Saffron （Crocus sativus L.） and major depressive disorder： a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials

Due to safety concerns and side effects of many antidepressant medications, herbal psychopharmacology research has increased, and herbal remedies are becoming increasingly popular as alternatives to prescribed medications for the treatment of major depressive disorder （MDD）. Of these, accumulating trials reveal positive effects of the spice saffron （Crocus sativus L.） for the treatment of depression. A comprehensive and statistical review of the clinical trials examining the effects of saffron for treatment of MDD is warranted. OBJECTIVE： The purpose of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis of published randomized controlled trials examining the effects of saffron supplementation on symptoms of depression among participants with MDD. SEARCH STRATEGY： We conducted electronic and non-electronic searches to identify all relevant randomized, double-blind controlled trials. Reference lists of all retrieved articles were searched for relevant studies. INCLUSION CRITERIA： The criteria for study selection included the following： （1） adults （aged 18 and older） with symptoms of depression, （2） randomized controlled trial, （3） effects of saffron supplementation on depressive symptoms examined, and （4） study had either a placebo control or antidepressant comparison group. DATA EXTRACTION AND ANALYSIS： Using random effects modeling procedures, we calculated weighted mean effect sizes separately for the saffron supplementation vs placebo control groups, and for the saffron supplementation vs antidepressant groups. The methodological quality of all studies was assessed using the Jadad score. The computer software Comprehensive Meta- analysis 2 was used to analyze the data. RESULTS： Based on our pre-specified criteria, five randomized controlled trials （n = 2 placebo controlled trials, n = 3 antidepressant controlled trials） were included in our review. A large effect size was found for saffron supplementation vs placebo control in treating depressive symptoms （M ES = 1.62, P 〈 0.001）, revealing that saffron supplementation significantly reduced depression symptoms compared to the placebo control. A null effect size was evidenced between saffron supplementation and the antidepressant groups （M ES = -0.15） indicating that both treatments were similarly effective in reducing depression symptoms. The mean Jadad score was 5 indicating high quality of trials. CONCLUSION： Findings from clinical trials conducted to date indicate that saffron supplementation can improve symptoms of depression in adults with MDD. Larger clinical trials, conducted by research teams outside of Iran, with long-term follow-ups are needed before firm conclusions can be made regarding saffron＇s efficacy and safety for treating depressive symptoms.     

Integrative techniques using acupuncture,Chinese herbal medicine,diet, and supplements for polycystic ovary syndrome： a case report

Patients with a diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome （PCOS） are on the rise. About 4%-12% of women are currently estimated to have this condition. It is hypothesized that PCOS appears in women who have long-standing insulin resistance （1R）, which leads to high androgen and testosterone levels; this ultimately disrupts their menstrual cycles. Some researchers attribute IR to genetic factors, although there have been only minute changes in the human genome in the past 20 000 years. However, even with a stable gene pool, genes can be turned on and offby the environment, food and air quality and toxin exposure.     

The use of complementary and alternative medicine by individuals with features of metabolic syndrome

OBJECTIVE： To compare the use of complementary and alternative medicine （CAM）, including dietary supplements, by individuals with and without features of metabolic syndrome （FeMS）. METHODS： Using a cross sectional study design, information was obtained by self-administered questionnaires from 300 university individuals. FeMS was defined as any individuals self-reporting at least one of the clinical diagnoses of diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, or obesity. Finally, two categories were created for cross tabulation, and individuals with and without FeMS were compared. RESULTS： Of the 192 individuals completing the study, 39% （n=76） were currently using or had used CAM therapies in the past 12 months. Individuals with FeMS （n=54, 28%） were more likely （P〈0.05） to use different types of CAM therapies, in particular dietary and herbal supplements, aromatherapy and massage therapy compared to individuals without FeMS （n=138, 72%）. CONCLUSION： Individuals with FeMS were more likely to use CAM, particularly supplements. Doctors need to properly inquire about and understand their patients＇ supplement use, especially if CAM therapies are used in coniunction with conventional medications.     

