An Empirical Analysis of Director Mingjun Zhao’s Experience in Treating Chronic Heart Failure

With the aggravation of an aging population, the prevalence of chronic heart failure is increasing. As a famous traditional Chinese medicine practitioner in Shaanxi Province, Mingjun Zhao is amicable at using traditional Chinese medicine to treat chronic heart failure. He believes that the pathogenesis of the condition is mainly due to the lack of heart Yang, deficiency of heart Qi, as well as the combination of water and blood stasis. Therefore, in treating this condition, it is essential to warm and nourish heart Yang, replenish Qi to benefit water, and promote blood circulation to remove blood stasis. Based on the standardized treatment used in western medicine, traditional Chinese medicine should be reasonably and accurately combined with it as a drug pair into a prescription, thus highlighting the advantages of the combination of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of chronic heart failure to a great extent.

Danggui-Yimucao Herb Pair Can Protect Mice From the Immune Imbalance Caused by Medical Abortion and Stabilize the Level of Serum Metabolites

Unintended pregnancy is a situation that every woman may encounter, and medical abortion is the first choice for women, but abortion often brings many sequelae. Angelica sinensis Radix (Danggui) and Leonuri Herba (Yimucao) are widely used in the treatment of gynecological diseases, which can regulate menstrual disorders, amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, and promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis, but the mechanism for the treatment of abortion is not clear. We determined the ability of Danggui and Yimucao herb pair (DY) to regulate the Th1/Th2 paradigm by detecting the level of progesterone in the serum and the expression of T-bet and GATA-3 in the spleen and uterus. Then, we detected the level of metabolites in the serum and enriched multiple metabolic pathways. The arachidonic acid pathway can directly regulate the differentiation of Th1/Th2 cells. This may be one of the potential mechanisms of DY in the treatment of abortion.

Professor Ruixia Pei’s Clinical Experience in Treating Globus Hystericus with “Harmonizing Method”

To summarize professor Pei’s experience in treating globus hystericus. Methods: Learn from your teacher. Results: Professor Pei had been suffering from the disease for more than 30 years and had her unique views on the treatment of globus hystericus, which are mostly for emotional dysfunction, liver Qi is not comfortable, functioning of Qi is not adjusted, Yin and Yang imbalance. The basic principle of treatment is to grasp the core pathogenesis, take harmony as the method and balance as the duration, harmonize Qi, regulate Yin and Yang, use drugs to disperse the liver and rectify Qi, as well as auxiliary treatment with products to promote blood circulation, remove blood stasis, dryness and dampness, and clear heat.

Safflower Extract Inhibits ADP-Induced Human Platelet Aggregation

Safflower extract is commonly used as a traditional Chinese medicine to promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis. The antioxidant and anticancer properties of safflower extracts have been extensively studied, but their antiaggregative effects have been less analyzed. We found that safflower extract inhibited human platelet aggregation induced by ADP. In addition, we further analyzed several safflower extract compounds, such as hydroxysafflor yellow A, safflower yellow A, and luteolin, which have the same antiaggregative effect. In addition to analyzing the active components of the safflower extract, we also analyzed their roles in the ADP signaling pathways. Safflower extract can affect the activation of downstream conductors of ADP receptors (such as the production of calcium ions and cAMP), thereby affecting the expression of activated glycoproteins on the platelet membrane and inhibiting platelet aggregation. According to the results of this study, the effect of safflower extract on promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis may be related to its direct inhibition of platelet activation.

Progress in Traditional Chinese Medicine for the Treatment of Migraine

Migraine is a recurrent disease with complex pathogenesis and is difficult to cure. At present, commercially available western migraine drugs are prone to generate side effects while treating the disease. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) avoids side effects via treatment with the principles of “treating both symptoms and root causes”, “overall adjustment”, and “treatment based on syndrome differentiation”. Three strategies of drug treatment were developed based on the syndromes, i.e., removing stasis, calming liver Yang, and reinforcing deficiency. Prescriptions of removing stasis mostly contain Chuanxiong rhizome (Chuan Xiong) to remove blood stasis by promoting blood circulation and improve properties of hemorheology, and Da Chuan Xiong Formula (DCXF) is a traditional prescription widely used in clinical practice. Prescriptions of calming liver Yang usually take Ramulus Uncariae cum Uncis (Gou Teng) as the main herb, which can calm the liver Yang via improving vasomotor function, and Tian Ma Gou Teng Decoction (TMGTD) is the representative drug. For reinforcing deficiency, Chinese doctors frequently utilize Angelica Sinensis (Dang Gui) and Astragali Radix (Huang Qi) to nourish blood and Qi in order to improve the weak state of human body; Dang Gui Bu Xue Decoction (DGBXD) is the commonly used prescription. These strategies not only treat the symptoms of diseases but also their root causes, and with the features of multiple targets, in multiple ways. Therefore, TCM prescriptions have obvious advantages in the treatment of chronic diseases such as migraine. In this review, we provided an overview of the pathogenesis of migraine and the function of representative TCM preparations in therapy of migraine as well as the mechanism of action according to effective researches, in order to provide reference and clue for further researches.

Cardiovascular Pharmacology Research Progress of Hawthorn Leaves Extract

Hawthorn is a traditional Chinese medicine and has the effect of improving digestion and activating circulation to remove blood stasis. The present study indicates that extract of hawthorn leaf has the effects of lipid regulation, anti-myocardial ischemia, anti-atherosclerosis, cardiotonic and so on. Because of comprehensive treatment effects and less side effects, hawthorn leaves is becoming the research hotspot.