The article analyzed the contemporary study of pattern recognition of tongue images in traditional Chinese medicine by computer technology from its key sectors. It regards that the methods of orthogonal design and evaluation of image quality should be introduced to get a high-quality and practicable condition. In the field of tongue image segmentation, multiple methods used together are expected to improve the effect of segmentation. A scientific and canonical standard of tongue diagnosis based on comprehensive experts' experience with Delphi evaluation method and multi-center experts diagnosis on internet are also very essential. The study of pattern recognition on tongue image is still concentrated on the color. Further study should be extended to achieve quantification. And a comprehensive diagnosis on pattern recognition of tongue image is the aim that should be focused on later.

Acupuncture is widely used as an alternative therapy with few side effects because of its simple manipulation and low cost. However, accidents may occur if the practitioner uses it improperly. Early in the Qin dynastuy, the Canon of Medicine mentioned that improper use of acupuncture could cause injury to the body and even death, and it systematically described the occurrence and prevention of acupuncture accidents. Physicians in the successive dynasties frequently reported it, and nealized that the manipulation skills were significantly important in preventing the occurrence of acupuncture accidents.Since the 1950s, acupuncture accidents had been effectively prevented because of the improving of acupuncture instruments, enhancing of the quality of the practitioners, popularizing of sterilization and disseminating of anatomic knowledge. Nevertherless, with the renovating of acupuncture techniques, new accidents may occur constantly. The prevention of acupuncture accidents still should be an arduors task for acupuncturists. Nowadays, acupuncture therapy is being used in more than 140 countries, and acupuncture accidents due to improper application are incrcasing. Prevention of acupuncture accidents has become a global issue deserving of great attention.

Objective

To investigate analgesic, antidiarrhoeal and cytotoxic activities of the ethanol extract of Passiflora foetida L. (Passifloraceae) by three experimental methods. 

Methods

Analgesic activity of the ethanol extract of Passiflora foetida L. (EEPF) was carried out using acetic acid-induced writhing inhibition in mice. The method of castor oil-induced diarrhoea in mice was utilized to evaluate antidiarrhoeal activity. The cytotoxic activity of EEPF was explored with a brine shrimp lethality bioassay. 

Results

The extract showed 68.75% and 30.00% inhibition of writhe at the doses of 500 and 250 mg/kg body weight, respectively. The extract increased the mean latent period prior to diarrhoeal onset to about 1.55 h and 1.17 h, and decreased the mean number of stools to 4.4 and 5.6 at the doses of 500 and 250 mg/kg body weight. The extract also demonstrated cytotoxic activity in the brine shrimp lethality assay, and the median lethal concentration for brine shrimp nauplii was 80 μg/mL. 

Conclusion

The results suggest that the plant extract has analgesic and antidiarrhoeal activities, supporting its uses in traditional medicine. The results also demonstrate that the plant extract possesses cytotoxic activities.

Natural products, either as pure compounds or as standardized plant extracts, provide extensive opportunities for new drug leads because of the unmatched availability of chemical diversity. In contrast to modern medicines, herbal medicines are frequently used to treat chronic diseases. Standardization guarantees the content of one or more active constituents and marker compounds. The plant environment and genetic factors could significantly affect the biochemical components of the plant extract, in which plants are still the most abundant and cost-effective resource for drug innovation. Production of botanical drugs requires genetically uniform monocultures of the source plant in fully standardized conditions, to assure the biochemical consistency and to optimize the safety and efficacy of every crop. The present review article illustrates about the methods for standardization of herbal medicine and how the goal of preparing herbal medicines of consistent quality and effects can be achieved.

Pulmonary-fibrosis (PF) is the result of interstitial lung disease which has different causes and it is one of the most intractable diseases in respiratory system. The PF is characterized by progressive difficulty of breath and dying of respiratory failure, seriously threatening the health of people. Immunosuppressive drugs and glucocorticoids have been widely adopted as the main methods in treatment, but the results are not satisfactory and the side effects are obvious. Many specialists have tried traditional Chinese medicine in recent years with satisfactory effect, indicating that the prospect of using traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of PF is optimistic. This article outlines the researches about using traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of PF.

