The evaluation on clinical efficacy of traditional Tibetan medicine (TTM) is an important scientific subject during the development of TTM. Firstly, the authors introduced the current situations and problems in evaluation on clinical efficacy of traditional Tibetan medicine both at home and abroad in this study. Secondly, they compared the similarities and differences between TTM and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in evaluation on clinical efficacy, define their differences in details but not in nature, and proposed that TTM could selectively learn TCM's experiences in clinical research and build a specific methodology system for evaluation on clinical efficacy according to its own characteristics. Thirdly, they discussed the methodological challenges in evaluation on clinical efficacy of TTM, including the pending clinical research guidelines and disease diagnosis standards according to its own characteristics. Finally, they propound some suggestions for promoting the evaluation on clinical efficacy of TTM, including the comprehensive application of multiple research methods, overall research-based evaluation on efficacy of TTM complex intervention and selection of accepted and objective outcome indexes for efficacy evaluation.
Biomedical Research ; Clinical Trials as Topic ; Drug Evaluation ; methods ; standards ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Medicine, Tibetan Traditional ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To evaluate the effect of dental water jet on oral hygiene maintenance in orthodontic patients with fixed appliances. Methods One hundred and twenty orthodontic patients with fixed appliances were randomly assigned into the manual toothbrush group and the dental water jet group. Dental plaque was evaluated and compared before the bonding of orthodontic appliances, three months and six months after the treatment. Results There was no significant difference between two groups before treatment. But the dental water jet group was superior than the manual toothbrush group in dental plaque index 3 and 6 months after treatment. Conclusions Dental water jet can reduce dental plaque and im -prove the oral hygiene of patients with fixed appliances.

Diagnosis, Differential ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; Syndrome ; Vasodilator Agents ; therapeutic use

The eight heavy metals and two essential constitutes of safflowers planted in linzhi which lies in Southern Tibet were analyzed by ICP-MS and by HPLC respectively. Heavy metals of safflower in the region were at the lower level and the essential constitutes were at the higher level. The better quality of safflower here was assisted by the excellent climate in tibet.
Carthamus tinctorius ; chemistry ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Drug Contamination ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; analysis ; Flowers ; chemistry ; Metals, Heavy ; analysis ; Tibet

OBJECTIVETo assess an integrated method of operation + Chinese medicine + dexamethasone + vitamin E in treating varicocele.

METHODSNinety-six patients with varicocele were randomly divided into two groups, the experimental group (Group A, n=47) treated with the integrated method, the control group (Group B, n=49) treated with Chinese medicine, dexamethasone and vitamin E.

RESULTSAfter the treatment, the sperm density and motility and pregnancy rate were higher (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05) and the sperm deformity rate was lower in the experiment group than in the control (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe integrated method works better than either operation or Chinese medicine applied alone in the treatment of varicocele.

Adult ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Dexamethasone ; therapeutic use ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Infertility, Male ; etiology ; therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Rate ; Sperm Count ; Varicocele ; drug therapy ; surgery ; Vitamin E ; therapeutic use

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect of cluster of differentiation 14 (CD-14) and Toll like receptors (TLR) on the expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6) mRNA induced by Porphyromonas endodontalis (Pe) lipopolysaccharides (LPS).

METHODSMC3T3-E1 cells were treated with 10 mg/L Pe-LPS for different hours, and the cells uninvolved by anything as the blank group. The expression of IL-6 was detected by reverse transcription polymerse chain reaction (RT-PCR) and enzyme-liked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The expression of CD-14, TLR-2 and TLR-4 mRNA was observed at different time point (0 - 24 h) by RT-PCR. The protein of CD-14, TLR-2 and TLR-4 was analyzed with a flow cytometer. MC3T3-E1 cells were pretreated with anti-CD-14, anti-TLR-2 and anti-TLR-4 antibody for 1 h, and then cells were stimulated with 10 mg/L Pe-LPS for 6 h. The expression of IL-6 mRNA was examined by RT-PCR. Statistical analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA Dunnett-t test with SPSS 11.0 software package.

RESULTSThe IL-6 mRNA and proteins increased significantly after treatment with Pe-LPS. When MC3T3-E1 cells treated by Pe-LPS for 6 h, the expression of proteins soared from (11.696 ± 0.672) ng/L to (36.534 ± 0.574) ng/L (P < 0.01); In the control group, the CD-14 and TLR-4 mRNA are ambly-expression, and the ratios of CD-14 and TLR-4 positive cells were (39.038 ± 3.131)% and (11.438 ± 0.385)% respectively in MC3T3-E1. After treatment by Pe-LPS, the expression of CD-14 and TLR-4 mRNA increased significantly, and the ratios of CD-14 and TLR-4 positive cells markedly increased to (62.407 ± 1.800)% and (21.367 ± 2.271)%. TLR-2 expression did not change apparently after Pe-LPS treatment. The expression of IL-6 mRNA was partly inhibited by anti-CD-14 or anti-TLR-4 antibody, but not by TLR-2.

CONCLUSIONSPe-LPS can induce the expression of IL-6 in osteoblast MC3T3-E1 through CD-14 and TLR-4, but not TLR-2.

