Objective To analyze risk factors of northwest dryness syndrome (NDS) among the patients of metabolic syndrome in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.Methods Totally 321 cases of metabolic syndrome in Kashgar, Hami and Urumqi were collected to filter 15 variables to calculate OR value and 95% CI, and evaluated by single factor and multi-factor analysis by applying conditional Logistic regression analysis.Results Single factor conditional Logistic regression analysis showed that high fat diet, addiction to hot diet, salty diet, smoking history and hypertension were the risk factors of NDS. The OR values of them were 0.387, 0.071, 0.033, 2.614 and 0.440, respectively (P<0.05). Multi-factor conditional Logistic regression analysis showed that smoking history, alcohol drinking history, high fat diet and hypertension were all entered into regression model. The OR values of them were 3.945, 4.334, 0.370 and 2.142, respectively (P<0.01).Conclusion Patients of metabolic syndrome with a high fat, salty and hot diet are suggested to adjust their diet habit by adding sour food, giving up smoking and drinking, and controlling their blood pressure. It will be helpful for them to adapt local climate and living environment, and reduce the attack rate of NDS.

Objective To analyze the medication rules of Professor ZENG Bin-fang’s treatment for chronic hepatitis B (CHB); To provide references for clinic. Methods Research data came from patients with CHB in outpatient and hospitalization in Department of Hepatology, Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. In this study,data mining methods, such as complex network analysis and dot-mode mutual information, were utilized to conduct analysis on the syndromes, symptoms, treatment and medication of included patients, as well as the mutual relations. Results The study collected clinical data of 132 patients with CHB, who accepted 277 times of examination,and 277 prescriptions were included. High-frequency symptoms included:burnout and weakness, abdominal distension, hypochondriac pain, and lower limb edema; Common syndromes included:stagnation of liver qi and spleen deficiency, retention of damp-heat in the interior, liver and gallbladder damp-heat, liver qi stagnation, and qi-stagnation and blood stasis, etc., successively, including 126 times of examination and accounting for 45.5%of all cases. Common therapeutic methods involved in soothing liver and strengthening spleen, eliminating dampness and heat, nourishing liver and kidney, regulating vital energy and promoting blood flow and activating blood and activating spleen, successively. Dot-mode mutual information analysissyndrome-symptom relation:the differentiation point of stagnation of liver qi and spleen deficiency included burnout and weakness, thirst,dull pain of right lateral thorax, anorexia, and abdominal distension;syndrome-therapy relation:stagnation of liver qi and spleen deficiency contained the main therapeutic method of nourishing liver and strengthening spleen;syndrome-medicine relation: Bupleuri Radix, Codonopsis Radix, Scutellariae Radix, Angelicae Sinensis Radix, Paeoniae Radix Rubra,Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma Praeparata cum Melle, Pinellinae Rhizoma Praeparata, raw Rehmanniae Radix, and Cyperi Rhizome. Analysis of complex network analysis showed that the core formula for stagnation of liver qi and spleen deficiency was Xiaochaihu Decoction and Siwu Decoction. Conclusion The treatment thinking of Professor ZENG Bin-fang for CHB pays attention to entire concept, attaches importance to Zang-fu transmission, regards“nourishing liver, soothing liver and strengthening spleen”as the therapeutic principle, together with nourishing yin, softening and resolving hard mass, clearing heat-toxin and eliminating dampness.

Background: Conjugated equine estrogen (CEE) treatment, a hormone replacement therapy, is restricted for use in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women because of security issues. Consequently, traditional Chinese herbal medicine has become an alternative choice for the patients with contraindications to hormone replacement therapy. Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Kuntai Capsule and CEE in treating cognitive function disorder and mental symptoms of early postmenopausal women. Design, setting, participants and interventions: A total of 57 cases of early postmenopausal women from Outpatient Department of West China Women and Children's Hospital were included. The subjects were randomly divided into two groups: Kuntai group with 28 cases and CEE group with 29 cases. The patients in Kuntai group received 6 g Kuntai capsules three times a day. The patients in CEE group received CEE 0.3 mg and 0.6 mg alternately once a day (average dose of 0.45 mg/d). The patients with intact uterus in CEE group were treated with 2 mg medroxyprogesterone acetate daily. Main outcome measures: In one-year treatment course, the recognition function and mental symptoms of each patient were investigated by questionnaires of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Kupperman, and quality of life (QOL) every three months. Both intention-to-treat (ITT) and per-protocol set (PPS) analyses were done. Results: The MMSE, Kupperman index and QOL scores at each time point were improved as compared with those before treatment (P<0.05), however there were no statistical differences between the two groups (P>0.05). The MMSE scores showed a tendency to escalate while mental symptoms investigated by Kupperman index and QOL scale showed a downtrend. No severe adverse effects occurred in the study phase and no statistical difference in incidence of side effects between the two groups was found except for vaginal bleeding. The incidence rates of vaginal bleeding in CEE and Kuntai groups were 39.3% and 11.1% respectively (P=0.029). Conclusion: Both Kuntai Capsule and CEE may contribute to maintain the cognitive function and ameliorate mental symptoms of early postmenopausal women.