The scientificalness of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is often doubted and criticized for the record in Huangdi Neijing that the liver is located in the left of the human body. The most popular explanation of this criticism is that the conception of zang-fu viscera in TCM is quite different from which defined in Western medicine. It means that the zang-fu viscera in TCM are not exactly the corresponding anatomical organs in modern human anatomy but reflect the functions of some systems in human body. According to the classical theories of TCM in Huangdi Neijing, we consider that the record of liver located in the left of the human body is based on the Ba Gua (Eight Diagrams) of traditional Chinese philosophy, not the human anatomy. In brief, the conception of zang-fu viscera is initially a gross anatomical conception, and in a sense the anatomic sites and functions of which are mostly similar to those described in Western medicine.

The theory of formulas corresponding to syndromes is one of the characteristics of Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases (Shanghan Zabing Lun) and one of the main principles in applying classic prescriptions. It is important to take effect by following the principle of formulas corresponding to syndromes. However, some medical practitioners always feel that the actual clinical effect is far less than expected. Six errors in the use of classic prescriptions as well as the theory of formulas corresponding to syndromes are the most important causes to be considered, i.e. paying attention only to the local syndromes while neglecting the whole, paying attention only to formulas corresponding to syndromes while neglecting the pathogenesis, paying attention only to syndromes while neglecting the pulse diagnosis, paying attention only to unilateral prescription but neglecting the combined prescriptions, paying attention only to classic prescriptions while neglecting the modern formulas, and paying attention only to the formulas but neglecting the drug dosage. Therefore, not only the patients’ clinical syndromes, but also the combination of main syndrome and pathogenesis simultaneously is necessary in the clinical applications of classic prescriptions and the theory of prescription corresponding to syndrome. In addition, comprehensive syndrome differentiation, modern formulas, current prescriptions, combined prescriptions, and drug dosage all contribute to avoid clinical errors and improve clinical effects.

The World Health Organization plans to incorporate "traditional medicine" into the next revision of its International Classification of Diseases — Version 11 (ICD-11). If traditional medicine is included in ICD-11, it is definitely an epoch-making issue. The expected result is the International Classification of Traditional Medicine, China, Japan and Korea Version (ICTM-CJK). The intention of the ICTM project is not only beneficial for traditional medical components, but also might be beneficial for Western biomedicine. For this shared purpose, China, Japan and Korea must understand the meaning of this project and collaborate to develop it.

Objective: The present study was carried out to investigate the antidiabetic and hypolipidemic activities of bioactive fraction (ethyl acetate fraction) of Dillenia indica methanolic extract in experimental diabetic Wistar rats.
Methods: Type-1 diabetes was induced by single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (60 mg/kg body weight), and type-2 diabetes was induced by single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (60 mg/kg body weight), 15 min after the intraperitoneal injection of 120 mg/kg nicotinamide. The rats were treated by administering graded oral doses of isolated ethyl acetate fraction of methanolic extract of D. indica (DIEE), 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight, respectively, for 21 d. The blood glucose level was estimated at weekly intervals by glucometer. Serum cholesterol, triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were also evaluated in normal and diabetic rats by an autoanalyzer.
Results: In both experimental models, daily oral treatment with DIEE for 21 d resulted in a significant reduction in blood glucose (P<0.01), serum cholesterol (P<0.05) and triglycerides (P<0.05) levels whereas HDL-C level was found to be increased (P<0.05) as compared with the diabetic control group.
Conclusion: DIEE at 400 mg/kg body weight has prominent antidiabetic effect in experimental type-1 and type-2 diabetes models in rats. It may therefore be used as an alternative remedy for the treatment of diabetes mellitus.

Fructus Xanthii is commonly used in rhinology, especially used in treatment of chronic rhinitis and sinusitis. But Fructus Xanthii is toxicant, and it maybe result in poisoning when used excessively, without preparation or in inappropriate preparation. This article reviewed all poisoning cases from 1960 to 2000, its toxicology and methods for detoxification.

Objective: To investigate the potential of hydroethanolic extract of Moringa oleifera (MOHE) against 7, 12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-induced toxicity in male Swiss albino mice. .

Methods: Experimental mice were respectively pretreated with 200 and 400 mg/kg of MOHE, and 0.5% and 1% of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) for two weeks prior to the administration of 15 mg/kg of DMBA, respectively. Levels of xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes such as cytochrome (Cyt) P450 and Cyt b5, activities of reduced glutathione (GSH) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and renal aspartate aminotransaminase (AST), alanine aminotransaminase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and content of protein and total cholesterol were measured to determine the nephrotoxicity caused by DMBA and to elucidate the ameliorating role of M. oleifera.

