OBJECTIVETo compare the clinical efficacy in the treatment of allergic rhinitis (AR) of lung qi deficiency and cold syndrome between Jin's three-needle therapy and western medication.

METHODSSixty-six patients were randomized into an acupuncture group and a western medication group, 33 cases in each one. In the acupuncture group, acupuncture was applied at three-nose points [Yingxiang (LI 20), Shangyingxiang (EX-HN 8) and Yintang (GV 29); Cuanzhu (BL 2) was added for frontal headache] and three-back points [Dazhu (BL 11), Fengmen (BL 12) and Feishu (BL 13)], once every day. Ten treatments made one session. Two sessions of treatment were required. In the western medication group, desloratadine oral suspension was prescribed, 5 mg each time, once a day, for 20 days. The scores of the symptoms and physical signs in AR patients as well as the clinical efficacy were observed between the two groups.

RESULTSThe total effective rate was 93.9% (31/33) in the acupuncture group, which was better than 72.7% (24/33) in the western medication group (P < 0.05). After treatment, the scores of AR symptoms and physical signs as well as the total score were all reduced compared with those before treatment in the two groups (all P < 0.01). The score of every item in the acupuncture group was lower than that in the western medication group after treatment (score of symptoms: 4.70 +/- 2.07 vs 6.55 +/- 2. 69, score of physical signs: 0.85 +/- 0.67 vs 1.45 +/- +0.62, total score: 5.36 +/- 2.70 vs 8.00 +/- 2.91, all P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONJin's three-needle therapy achieves superior efficacy on AR of lung-qi deficiency and cold syndrome, which is better than desloratadine oral suspension.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; instrumentation ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Lung ; physiopathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Needles ; Qi ; Rhinitis, Allergic ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of Sanhuang Jiangtang recipe (SJR) on renin-angiotensin system in local myocardium in diabetic rats.

METHODSRats were made into diabetes model by intraperitoneally administering of streptozocin, and medicated through gastrogavage with SJR (50 g/kg), gliclazide (20 mg/kg), captopril (15 mg/kg) and nitrendipine (30 mg/kg) respectively, for successive 8 weeks, started from 2 weeks after modeling. Levels of fasting blood sugar (FBS), serum insulin (Ins), heart/body weight ratio (H/BW), myocardial angiotensin II (Ang II), angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) and aldosterone (ALD) were determined. And the mRNA expression of type I angiotensin receptor (AT1R) in myocardium were detected by RT-PCR assay.

RESULTSAs compared with those in the normal rats, levels of FBS, H/BW, Ang II, ACE, ALD and AT1R mRNA expression were higher (all P < 0.05) and level of serum Ins was lower (P < 0.01) in the model rats. SJR, gliclazide, captopril and nitrendipine could slightly reduce the blood sugar level in model rats, but with no increase of serum Ins. All the four drugs could reduce H/BW, Ang II, ACE and AT1R mRNA expression. SJR and captopril could also decrease the ALD content in myocardium.

CONCLUSIONCardiac hypertrophy has been induced in 10 weeks after diabetic modeling. Activation of local myocardial RAS is related to the genesis of diabetic cardiomyopathy. SJR, gliclazide, captopril and nitrendipine could antagonize the genesis of diabetic cardiomyopathy, the mechanism is related to the inhibition of RAS activation in local myocardium.

Animals ; Cardiomegaly ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; complications ; metabolism ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Hypoglycemic Agents ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Myocardium ; metabolism ; pathology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Renin-Angiotensin System ; drug effects

ObjectiveTo observe the clinical efficacy and anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effect of modified Guipitang combined with Xuefu Zhuyutang in the treatment of mild cognitive impairment （MCI） after cerebral infarction with syndromes of heart and spleen deficiency and blood stasis blocking collateral. MethodA total of 114 eligible patients were randomly divided into a control group and an observation group，with 57 cases in each group. Patients in the control group were given red deer ginseng tablets （po），4 tablets/time，2 times/day. Patients in the observation group were given modified Guipitang combined with Xuefu Zhuyutang （po，1 dose/day）for continuous 8 weeks. This study compared the scores of montreal cognitive assessment （MoCA） scale，Rivermead behavioral memory test （RBMT），activities of daily living （ADL），trail making test B （TMT-B），neuropsychiatric inventory questionnaire （NPI） and scores of traditional Chinese medcine（TCM） syndrome with syndromes of heart and spleen deficiency and blood stasis blocking collateral before and after treatment. Then we further detected the levels of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine （8-OHDG），malondialdehyde （MDA），oxidized low density lipoprotein （ox-LDL），superoxide dismutase （SOD），homocysteine （Hcy），interleukin-8 （IL-8），C-reactive protein （CRP） and fibrinogen （FIB） levels before and after treatment. ResultThe total effective rate for the treatment of cognitive function impairment in the observation group was 92.98% （53/57），which was higher than 78.95% （45/57） in the control group （χ²＝4.653，P<0.05）. The recovery rate of cognitive function in the observation group was 54.39% （31/57），which was higher than 33.33% （19/57） in the control group （χ²＝5.130，P<0.05）. The MoCA，RBMT and ADL scores of the observation group were higher than those of the control group （P<0.01），and the TMT-B time of the former was shorter than that of the latter （P<0.01）. In addition， the observation group showed lower scores of TCM syndrome，NPI-1 and NPI-2 scores than the control group （P<0.01）. The SOD level of the observation group was higher than that of the control group （P<0.01），and the levels of 8-OHDG，ox-LDL，MDA，Hcy，IL-8，CRP and FIB were lower than those of the control group （P<0.01）. ConclusionModified Guipitang combined with Xuefu Zhuyutang can improve cognitive function in MCI patients after cerebral infarction with syndromes of heart and spleen deficiency and blood stasis blocking collateral， with anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effect， and yield superior efficacy than red deer ginseng tablets.