The American journal of Chinese medicine
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Review
Application of Chinese Medicine in the Management of Critical Conditions: A Review on Sepsis.
Critical care medicine is a medical specialty engaging the diagnosis and treatment of critically ill patients who have or are likely to have life-threatening organ failure. Sepsis, a life-threatening condition that arises when the body responds to infection, is currently the major cause of death in intensive care units (ICU). Although progress has been made in understanding the pathophysiology of sepsis, many drawbacks in sepsis treatment remains unresolved. ⋯ The TCM application emphasizes use of herbal formulation to balance immune responses to infection, which include clearing heat and toxin, promoting blood circulation and removing its stasis, enhancing gastrointestinal function, and strengthening body resistance. In this paper, we will provide an overview of the current status of Chinese herbal formulations, single herbs, and isolated compounds, as an add-on therapy to the standard Western treatment in the sepsis management. With the current trajectory of worldwide pandemic eruption of newly identified Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19), the adjuvant TCM therapy can be used in the ICU to treat critically ill patients infected with the novel coronavirus.
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Pain is a widespread and complex symptom which causes serious emotional and social burdens to individuals and society. Most patients with pain rely heavily on over the counter (OTC) and prescription pain killers. However, there would be a number of issues that arise from the use of pain killers, in which safety and addiction are the most critical issues. ⋯ Acupuncture is being used more widely and with a growing number of people in the treatment of pain because it is safer and has fewer side effects. Along with growing use and interest in acupuncture to treat pain, more attention has been paid to the mechanism underlying its analgesic effect, which is mainly associated with the changes of neurotransmitters. In this review, we summarize and analyze the range and mechanism of acupuncture analgesia treatment.
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Proanthocyanidins (PAs) are a group of polyphenols enriched in plant and human food. In recent decades, epidemiological studies have upheld the direct relationship between PA consumption and health benefits; therefore, studies on PAs have become a research hotspot. Although the oral bioavailability of PAs is quite low, pharmacokinetics data revealed that some small molecules and colonic microbial metabolites of PAs could be absorbed and exert their health beneficial effects. ⋯ Moreover, current toxicological studies show that PAs have no observable toxicity to humans. This review summarizes the resources, extraction, structures, pharmacokinetics, pharmacology, and toxicology of PAs and discusses the limitations of current studies. Areas for further research are also proposed.
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Inflammation and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress have been documented to contribute to the development of atherosclerosis. Ginsenoside Rb2 has been reported to exhibit antidiabetic effects. However, the effects of Rb2 on atherosclerotic responses such as inflammation and ER stress in endothelial cells and monocytes remain unclear. ⋯ Furthermore, GPR120 siRNA mitigated Rb2-induced AMPK phosphorylation. These results suggest that Rb2 inhibits LPS-mediated apoptosis and THP-1 cell adhesion to HUVECs by GPR120/AMPK/HO-1-associated attenuating inflammation and ER stress. Therefore, Rb2 can be used as a potential therapeutic molecule for treatment of atherosclerosis.
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Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. It has a very poor prognosis with over a 5-year survival rate of only 50%. Thus, it is important to identify effective therapeutic interventions against oral cancer. ⋯ In addition, treatment with erianin also increased autophagy in OSCC cells. With further analysis, it was found that erianin induced both apoptosis and autophagy by regulating MAPK signaling pathways. Taken together, our study indicates that erianin plays an important role in reducing oral cancer cell viability, and thus, can be considered as a potential anticancer agent.