Results: Single oral administration of 15 mg/kg of DMBA resulted in significant increases in Cyt P450 and Cyt b5 (P<0.01). The toxic effect of DMBA was justified by the significant decreases in the activities of GSH and GST in renal tissues (P<0.05). The levels of renal AST, ALT and ALP and protein content which are indicative of renocellular damage were also found decreased along with significant increase in total cholesterol content in DMBA-treated mice (P<0.01). The DMBA-induced alterations in the tissues were significantly reversed after pretreatment with 200 and 400 mg/kg of MOHE orally for 14 d (P<0.01).

Conclusion: The effects of MOHE in enhancing the levels of antioxidants and enhancing the levels of biochemical assays in DMBA-induced carcinogenesis are by reducing the formation of free radicals. This study rationalizes the ethnomedicinal use of M. oleifera for the protection against nephrotoxicity induced by chemical carcinogens.

The usage of Swietenia mahagoni, a popular medicinal plant in India and some African countries, dates back to ancient times for its curative properties in diseases like malaria, diabetes, and diarrhea. It is also used as an anti-pyretic, bitter tonic and astringent. Its pharmacological activities are being widely explored. Although many important groups of phytochemicals have been identified and isolated from various parts of the plant, most of these researches have been focused on seeds. Toxicological studies have established the safety of many of these plant extracts, and found insignificant side effects. Here we present a comprehensive review of all the pharmacological effects and constituent phytochemicals of the plant.

The concept of "three-yin and three-yang" in Shanghan Lun (Treatise on Cold Pathogenic Diseases), a classic written by Zhang Zhongjing in Han Dynasty, has been always the focus of dispute in successive dynasties. The essence of "three-yin and three-yang" has not been fully revealed up till now. Through studying the six divisions of day and night, the six diseases, the combination of syndromes, the complicated diseases, the complete recovery time and the space division of "three-yin and three-yang", the authors draw a conclusion that the "three-yin and three-yang" in Shanghan Lun is a concept of time-sequence, which is associated with the location of disease in space. So it is suggested that the "six diseases" in Shanghan Lun is a categorization for exogenous febrile diseases, and this categorization reveals a sort of inner relationship between the emergence, development, transformation of the febrile diseases and the time.

Oenothera genus (Onagraceae) has been used as a folk remedy since ancient times for the treatment of asthma, gastrointestinal disorders, neuralgia, skin diseases, and hepatic and kidney diseases. Different chemical constituents like lipids, flavonoids, tannins, steroids and triterpenes have been isolated from this genus. The various notable pharmacological activities reported from the genus are antioxidant, cytotoxic, antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antihyperlipidaemic, thrombolytic and antidiarrhoeal. The present paper is to summarize the worldwide reported biological activities and phytoconstituents associated with this genus for about 50 years and highlight the medicinally important species belonging to this genus so that these species can be further explored and used as therapeutic agents for various diseases.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), an important component of complementary and alternative medicine, has evolved over thousands of years with its own unique system of theories, diagnostics and therapies. TCM has been increasingly used in the last decades and become well known for its significant role in preventing and treating cancer. We believe that TCM possesses advantages over Western medicine in specific aspects at a certain stage of cancer treatment. Here we summarize the advantages of TCM from three aspects: preventing tumorigenesis; attenuating toxicity and enhancing the treatment effect; and reducing tumor recurrence and metastasis.

Diabetes is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the world. There is currently an active search for antidiabetic drugs with greater effectiveness with fewer and less adverse side effects. Although numerous individual herbs have been experimentally or clinically reported to possess antidiabetic effects, considerably less research has been conducted on polyherbal compounds. It is believed that herbal compounds containing multiple plant products have synergistic antidiabetic effects and could enhance the desired actions. Several polyherbal formulations have been studied as therapeutic agents in diabetes management. To describe the current state of research on polyherbal compounds in the treatment of diabetes, an extensive review of literature was undertaken on several major databases. This paper presents what is known about the efficacy of these polyherbal formulations and compare their antidiabetic effects with those of current oral hypoglycemic drugs as reference. The percent decrease in blood glucose, lipids and other biochemical parameters achieved by each product in diabetic animals and patients is reported. Also, the possible mechanisms responsible for hypoglycemic action of polyherbal formulations are discussed.

The concepts of monomer medicine and the Chinese traditional medicine were introduced in this article. The different effects of a monomer drug between different types of syndromes of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) were explained based on the author's clinical experience and related literature. The aim, significance and methods about the application of western medical drugs according to the theory of TCM were pointed out.And the feasibility of the application was analyzed.

