China has become one of the leading counties in the world to treat hepatic fibrosis with Chinese patent drugs.The therapeutic effect of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) should be evalvated from the aspects of short-term therapeutic effect,long-term therapeutic effect,and effect of relief of symptoms.This article introduces the results of our exploration of the application of liver stiffness measurement to evaluate therapeutic effect,five-year survival rate to assess]ong-term therapeutic effect,and a TCM syndrome scale to evaluate effect of relief of symptoms,suggesting that the Chinese patent drug Fuzheng Huayu capsules/tablets have a marked clinical effect in the treatment of hepatic fibrosis.It is recommended to use serological diagnostic models,conduct prospective studies with long-term follow-up,and analyze the samples and data accumulated over a long period of time,in order to perfect the methods for evaluating the outcome of hepatic fibrosis.

Objective To investigate the effect of DSG biologic information infrared liver disease therapy instrument(BILT liver disease therapy instrument)on liver microcirculations in mice.Methods Liver fibrosis was induced in 40 SPF mice which were randomized into 4 groups:without irradiation group,coht light irradiation group,infrared light irradiation group and BILT group(10 in each group).Twenty healthy mice were taken as the control.Liver blood flow of each group was observed by laser-Doppler flow instrument,and blood flow rate of liver microcirculation in each group was observed by intravital microscopy.Pathological examination and serum biochemistry were also performed.Results In fibrosis mice,the liver blood flow in average of BIUF group Was higher than that of without irradiation group(P=0.004),while comparing with without irradiation group there were no significant differences in liver blood flows of the cold light irradiation group and infrared light irradiation group(P=0.713 and 0.465).Red blood cell velocity of microvessels in average of the healthy group(without irradiation)wag higher than that in the without irradiation group offibrosis mice(P=0.001),and it in the BILT group(fibrosis mice)Was also higher than those in other groups of fibrosis mice(P=0.004,0.020 and 0.030).For fibrosis mice,the average AST in BILT group was lower than that in the without irradiation group(P=0.027),and the difference in hydroxyproline(Hyp)levels between the groups was not of statistical significance(P=0.433).Conclusion BILT liver disease therapy instrument can improve the liver microcir-culation,reduce AST level and improve liver pathological state in mouse with fibrosis.

Great progress has been made in the study of fatty liver with integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine in aspects of diagnosis, treatment and experimental study, etc. Most researches were designed to utilize diagnostic or model replicating method of western medicine to observe the effects or investigate the action mechanism of compound recipe, single Chinese herb or effective ingredients of Chinese herbs on fatty liver. According to the pathological mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), fatty liver is characterized by deficiency in nature and repletion in appearance, which involves three Zang viscera such as liver, spleen and kidney and manifests as spleen Qi deficiency, liver and kidney deficiency, phlegm and dampness heaping internally, and Qi stagnation and blood stasis. This facilitates us to use specific recipe or modified recipe to treat fatty liver from the points of integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine and combining syndrome differentiation with disease differentiation. With gratifying achievement, this kind of approach has been the mainstream of the research on fatty liver and many researchers have reached an agreement on this point domestically. Spleen Fortifying and Blood Invigorating Recipe (SFBVER in brief, invented by our institute) can significantly improve the B ultrasound outcome of the liver in patients with fatty liver, with significant difference in B ultrasound scoring between pre-and post-treatment. It can alleviate the patients' symptoms, improve or regain liver function, decrease waist/buttocks ratio and the content of triglyceride and cholesterol in blood. SFBVER is superior to Dongbao Gantai Recipe in general effective rate. Experimental study also reveals that SFBVER can alleviate CCl(4) induced liver cell fatty degeneration and the inflammatory cell infiltration in rats, decrease the activities of ALT and AST, lower the content of triglyceride in liver, recover SOD activity in liver to normal level. The overall efficacy of SFBVER is superior to that of Dongbao Gantai Recipe. Further correlated study should be focused on inventing new preparation of traditional Chinese medicine and investigating its action mechanism with the guiding of the theory of TCM and referring to the latest discovery in fatty liver research in modern medicine.

The paper reviewed and analyzed the literature in the past five years about the function of the cells and mediums in the liver, and the influence and mechanism of traditional Chinese drug therapy on experimental liver fibrosis. It reveals that the traditional Chinese drug therapy treats experimental liver fibrosis through lots of mechanisms. The author gives also some suggestions on the further research into liver fibrosis.

To observe the effects of Salviae miltiorrhizae and its component, salvianolic acid B (SA-B), on the microcirculation of liver in mice with portal hypertension induced by endothelin-1 (ET-1).

Autophagy ; Liver Cirrhosis ; physiopathology

To investigate the effects of salvianolic acid B (SA-B) on extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signal transduction pathway activated by transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) in rat hepatic stellate cells (HSCs).

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of salvianolic acid B (SA-B) on portal hypertension induced by endothelin-1 in rats. METHODS: Twenty-eight Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups: ET-1 group, ET-1+SA-B group, ET-1+ET(A)R blocker (BQ-123) group and ET-1+ET(B)R blocker (BQ-788) group. The rats of ET-1+SA-B group underwent intragastrical administration of salvianolic acid B for five days before ET-1 injection, while in three other groups' drinking water was given. In BQ-123 group or BQ-788 group, an intravenous injection of BQ-123 or BQ-788 via femoral vein was administered 30 minutes prior to ET-1 injection. Then changes of portal pressure, cervical artery pressure and heart rate were monitored continuously. RESULTS: After ET-1 injection, the portal pressure of all rats in the ET-1 group increased significantly, while slightly in groups that pretreated with SA-B, BQ-123 or BQ-788. CONCLUSION: SA-B can attenuate the elevated portal pressure induced by ET-1 with effect similar to ETR blocker.

Deficiency of Qi (healthy energy) and blood stasis are the basic pathological changes of hepatic fibrosis according to the theories of traditional Chinese medicine. Fuzheng Huayu Capsule, a compound Chinese herbal medicine for hepatic fibrosis, is produced in the light of this pathological mechanism. More than a decade of clinical studies and experimental researches show that this medicine has effects of protecting hepatic cells, relieving liver injury, and controlling the development of hepatic fibrosis. It has definite functional mechanisms on anti-hepatic fibrosis. It is a safe and effective medicine for hepatic fibrosis, and deserves to be well introduced to clinic.