Chinese herbal medicine Xinfeng Capsule in treatment of rheumatoid arthritis： study protocol of a multicenter randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND： Rheumatoid arthritis （RA）, as a common systemic inflammatory autoimmune disease, affects approximately 1 in 100 individuals. Effective treatment for RA is not yet available because current research does not have a clear understanding of the etiology and pathogenesis of RA. Xinfeng Capsule, a patent Chinese herbal medicine, has been used in the treatment of RA in recent years. Despite its reported clinical efficacy, there are no large-sample, multicenter, randomized trials that support the use of Xinfeng Capsule for RA. Therefore, we designed a randomized, double-blind, multicenter, placebo-controlled trial to assess the efficacy and safety of Xinfeng Capsule in the treatment of RA. METHODS AND DESIGN： This is a 12-week, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, multicenter trial on the treatment of RA. The participants will be randomly assigned to the experimental group and the control group at a ratio of 1：1. Participants in the experimental group will receive Xinfeng Capsule and a pharmaceutical placebo （imitation leflunomide）. The control group will receive leflunomide and an herbal placebo （imitation Xinfeng Capsule）. The American College of Rheumatology （ACR） Criteria for RA will be used to measure the efficacy of the Xinfeng Capsule. The primary outcome measure will be the percentage of study participants who achieve an ACR 20% response rate （ACR20）, which will be measured every 4 weeks after randomization. Secondary outcomes will include the ACR50 and ACR70 responses, the side effects of the medications, the Disease Activity Score 28, RA biomarkers, quality of life, and X-rays of the hands and wrists. The first four of the secondary outcomes will be measured every 4 weeks and the others will be measured at baseline and after 12 weeks of treatment. DISCUSSION： The result of this trial will help to evaluate whether Xinfeng Capsule is effective and safe in the treatment of RA. TRIAL REGISTRATION： This trial has been registered in ClinicalTrials.gov. The identifier is N CT01774877.     

The role of central nervous system on hypoglycemia and the feasibility of the brain theory in traditional Chinese medicine on treatment of diabetes mellitus

The central nervous system （CNS） plays a key regulatory role in glucose homeostasis. In particular, the brain is important in initiating and coordinating protective counterregulatory responses when blood glucose levels fall. This may due to the metabolic dependency of the CNS on glucose, and protection of food supply to the brain. In healthy subjects, blood glucose is normally maintained within a relatively narrow range. Hypoglycemia in diabetic patients can increase the risk of complications, such as heart disease and diabetic peripheral neuropathy. The clinical research finds that the use of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） has a positive effect on the treatment of hypoglycemia. Here the authors reviewed the current understanding of sensing and counterregulatory responses to hypoglycemia, and discuss combining traditional Chinese and Western medicine and the theory of iatrogenic hypoglycemia in diabetes treatment. Furthermore, the authors clarify the feasibility of treating hypoglycemia on the basis of TCM theory and CNS and have an insight on its clinical practice.     

Effect of a novel dietary supplement on pH levels of healthy volunteers： a pilot study

OBJECTIVE： To examine the effects of a greens alkalizing dietary supplement on urinary pH levels in individuals with lower-than-average pH levels. METHODS： The present study investigated the effects of an alkalizing formula （Reserveage Wholeganic GreensTM） on four individuals who had average urinary pH levels below 6.0 for three consecutive days. Following the three-day, baseline period, participants received Reserveage Wholeganic GreensTM for four consecutive days and were instructed to continue to measure their urine pH levels. Paired samples t-tests were used to examine pH levels before and after a four-day treatment period with Reserveage Wholeganic GreensTM. RESULTS： Compared to baseline, mean urine pH levels in all volunteers were significantly higher following the supplementation with Reserveage Wholeganic GreensTM （5.89 ±0.20 vs 5.56 ± 0.23; P〈0.01）. Participants＇ pH levels were also significantly higher than baseline on days 5, 6, and 7 of the treatment period （P 〈 0.05）. Noteworthy, on day 7, participants＇ mean pH levels were significantly higher than at the beginning of the treatment period （6.03 ± 0.15 at day 7 vs 5.65 ± 0.24 at day 4; P 〈 0.01）. CONCLUSION： The findings of this study suggest that supplementation with Reserveage Wholeganic GreensTM has an alkalizing effect on the body and can increase the urine pH levels in individuals with lower-than-average pH levels.     