Objective

To discuss the definition of "traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine integration" and "integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine".

Methods

Logic methods.

Results

It was found that there were a lot of problems on the definition of "traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine integration" and "integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine".

Conclusion

The understanding of the concepts of "traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine integration" and "integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine" was improved after the extensive discussion.

Proteomics, a new branch of science, has been used to study protein expressions on the molecular level with a dynamic perspective. Organisms under varying states may express different proteins, which results in the set-up of differential proteomics. Research methods of differential proteomics include the separation and identification of proteins. Differential proteomics has a rapid development in recent years. In the study of acupuncture, researchers have reached certain achievements using differential proteomics to investigate the mechanisms of acupuncture treatment for some diseases, including acute spinal cord injury, ischemic cerebrovascular disease, Parkinson’s disease and neuralgia.

With the current trend of globalization, unprecedented opportunities and enormous changes have emerged for the global development of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). However, many old and new challenges and problems still remain, including partial or limited comprehension of acupuncture, oriental medicine and TCM, the existence of non-standardized institutes of TCM and acupuncture training schools, unqualified TCM practitioners, and problems concerning Chinese herbal medicine and inexperience in conducting TCM business. These problems will doubtlessly impede the further development of TCM worldwide in the foreseeable future. It is also clear that the globalization of TCM will require a large scale systematic project and constitute an arduous historical task. This paper aims to consolidate 6 strategic development modes to reinforce and facilitate the process of TCM globalization through a detailed analysis of both the present status and existing problems concerning the development of TCM in the United States.

Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug. Despite its wide uses for more than 100 years, knowledge about mechanism of action and therapeutic issues of aspirin are still under discussion. The use of aspirin has been changed from an analgesic, anti-pyretic and anti-inflammatory agent to an anti-thrombotic agent, especially in secondary prevention of cardiovascular events. Aspirin has reduced the risk of cardiovascular events by 25%. However, the phenomenon of "aspirin resistance" has been described that in 5%-60% of patients aspirin may not achieve adequate efficacy of suppressing platelet activity. The convinced causes of this phenomenon are still unknown. It is probably due to drugs interaction, inadequate dosage and so on. By far the existing studies of aspirin are insufficient to explain all phenomena of aspirin resistance. And the results are not always uniform about the same research. Therefore, the characteristics in different population with aspirin resistance may account for the complexity. It is unrealistic to elucidate all aspirin resistance by only one pathway. More studies are required to investigate the mechanisms in different population respectively. According to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine and the trait of cadiovascular disease, which often relapses and has a long history, aspirin resistance should be considered as collaterals disease. It can be treated with aspirin and traditional Chinese drugs which have the power to strengthen body resistance, reduce phlegm, remove blood stasis and toxic materials from meridians. The problem of aspirin resistance might be solved by this way, because the traditional Chinese medicine has the superiority of selecting appropriate therapeutic methods based on syndrome differentiation for different population and regulating the whole body's function. Subsequently, cadiovascular disease might be effectively prevented.

Objective: To observe the effects of kidney-tonifying Chinese herbal medicine on the synthesis and secretion of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) and the related neurotransmitters and neuropeptides, and to explore the mechanism of the regulative effect of Chinese herbal medicine on the hypothalamic-pituitary gonadotrophic function. Methods: Female Sprague-Dawley rats during the period of normal adolescent initiation (160-180 g, 1.5 monthes) were randomly divided into three groups. The control group was fed with normal saline and the two experimental groups were fed with Chinese herbal medicine for nourishing yin to reduce fire (Zi Yin Xie Huo, ZYXH) or nourishing kidney to replenish essence (Yi Shen Tian Jing, YSTJ) respectively. The dosage was 5 ml/d for 30 days by gastric gavage. Integrated optic densities of the GnRH and neuropeptide Y (NPY) in medial preoptic area (MPOA), arcuate nucleus (ARC) and median eminence (ME) of hypothalamus were determined by immunohistochemistry method and image processing. The content of GnRH in homogenate of hypothalamus preoptic area was determined by radioimmunoassay (RIA). The releasing amount of monoamine neurotransmitters from medial basal hypothalamus (MBH) was determined by brain slices incubation and high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). The releasing amount of GnRH and NPY from POA was determined by push-pull perfusion and RIA, and the releasing amount of monoamine neurotransmitters from this site was determined by HPLC.Results: ZYXH could inhibit the synthesis and secretion of GnRH from periodic and tonic secretory centers of GnRH, while YSTJ could stimulate the synthesis and secretion of GnRH from the both secretory centers of GnRH. ZYXH could inhibit the activity of GnRH neurons via diminishing the releasing of norepinephrine (NE) from tonic secretory center of GnRH, increasing the releasing of dopamine (DA) in periodic secretory center of GnRH and increasing the synthesis and releasing of NPY from the both secretory centers of GnRH, it hence inhibited the hypothalamic-pituitary gonadotrophic function. YSTJ could stimulate the activity of GnRH neurons via diminishing the synthesis and releasing of NPY from tonic secretory center of GnRH, it hence promoted the hypothalamic-pituitary gonadotrophic function.Conclusion: Chinese herbal medicine for tonifying the kidney could modulate hypothalamic-pituitary gonadotrophic function via regulating the synthesis and secretion of GnRH and the related neurotransmitters (NE, DA) and neuropeptides (NPY).

