Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy of Gushang External Wash Granules combined with extracorporeal shockwave therapy(ESWT)in treating early-to-middle-stage knee osteoarthritis(KOA)with cold-damp obstruction syndrome.Methods A total of 84 patients diagnosed as early-to-middle-stage KOA(cold-damp obstruction syndrome)at the Orthopedic Outpatient Clinic of Dongguan Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine(Dongguan Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital)from July 2022 to July 2023 were enrolled.Patients were randomly assigned to either the observation group or control group using a random number table,with 42 cases in each group.Both groups received ESWT,while the observation group additionally underwent topical washing with Gushang External Wash Granules.The treatment course lasted 4 weeks for both groups.The changes in traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)syndrome scores,Visual Analogue Scale(VAS)scores for pain,and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index(WOMAC)scores in the two groups were measured before and after treatment,and the clinical efficacy was evaluated after treatment.Results(1)After 4 weeks of treatment,the total effective rate was 95.24%(40/42)in the observation group versus 76.19%(32/42)in the control group.Intergroup comparison(tested by chi-square test)showed significantly superior efficacy in the observation group(P＜0.05).(2)After treatment,both groups demonstrated significant reductions in VAS pain scores compared to those before treatment(P＜0.01),while no statistically significant difference was found between groups(P＞0.05).(3)WOMAC scores were decreased significantly in both groups after treatment(P＜0.01),and the observation group showed significantly greater reduction than the control group(P＜0.01),with statistically significance.(4)After treatment,the scores for the TCM symptoms of intolerance of cold and limb chilling,restricted flexion-extension,and stiffness and numbness in the extremities were significantly reduced in both groups(P＜0.01),and the observation group demonstrated significantly greater improvements in all TCM syndrome scores than the control group(P＜0.01).Conclusion The combination of Gushang External Wash Granules and ESWT demonstrates significant efficacy for the patients with early-to-middle-stage KOA of cold-damp obstruction type,and is effective on alleviating clinical symptoms and improving knee function and quality of life of the patients.

Objective: To investigate the expression of microRNA-380-5p (miR-380-5p) in cervical cancer tissues and cell lines, and to explore the mechanism of miR-380-5p inhibiting the proliferation and migration of cervical cancer cells. Methods: 16 pairs of cervical cancerous tissues and corresponding para-cancerous tissues were collected from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Affiliated Wuhan Central Hospital of Tongji Medical College from December 2016 to July 2017; in addition, cervical cancer cell lines (HCC94, C33A, Hela, SiHa) and human cervical epithelial immortalized H8 cells were also collected for this study. The expression of miR-380-5p in above mentioned tissues and cell lines was detected by Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). miR380-5p mimic (experimental group) and miR-NC (negative control group) were transiently transfected into C33A cells by lipofection, and qPCR was used to detect the expression of miR-380-5p in the transfected cells. Cell proliferation and migration were evaluated by cell counting kit (CCK-8) and Transwell assay. Bioinformatics software TargetScan predicted the downstream genes of miR-380-5p, and dual luciferase reporter assay was used to verify the binding of miR-380-5p to the downstream gene RHOA (Ras homolog gene family member A). qPCR and Western blotting were used to detect the expression of miR-380-5p downstream gene-RHOA. Results: The expression level of miR-380-5p in cervical cancer tissues and cell lines was significantly lower than that in para-cancerous tissues and normal cervical epithelial H8 cells (P<0.01); and the expression in C33A cells was the lowest (P<0.01). Compared with the negative control group, the miR-380-5p mimic transfection singnificantly inhibited the proliferation (P<0.05) and migration ability of C33A cells (P<0.01), and down-regulated protein expressions of RHOA, ROCK1, ROCK2, CDK2 and N-cadherin (all P<0.01). Bioinformatics software predicted that RHOA may be a downstream gene of miR-380-5p, and dual luciferase reporter assay proved the specific binding of miR-380-5p to the 3'UTR of RHOA (P<0.01). miR-380-5p could significantly down-regulate RHOA gene expression (P< 0.01). Conclusion: miR-380-5p is low-expressed in cervical cancer cell lines. Over-expression of miR-380-5p may inhibit the proliferation and migration of cervical cancer C33Acells by down-regulating the expression of RHOAgene and its downstream proteins.