Modulating Effects of Chlorogenic Acid on Lipids and Glucose Metabolism and Expression of Hepatic Peroxisome Proliferator-activated Receptor-α in Golden Hamsters Fed on High Fat Diet

Objective To examine the effects of chlorogenic acid （CGA） on lipid and glucose metabolism under a high dietary fat burden and to explore the possible role of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α （PPAR-α） in these effects. Methods Twenty male golden hamsters were randomly divided into CGA treatment group （n=10, given peritoneal injection of CGA solution prepared with PBS, 80 mg CGA/kg body weight daily）, and control group （n=10, given PBS i.p. at the average volume of the treatment group）. Animals in both groups were given 15% high fat diet. Eight weeks after treatment with CGA, the level of biochemical parameters in fasting serum and tissues and the expression of hepatic mRNA and protein PPAR-α were determined. Results Eight weeks after treatment with CGA, the levels of fasting serum triglyceride （TG）, free fatty acid （FFA）, total cholesterol （TC）, low density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL-C）, high density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL-C）, glucose （FSG）, and insulin （FSI） were significantly lower in the GGA treatment group than in the control group. CGA also led to higher activity of hepatic lipase （HL） lower contents of TG and FFA in liver, and lower activity of lipoprotein lipase （LPL） in skeletal muscle. Furthermore, CGA significantly elevated significantly elevated the expression level of mRNA and protein expression in hepatic PPAR-α. Conclusion CGA can modify lipids and glucose metabolism, which may be attributed to PPAR-α facilitated lipid clearance in liver and improved insulin sensitivity.     

TGF-β1 Precursor and CD8 Are Potential Prognostic and Predictive Markers in Operated Breast Cancer简

The transforming growth factor β1（TGF-β1） and CD8-positive T cells are two important immune factors that function at opposite directions. The purpose of this study was to verify the relationship between the two factors and their associations with long-term effects of adjuvant chemotherapy or endocrine therapy in breast cancer. Expression of TGF-β1 precursor and CD8 was immunohistochemically detected on surgically-obtained tumor samples of 130（stageⅠ–Ⅲ） invasive breast carcinomas from Chinese subjects, who were followed up for a mean time of 112 months. Interstitial CD8-positive cells and TGF-β1 precursor-positive cells adjacent to tumor nests were counted. Infiltration of CD8-positive lymphocytes into tumor nests and TGF-β1 precursor expression in tumor cells were observed and survival analysis was performed. Our results showed that density of interstitial CD8-positive lymphocytes was an independent adverse prognostic factor for distant disease-free survival（DDFS）（HR=8.416, 95% CI=1.636–43.292, P=0.011） in hormone receptor-positive patients who were on adjuvant endocrine therapy. For breast cancer patients who did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy, those without infiltration of CD8-positive cells into tumor nests had a shorter overall survival（OS） than their counterparts with CD8-positive cell infiltration into tumor nests（Log-Rank, P=0.003）. But OS of patients without infiltration of CD8-positive cells into tumor nests was significantly prolonged by adjuvant chemotherapy（Log-Rank, P=0.013） and paralleled that of patients with CD8-positive cell infiltration. Although OS was shorter in the tumor cell TGF-β1 precursor（t-TGF-β1-pre）-positive patients than in the negative patients in patients without recieiving chemotherapy（P=0.053）, OS of t-TGF-β1-pre-positive patients was significantly prolonged by adjuvant chemotherapy（P=0.035） and was longer than that of t-TGF-β1-pre-negative patients. Analysis showed that t-TGF-β1-pre was an independent positive prognostic factor for DDFS（HR=0.392 95% CI=0.157–0.978, P=0.045） in patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy. This study suggested that density of interstitial CD8-positive lymphocytes was of prognostic value in hormone receptor-positive patients who received adjuvant endocrine therapy. Our study verified that adverse immunologic signatures consisting of absence of CD8-positive cells in tumor nests or expression of TGF-β1 precursor in tumor cells in breast cancer were associated with worse prognosis and significantly improved long-term survival with adjuvant chemotherapy, respectively.     