Objective: To investigate the possibility of using Ryodoraku as a tool to indicate sympathetic neuronal activity.
Methods: Twenty-two female college students were assigned to an treadmill exercise program (three times a week for six weeks), and another 25 were assigned as controls. Skin conductance levels of the subjects were measured at 24 Ryodoraku points on the wrists and the ankles, along with heart rate variability (HRV) analysis, during and after the treadmill exercise period.
Results: The six-week exercise training resulted in a significant elevation of the average electrical conductance, which returned to the pre-training level after three months of cessation of the exercise training.
Conclusion: HRV data have shown no similar changes, suggesting that Ryodoraku is a useful tool in detecting subtle, non-cardiovascular physical responses.

Objective: The research aimed to evaluate the anti-Shigella and antacid activities of the methanolic extract of Limnophila indica.

Methods: The whole plant of L. indica was extracted using methanol and then subjected to preliminary chemical screening. The in vitro antibacterial screening on two Gram-positive and two Gram-negative bacteria as well as threeShigella species of which two bacteria were antibiotic-resistant were evaluated by disc diffusion method. Castor oil-induced diarrhoea on Wistar albino rats was performed by using loperamide as a standard control. The in vitroantacid activity was tested by artificial stomach model. The neutralization efficiency, capacity, volume and hydrogen ions consumed were also evaluated.

Results: The preliminary chemical screening on methanolic extract of L.indica showed the presence of phenolic compounds, flavonoids, alkaloids, fats and oils. It was proved to be a potent antibacterial agent against the four bacterial strains. Screening against Shigella species revealed that it was a powerful antibacterial agent towards antibiotic-resistant Shigella species. In the case of in vivo antidiarrheal activity, the plant has shown a dose-dependent activity and the lowest dose at 100 mg/kg gave a much better result than loperamide (P<0.01). The in vitro antacid study showed a mild activity.

Conclusion: As the plant L. indica has been proved to be a competent antibacterial as well as a compelling antidiarrheal agent with mild antacid activity, this plant can be very well suggested to be an eminent substitute for the various synthetic anti-dysentery and antidiarrheal agents available in the market.

Objective: To study the analgesic effects of naringenin on chronic constriction injury (CCI) model of neuropathic pain.
Methods: After inducing of neuropathic pain by CCI, treatment with 25 and 50 mg/kg of naringenin and 10 mg/kg of pregabalin was given. Rats were evaluated for behavioral tests using Hargreaves apparatus for thermal hyperalgesia, pin prick test for tactile mechanical hyperalgesia and cold water-induced allodynia on days 0, 3, 5, 7, 14 and 21. At the end of study, oxidative stress parameters were measured.
Results: Naringenin showed ameliorating action against CCI-induced neuropathic pain in all the tested models. Also, naringenin attenuated the elevated levels of lipid peroxidation and nitric oxide, and restored the level of reduced glutathione.
Conclusion: The results of the present investigation suggest that naringenin exhibits analgesic effect in sciatic nerve injury model.

Objective

To study the efficacy and safety of Fuzheng Huayu Capsule (FZHY Capsule) against liver fibrosis with chronic hepatitis B.