ObjectiveTo investigate the values of FibroTouch, FIB-4 index, and aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) in the diagnosis of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). MethodsA total of 148 patients with CHB who visited Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and underwent liver biopsy from September 2013 to May 2015 were enrolled and divided into groups according to fibrosis stage. All the patients underwent blood biochemical examination, routine blood tests, and FibroTouch measurement. Then FIB-4 and APRI were calculated, and liver stiffness was recorded. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to calculate the area under the ROC curve (AUC) and determine the cut-off value, sensitivity, and specificity. Chi-square test was used for comparison between two groups, and the Pearson rank correlation analysis was also performed. ResultsFibroTouch, APRI, and FIB-4 were well correlated with fibrosis stage (r=0.628, 0.486, and 0482, respectively, all P＜0.01). In the marked liver fibrosis (≥S2) group and liver cirrhosis (S4) group, FibroTouch had the best diagnostic performance, with AUCs of 0.84 and 0.93, respectively, followed by APRI, which had AUCs of 0.79 and 0.87, respectively; FIB-4 index had the worst diagnostic performance, with AUCs of 0.77 and 0.84, respectively. In patients with a fibrosis stage of ≥S2 or S4, FibroTouch had a better diagnostic value than APRI and FIB-4 (Z=21.589, P＜0.001; Z=18.896, P＜0.001; Z=11.192, P=0.001; Z=16.891, P＜0.001), and APRI had a better diagnostic value than FIB-4 (Z=46.918, P＜0.001; Z=35.334, P＜0.001). ConclusionFibroTouch can accurately evaluate the presence of liver fibrosis and fibrosis degree and help most patients avoid invasive liver biopsy.

Objective To assess the effect of safflowerGualou-Gancao decoction combined with pulsed radio frequency for the patients with herpes zoster.Methods A total of 60 patients with herpes zoster were randomly divided into 2 groups, 30 in each. Both groups were treated with safflowerGualou-Gancao decoction, and the treatment group added Pulsed radio frequency at 3rd day. Both groups were treated 13 days. the VAS scale was used to evaluate the outcome of pain.Results The recovery rate of the treatment group was 83.3%(25/30), and the control group was 43.3%(13/30). The difference between two groups was sifnificant (χ2=8.648,P=0.003). The VAS scores at 9th day (4.4 ± 0.2vs .6.4 ± 0.1,t=48.990) 13th day (1.9 ± 0.2vs. 3.6 ± 0.1,t=41.641) in the treatment group were significantly lower than the control group (P<0.01),Conclusions The safflowerGualou-Gancao decoction combined with Pulsed radio frequency could relieve the pain and improve the clinical effect on the patients with herpes zoster.

Objective    To evaluate the value of myocardial perfusion change before and after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in predicting postoperative major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). Methods    A total of 70 CABG patients who received CABG completed by the same operator from January to November 2017 were selected, including 45 males and 25 females with an average age of 64.83±9.09 years. The patients were divided into two groups according to whether the patients had MACE after 1 year of the surgery, including a non-MACE group (group A, n=60) and a MACE group (group B, n=10). The clinical data of patients were compared. Results    There were statistical difference in the myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) score in the group A before and after surgery (P<0.05), and there were statistically significant differences in the left ventricular size and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) value before and 1 year after surgery (P<0.001), but no statistically significant difference in the size of left atrium (P=0.075). There was no significant difference in the preoperative and postoperative MCE score, and preoperative and postoperative 1-year cardiac ultrasound score in the group B (P>0.05). Conclusion    The change of myocardial perfusion after CABG surgery is associated with postoperative MACE. The evaluation of myocardial perfusion before and after CABG surgery is of great significance for the prognosis evaluation of patients.

COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection severely threatens global health and economic development. No effective antiviral drug is currently available to treat COVID-19 and any other human coronavirus infections. We report herein that a macrolide antibiotic, carrimycin, potently inhibited the cytopathic effects (CPE) and reduced the levels of viral protein and RNA in multiple cell types infected by human coronavirus 229E, OC43, and SARS-CoV-2. Time-of-addition and pseudotype virus infection studies indicated that carrimycin inhibited one or multiple post-entry replication events of human coronavirus infection. In support of this notion, metabolic labelling studies showed that carrimycin significantly inhibited the synthesis of viral RNA. Our studies thus strongly suggest that carrimycin is an antiviral agent against a broad-spectrum of human coronaviruses and its therapeutic efficacy to COVID-19 is currently under clinical investigation.