Effects of the aqueous extract of Schizandra chinensis fruit on ethanol withdrawal-induced anxiety in rats

Background We previously demonstrated that the aqueous extract of the Schizandra chinensis fruit （AESC） ameliorated Cd-induced depletion of monoamine neurotransmitters in the brain through antioxidant activity.In the present study,we investigated the effect of AESC on anxiety-like behavior and the levels of norepinephrine and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol （a metabolite of norepinephrine） in different brain regions during ethanol withdrawal in rats.Methods Male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with 3 g/kg of ethanol （20％,w/v） or saline by daily intraperitoneal injection for 28 days followed by three days of withdrawal.During withdrawal,rats were given AESC （100 mg.kg 1.d-1 or 300 mg.kg 1·d1,P.O.） once a day for three days.Thirty minutes after the final dose of AESC,the anxiogenic response was evaluated using an elevated plus maze,and the plasma corticosterone levels were examined by radioimmunoassay.Meanwhile,the concentrations of norepinephrine and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy-phenylglycol in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus and hippocampus were also measured by high performance liquid chromatography.Results Rats undergoing ethanol withdrawal exhibited substantial anxiety-like behavior,which was characterized by both the decrease in time spent in the open arms of the elevated plus maze and the increased level of corticosterone secretion,which were greatly attenuated by doses of AESC in a dose-dependent manner.The high performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed that ethanol withdrawal significantly increased norepinephrine and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy-phenylglycol levels in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus,while not significantly altering them in the hippocampus.Similar to the results from the elevated plus maze test,the AESC significantly inhibited the elevation of norepinephrine and its metabolite in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus in a dose-dependent manner.Conclusions These results suggest that AESC attenuates anxiety-like behavior induced by ethanol withdrawal through modulation of the hypothalamic norepinephrine system in the brain.     

Risk factors for perioperative major cardiac events in Chinese elderly patients with coronary heart disease undergoing noncardiac surgery

Background Few studies have investigated perioperative major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) in elderly Chinese patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) undergoing noncardiac surgery.This study examin...     

Association between intervertebral disc degeneration and disturbances of blood supply to the vertebrae

Low back pain is a common public health problem in western industrialized societies and the world as well.Studies indicate that the prevalence rate ranges to 35%, with around 10% of patients from 12% becoming chronically disabled. It also places an enormous economic burden on society. Although the exact cause of low back pain has yet to be defined, intervertebral disc degeneration is considered a major source of it. Since patients with degenerative discs are often asymptomatic, the mechanisms of it are still unclear.     

Efficacy of Different Iron Controlling Fortificants in Wheat Flour in Iron Deficiency