Methods

Multicentric, randomized, double blinded and paralleled control led trial was conducted on patients (aged between 18 and 65) with liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B．Indexes observed: (1) hepatic histological changes and HBV markers were observed at 0 and 24th week during the treatment; serological indexes (HA, LN, P-Ⅲ-P, Ⅳ-C) were determined and B ultrasound examination of spleen and liver was taken at 0, 12th, 24th week; liver function (during the period of follow-up, liver function and serological indexes for liver fibrosis were evaluated) were observed at 0, 6th, 12th, 18th, 24th week; (2) indexes for safety: blood and urine routine tests, renal function and ECG were examined.

Results

(1) Enrollment and demographic data: There was no significant difference between the trial (110 cases) and control group (106 cases) in demographic feature, vital signs, course of illness,history for drug anaphylaxis, history of previous therapy, liver function, serological indexes for liver fibrosis, liver histological examination (99 cases for test group, 96 cases for control group), HBV markers, and renal function, etc. (2) Histological pathological examination: 93 cases of liver histological examination were taken, of these 50 cases for the trial group and 43 cases for control group which turned out to be at S mean value of 2.33 and 2.11 respectively pretreatment according to criteria for liver fibrosis staging. Post-treatment, the trial showed a significant decrease with S value of 1.80 compared to that of pretreatment; however, there was no significant improvement in control group before and after the treatment with S mean value of 2.14. There was significant difference in reversing rate (decrease at least 1 stage according to criteria for liver fibrosis staging) between the trial (52%) and control (23.3%) after liver biopsy. The trial had a rather good effect on improving inflammatory activity and was superior to control group with a marked decrease of mean value of inflammatory activity and score of inflammation (P<0.05). (3) Serological indexes for liver fibrosis: There was a significant decrease in HA, LN, P-Ⅲ-P, Ⅳ-C content in test group after 12 and 24 weeks' treatment compared to that of pretreatment; the differences of HA, LN, P-Ⅲ-P, Ⅳ-C between 12 , 24 weeks' treatment and pretreatment were significantly greater than control group (P<0.01 or 0.05); the effectual was defined as 2 of 4 indexes lowered more than 30% of the baseline, according to this criteria, the trial was 72.7%, while control group 27.4% (P<0.01). (4) Liver function: Obvious improvement of serum Alb, ALT, AST, GGT was seen in 2 groups; compared with control group, marked improvement of GGT and Alb in the trial (P<0.05); the effective rate of serum ALT in the trial group was 72.7%, while control 59.4%. (5) No changes of significant difference between pre- and post-treatment in routine tests for blood and urine, renal function and ECG, etc. There was also no difference in the stable rate of ALT and serological indexes for liver fibrosis between the trial and control group 12 weeks after withdrawal (P<0.05).

Conclusion

Fuzheng Huayu Capsule has good effect on alleviating liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B without any adverse effect and is superior to Heluo Shugan Capsule. Fuzheng Huayu Capsule is a safe and effective medicine for the treatment of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B.

On the basis of medical literature review and clinical research experience, the authors analyzed the reasons for low recognition rate of depression and poor progress of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) differentiation of depression in this paper and put forward that depressive episode symptoms and the corresponding common terminology classification of Chinese and Western medicine should be the breakthrough points. Through symptom stratification and combination, as well as distinguishing between primary and secondary symptoms, the comprehensive integrative medicine clinical assessment of depression was explored so as to further obtain expert consensus and provide a methodology reference for the TCM differentiation of depression and the research of etiology and pathogenesis.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of Tuina and Chinese patent drug Shuxuetong injection in preventing patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty from deep venous thrombosis and in functional rehabilitation.

Methods: A total of 120 patients with diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Shanghai Guanghua Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine in China were enrolled for this study. The patients underwent total knee arthroplasty and were divided into treatment group (n=60) and control group (n=60) after surgery. Patients in the control group received conventional rehabilitation training, including using a continuous passive motion machine and training of muscle contractions of the lower limb. Patients in the treatment group were administered Shuxuetong injection and Tuina based on the conventional rehabilitation training. The course of treatment lasted for 2 weeks. Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) knee score, rate of deep venous thrombosis and range of motion of the knee joint were evaluated before and after treatment.

Results: There was no significant difference in HSS knee score and range of motion as compared before and after treatment in two group (P>0.05). The rate of deep venous thrombosis of the treatment group was 13.33%, which was lower than 20% of the control group (P<0.05).

Conclusion: Tuina combined with Shuxuetong injection treatment can prevent deep venous thrombosis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis after total knee arthroplasty.