Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of acupoint application with Xiong Bi Tie in treating unstable angina pectoris. Method Sixty eligible subjects with unstable angina pectoris were randomized into a control group (treated with basic Western medication) and a treatment group (intervened by the basic Western medication plus acupoint application with Xiong Bi Tie), 30 cases in each group. The symptoms of unstable angina pectoris, syndromes and signs of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), and cardiogram were recorded, and the clinical efficacies were also observed. Result In comparing the improvement of angina pectoris, the treatment group was better than the control group, with a statistical significance (P<0.05). From the perspective of TCM syndromes and signs, the efficacy of the treatment group was significantly better than that of the control group (P<0.05). Regarding the cardiogram, the total effective rate was 76.7% in the treatment group versus 50.0% in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion Acupoint application with Xiong Bi Tie can significantly improve the angina symptoms and cardiogram result of unstable angina pectoris (blood stagnation caused by qi deficiency syndrome), and it’s safe and easy-to-operate.

AIM:To observe the effect of arsenic trioxide (ATO) on bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats. METHODS:Pulmonary fibrosis was induced in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats by intratracheal instillation of bleomycin (BLM). The rats in ATO treatment group,steroid treatment group and model group were intraperitoneally injected with ATO,dexamethasone or normal saline (NS),respectively,while the control rats received NS both intratracheally and intraperitoneally. The effects of ATO were evaluated by analyzing the median survival time,hydroxyproline level in the lung,semiquantitative grading of alveolitis and pulmonary fibrosis,and quantitative analysis of the collagen in lung tissue (Masson's trichrome staining). Apoptosis index (AI) of the lung was detected by using the terminal transferase dUTP-digoxygenin nick endlabeling (TUNEL) method. The results of immunohistochemical staining for some cytokines were quantitatively analyzed. RESULTS:ATO (1) prolonged the median survival time of rats with BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis at some extent; (2) attenuated the alveolitis and pulmonary fibrosis,reduced hydroxyproline level and collagen deposition in the lung tissue; (3) increased the AI of lung tissue at a certain phase; and decreased the levels of transforming growth factor-?1(TGF-?1) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1),increased the content of in-terferon-? (IFN-?),but did not influence the concentration of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) significantly. CONCLUSION:ATO might attenuate BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats via increasing the AI in the lung tissue.