3T3 Cells ; Animals ; Antibodies ; immunology ; Interleukin-6 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Lipopolysaccharide Receptors ; genetics ; metabolism ; Lipopolysaccharides ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Mice ; Porphyromonas endodontalis ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Toll-Like Receptor 2 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Toll-Like Receptor 4 ; genetics ; metabolism

Objective To investigate the effect of meteorological factors on the number of outpatients with pulmonary heart disease in Liangzhou district of Gansu province. Methods We collected the daily meteorological data (temperature, air pressure, precipitation, sunshine hours, etc.) of Liangzhou district of Gansu province and the number of daily outpatients with the pulmonary heart disease from 2014 to 2016, and used the distribution lag model to analyze the impact relationship and hysteresis effect of the meteorological factors on the number of outpatients to pulmonary heart disease clinics. Results The total number of outpatients with pulmonary heart disease was 20 462 in Liangzhou district from 2014 to 2016, and the average number of outpatients per day was 18.67. The number of outpatients with pulmonary heart disease per day was positively correlated with temperature and sunshine hours, and negatively correlated with air pressure, relative humidity and precipitation. Among them, the average daily temperature had the most significant effect on the number of outpatients with pulmonary heart disease (r=0.133, P<0.001). At the highest daily average temperature, lagging 16 days,the relative risk coefficient (RR value) was the highest (1.26, 95% CI:1.13-1.40). For every 1 ℃ increase in temperature, the number of outpatients with pulmonary heart disease increased by 1.26 (95% CI: 1.13-1.40). There was no risk of morbidity at an extreme low temperature (-18 ℃), and the relative risk of the number of the pulmonary heart disease outpatients was the greatest at lag 0-15 at an extreme high temperatures (29 ℃). Conclusion Meteorological factor is an important factor affecting the number of outpatients with pulmonary heart disease in Liangzhou district. The risk of pulmonary heart disease will increase due to temperature changes, and the impact will occur immediately on the same day. The high temperature effect is short-lived and the relative risk is high, while the relative risk of low temperature to the number of outpatients is relatively low and the lag time is long.

Objective To study the effect of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) on the proliferation, cell cycle and apoptosis of SH-SY5Y cells, and the mRNA expression of AD related protiens. Methods Bovine serum albumin-AGEs (BSA-AGEs) were prepared by incubation of BSA with glucose in vitro. SH-SY5Y cells were incubated with different concentrations of BSA-AGEs. Cell proliferation was measured by MTT assay; cell cycle and apoptosis were determined by flow cytometry; mRNA levels of APLP1, IL-6 and HMGB-1 were determined by RT-PCR. Results After incubation with BSA-AGEs for 48 h, SH-SYSY cell proliferation was significantly inhibited and cell apoptosis was induced; the cells were found to be arrested at G1/G0; these effects were dose-dependent. RT-PCR results showed that mRNA levels of IL-6, APLP1 and HMGB-1 were significantly up-regulated. Conclusion BSA-AGEs inhibit the cell proliferation and induce the apoptosis of SH-SY5Y cells, and stimulate the expression of some pro-inflammatory cytokines, suggesting a possible important role of AGEs in pathogenesis and development of AD.

A novel inhibitor series for matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) were designed and synthesized. Using succinate and malonate as zinc binding groups and long hydrophobic substituents to bind with S1' pockets, the compounds showed micromolar inhibition and selectivity for MMP-2 over others. And we found a better activity compound. It is a chance to find a better precursor of MMP-2 inhibitors with activity and bioavailability by further optimization of compounds.
Drug Design ; Enzyme Inhibitors ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; Matrix Metalloproteinase Inhibitors ; Matrix Metalloproteinases ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; Molecular Structure ; Structure-Activity Relationship

OBJECTIVETo breed estrogen receptor beta (ERbeta) gene knock-out female mice for studying postmenopausal osteoporotic fracture.

METHODSThree pairs of ERbeta gene knock-out mice were bred for 3 months, and 14 2-month-old female wild-type C57BL/6J mice with the same genetic background were paired at the ratio of 2:1 and mated with the male ERbeta gene knock-out homozygote mice. After further breeding to obtain sufficient number of mice, the genome DNA was extracted from the tail of the mice for genotyping by PCR. Ten 4-month-old female filial mice with ERbeta gene knock-out and 10 wild-type female mice were randomly selected and sacrificed, and the right proximal tibiae were removed and subjected to micro CT for measuring the parameters of trabecular bone histomorphometry.

RESULTSA total of 340 filial generation mice were reproduced in 2 months and genotypic identification revealed a proportion of ERbeta+ or + mice of 23.5%, ERbeta+ or - mice of 48.27 percent; and homozygous mutant (ERbeta- or -) mice of 28.3% (in which 54 were female). The MicroCT data revealed that the micro-architecture of the proximal tibiae was significantly different between ERbeta gene knock-out mice selected from the filial generation and wild type mice (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONIt is feasible to breed ERbeta knock-out female mice by introducing female wild-type mice to pair and mate with ERbeta knock-out homozygote male mice. This approach allows breeding of sufficient number of female ERbeta knock-out mice as the animal models for studying the role of ERbeta.

Animals ; Breeding ; DNA ; analysis ; Estrogen Receptor beta ; genetics ; Female ; Gene Knockout Techniques ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Mice, Knockout