural killer cells， and the proliferation of T cells to improve the defense ability of tissue. Polysaccharides in TCM can repair wounds in many ways at the same time. Its advantage lies in the multiple targets and multiple pathways. It is expected that the research will pay more attention to the mechanism of wound repair by polysaccharide components in TCM when improving the treatment of chronic refractory wounds.

Diabetic foot ulcer is a serious and destructive complication of diabetes， with the rates of disability and mortality increasing year by year， which poses a serious threat to human physical and mental health. In the treatment of diabetic foot ulcer with traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， the combination of syndrome differentiation and overall concept can not only alleviate TCM syndrome but also accelerate wound healing， reduce wound recurrence， delay the further deterioration of diabetic foot ulcer， and decrease the rates of disability and mortality. Modern studies have demonstrated that the difficult healing of diabetic foot ulcer is closely associated with the abnormal distribution of cytokines such as inflammatory cytokines， growth factors， and chemokines. With the deepening of modern medical research on TCM， the treatment of diabetic foot ulcer via regulation of cytokines by Chinese medicinal monomers and prescriptions has become a research focus. This paper summarizes the current research status at home and abroad and draws the following conclusions. ① Sesamol， geniposide， Danggui Buxuetang， and Zizhu ointment can regulate tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， interleukin （IL）-1， IL-6， IL-10 and other inflammatory cytokines to inhibit wound inflammation. ② Angelicae Dahuricae Radix， salvianolic acid B， Sixiao powder， Badu Shengji ointment （Zhuang medicine）， etc.， regulate vascular endothelial growth factor （VEGF）， platelet-derived growth factor （PDGF）， transforming growth factor （TGF）， epidermal growth factor （EGF） and other growth factors to promote collagen deposition and angiogenesis on wound surface. ③ Paeoniflorin， cryptanshinone， bee venom， and Huiyang Shengji decoction regulate CXC chemokine ligand （CXCL） 1， CXCL2， C-C chemokine ligand （CCL） 2， CCL3， stromal cell-derived factor-1α （SDF-1α）， monocyte chemoattract protein-1 （MCP-1） and other chemokines to reduce inflammatory response and promote neovascularization and wound granulation tissue formation. ④ In the treatment of diabetic foot ulcer， Chinese medicinal monomers and prescriptions have different and complicated mechanisms. The multi-target treatment manner determines that Chinese medicines can act on a variety of cytokines to participate in various stages of wound healing and thus play a therapeutic role. The conclusion above aims to provide ideas for the experimental research and clinical treatment of diabetic foot ulcer with TCM in the future.