Hints of western medicine from Chinese medicine

As a biochemist, I have been studying lipolytic and lipogenic pathways in fat cells since 1963. In 1966, I proposed a hormone-sensitive substrate theory in which catecholamines might not act on lipase but on substrate during their lipolytic processes. The lipolytic and lipogenic pathways are negative and positive processes in triglyceride content of fat cells. Insulin inhibits the negative process (lipolysis) and stimulates the positive process (lipogenesis from glucose). On the other hand, catecholamine stimulates the negative process and inhibits the positive one. These hormones discriminate the negative and positive rules and regulate opposite ways. We tried to find these hormone-like substances in various natural products. We isolated tea saponins, chitosan, and others as insulin-like substances and dimethyl-xanthine as a catecholamine-like one. It is well known that extracellular fluid pH changes from 7.4 to 6.8. Reduction of the pH from 7.4 causes insulin resistance. Insulin failed to stimulate glucose uptake at pH 7.0 of the extracellular fluid. We found minus ions, which stimulated lipogenesis from glucose by raising extracellular fluid pH to 7.4. These are our approaches to find functional substances that prevent lifestyle-related diseases.     

中西医观解读时间生物学

时间生物学是一门研究生命活动节律的科学。在西方医学中,研究时间生物学是利用分子生物学实验来阐释其机制,以西医的思维方法解释时间生物学的生理及病理过程;中医对时间生物学的记载有两千多年的历史,阴阳理论、子午流注学说以及五运六气学说一直以来都在指导中医的诊断和治疗。中西医观的不同对时间生物学的研究提供了新的研究思路,同时时间生物学也为研究中西医结合提供了广阔的前景。     

中西医观解读时间生物学

时间生物学是一门研究生命活动节律的科学.在西方医学中,研究时间生物学是利用分子生物学实验来阐释其机制,以西医的思维方法解释时间生物学的生理及病理过程;中医对时间生物学的记载有两千多年的历史,阴阳理论、子午流注学说以及五运六气学说一直以来都在指导中医的诊断和治疗.中西医观的不同对时间生物学的研究提供了新的研究思路,同时时间生物学也为研究中西医结合提供了广阔的前景.     

抗缺氧中药研究进展

氧气是生命活动必不可少的物质基础,由高原低压低氧及呼吸系统疾病、心血管疾病等内外界因素引起的缺氧可导致线粒体损伤,能量代谢紊乱,氧化应激,炎症爆发等一系列反应,进而损伤机体。研发安全、有效的治疗药物显得尤为重要。近年来大量研究表明,中药在抗缺氧方面有巨大的潜力。本文归纳总结了抗缺氧中药单体化合物、中药提取物及中药复方的研究进展,为抗缺氧中药的深入研究和开发提供思路,为其临床应用提供参考。     

Emerging issues in traditional Chinese medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has many beneficial effects and has been practiced for several thousand years. It is known to treat the cause of a disease rather than to alleviate its symptoms. Based on a belief that TCM is natural, safe, and of lower cost, consumers worldwide are spending more out-of-pocket money on this form of therapy. This increased spending, and reports of adverse reactions, has drawn the attention of many regulatory agencies. Scientists have called for more evidence-based and scientific research on the risks and benefits of TCM. In Canada, the Natural Health Product Regulations came into effect January 2004. TCM herbal product manufacturers will need to provide products of reputable quality to the market. Many will apply modern technology and good science to support their products. The issues facing producers, scientists, and consumers alike are quality control and assessment, standardization of bioactive components, mechanisms of actions, and integration of the evolved modern Chinese medicine into the healthcare system. Solid science, better regulation of the final product, and better education of consumers are necessary to extract the best of TCM to complement existing conventional medicine to deliver the best healthcare.     

Proteomics and syndrome of Chinese medicine

Syndrome of Chinese medicine is an understanding of the regularity of disease occurrence and development and its performance of symptoms. Syndrome is the key to recognize diseases and the foundation to treat them. However, because of the complexity of the concept and the limitation of present investigations, the research of syndrome is hard to go further. Proteomics has been received extensive attention in the area of medical diagnosis and drug development. In the holistic and systemic context, proteomics have a convergence with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome, which could overcome the one-sidedness and singleness of TCM and avoid the complication and tedious processes. Chinese medicine has a wealth of experience and proteomics has a substantial research potential, the integration of the two aspects will bring a great enhancement of our knowledge of disease.     

中药抗白念珠菌研究新进展

以白念珠菌为主的真菌感染近年来呈上升态势,氟康唑等一线抗真菌药物因长期应用导致耐药菌株不断出现,中药在抗真菌感染方面具有独特的优势。本课题组在多项国家与省级课题资助下,对中药的体内外抗真菌作用及机制进行了较系统深入的研究,现结合课题组自身与国内外在中药抗真菌感染领域的最新研究成果,对中药抗真菌(主要是白念珠菌)近5年的研究进展进行综述。     

现代生物技术在中药发酵中的应用

发酵是中药炮制一个重要的方面,近年来关于运用现代生物技术来发酵中药的研究越来越多。本文阐述了现代中药发酵的意义、区别传统发酵的优势以及现阶段的发展概况。     

中药天麻的研究现状

天麻是我国传统名贵中草药,近年来的研究表明,天麻对中枢神经系统有镇静止痛作用,能增强心肌收缩力,增加冠脉流量,降低外周血压,抗缺血缺氧,并能增强免疫功能．天麻能提高SOD抗氧化酶的活力,消除氧自由基。天麻无任何毒副作用,可反复给药,是一种药理作用广泛的中药材。     

From traditional Chinese medicine to rational cancer therapy

Many natural products and derivatives thereof belong to the standard repertoire of cancer chemotherapy. Examples are Vinca alkaloids, taxanes and camptothecins. In recent years, the potential of natural products from plants, notably from medicinal plants used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has been recognized by the scientific community in the Western world. To provide an example of the most recent developments in this field, we have selected several compounds, namely artesunate, homoharringtonine, arsenic trioxide and cantharidin, that are found in natural TCM products and that have the potential for use in cancer therapy. Controlled clinical studies have shown that homoharringtonine and arsenic trioxide can exert profound activity against leukaemia. Increased knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of TCM-derived drugs and recent developments in their applications demonstrate that the combination of TCM with modern cutting-edge technologies provides an attractive strategy for the development of novel and improved cancer therapeutics.     

中、西医院住院患者金黄色葡萄球菌的耐药情况分析

目的探讨本地区中、西医两家医院金黄色葡萄球菌的耐药情况。方法采用K-B法对两家医院收集的菌株进行药敏试验。结果 12种检测的药物中,除万古霉素、利奈唑胺以及青霉素外,其他抗菌药物耐药率西医院均高于中医院,其中左氧氟沙星、苯唑西林、利福平、庆大霉素、四环素中医院耐药率为9.1%、14.0%、15.7%、19.8%、25.6%,西医院为40.0%、52.7%、40.0%、47.7%、50.0%,差异有统计学意义(P0.01)。结论中医院金黄色葡萄球菌的耐药率明显低于西医院。