Objective To observe the different impacts of electrolytic iron, FeSO4, and NaFeEDTA on body iron store of anemic school students. Methods Four hundreds anemic students at the age of 11-18 years were divided into four groups. Of which, three consumed different iron fortificants from wheat flour as food vehicle for six months and one consumed non-fortified flour （control）. The fortification level of electrolytic iron, FeSO4, and NaFeEDTA was 60 mg Fe/kg, 30 mg Fe/kg, and 20 mg Fe/kg, respectively. Blood samples were collected at 0, 2, 4, and 6 months and hemoglobin （Hb）, serum ferritin （SF）, and transferrin receptor （TfR） were measured. Results The hemoglobin levels in three intervention groups increased, the increments of Hb in the NaFeEDTA group were significantly higher than that in the other groups. SF and TfR levels increased in the tested groups and body iron store in the NaFeEDTA group was higher than that in the other groups. These parameters did not show any significant changes in the control group. Conclusion NaFeEDTA and FeSO4 tortified wheat flour has positive impacts on iron status in anemic students and NaFeEDTA is more effective than FeSO4, while electrolytic iron is less effective in improving iron store in anemic students.     

Relevance of muscle biopsy for diagnosing multifocal motor neuropathy

Multifocal motor neuropathy （MMN） is a rare,.focal,inflammatory,demyelinating disease of the peripheral nerves with pure motor involvementJ MMN is clinically characterized by slowly progressive,asymmetric,distal,upper limb predominant weakness,in the absence of sensory disturbances） Weakness is usually multifocal and connected to a distinct motor nerve,such as the musculocutaneous nerve resulting in biceps weakness,the posterior interosseus nerve resulting in finger drop,the median,ulnar,or radial nerve resulting in dexterity problems or grip weakness,or the peroneal nerve resulting in a foot drop.Onset of clinical manifestations is between 20 and 50 years of age.The prevalence of MMN is reported as 1-2 per 100 000.2 MMN is three times more frequent in men as compared to women.     

Antioxidant and Antigenotoxic Activity of Bioactive Extracts from Corn Tassel简

This study is designed to evaluate antioxidant and antigenotoxic activities of corn tassel extracts（CTTs）. The major bioactive components of CTTs include flavonoid, saponin and polysaccharide. The antioxidant properties of the three bioactive components of CTTs were investigated by Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Property（FRAP） and 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl（DPPH） assays. The activities of the extracts were determined by assessing the inhibition of mutagenicity of the direct-acting mutagen fenaminosulf, sodium azide, and indirect-acting mutagen 2-aminofluorene using the Ames test（strains TA98 and TA100）. The results showed that the extraction rates of flavonoid, saponin, and polysaccharide from the dried corn tassels were 1.67%, 2.41% and 4.76% respectively. DPPH and FRAP assay strongly demonstrated that CTTs had antioxidant properties. CTTs at doses of 625, 1250 and 2500 μg per plate reduced 2-aminofluorene mutagenicity by 12.52%, 28.76% and 36.49% in Salmonella typhimurium TA98 strain assay respectively and by 10.98%, 25.27% and 37.83%, at the same doses in Salmonella typhimurium TA100 assay system, respectively. 3-[4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide（MTT） assay showed that the different concentrations of CTTs inhibited the proliferation of MGC80-3 cells in a dose-dependent manner（P0.01）. It is concluded that these integrated approaches to antioxidant and antigenotoxicity assessment may be useful to study corn tassel as a natural herbal material.     

痘苗病毒天坛株的减毒与其作为疫苗载体研究进展

1痘苗病毒天坛株的历史天花是人类历史上最可怕的传染病之一。天花由天花病毒（variola virus）引起,人是该病毒的惟一宿主。人感染天花病毒后的死亡率达到30%~40%[1]。世界上公认的对天花最早的准确记录来自中国,晋代药学家葛洪于公元430年左右,在《肘后备急方》中对天花有清楚的描述[1]。     

A （H1N1） Influenza Pneumonia with Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis： A Case Report

INTRODUCTION
A 56-year-old Chinese female patient with A （H1N1） influenza pneumonia accompanied by acute disseminated encephalomyelitis （ADEM） of the Central Nervous System （CNS） is described in this article. The patient had typical clinical manifestation, and the diagnosis was reached after MRI and other examinations. From this case, we can conclude that the virus of A （H1N1） influenza can infect CNS, and we should pay more attention to patients of A （H1N1） influenza pneumonia with neurological complications.