Vascular complications of diabetes pose a severe threat to human health. Prevention and treatment protocols based on a single vascular complication are no longer suitable for the long-term management of patients with diabetes. Diabetic panvascular disease (DPD) is a clinical syndrome in which vessels of various sizes, including macrovessels and microvessels in the cardiac, cerebral, renal, ophthalmic, and peripheral systems of patients with diabetes, develop atherosclerosis as a common pathology. Pathological manifestations of DPDs usually manifest macrovascular atherosclerosis, as well as microvascular endothelial function impairment, basement membrane thickening, and microthrombosis. Cardiac, cerebral, and peripheral microangiopathy coexist with microangiopathy, while renal and retinal are predominantly microangiopathic. The following associations exist between DPDs: numerous similar molecular mechanisms, and risk-predictive relationships between diseases. Aggressive glycemic control combined with early comprehensive vascular intervention is the key to prevention and treatment. In addition to the widely recommended metformin, glucagon-like peptide-1 agonist, and sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors, for the latest molecular mechanisms, aldose reductase inhibitors, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ agonizts, glucokinases agonizts, mitochondrial energy modulators, etc. are under active development. DPDs are proposed for patients to obtain more systematic clinical care requires a comprehensive diabetes care center focusing on panvascular diseases. This would leverage the advantages of a cross-disciplinary approach to achieve better integration of the pathogenesis and therapeutic evidence. Such a strategy would confer more clinical benefits to patients and promote the comprehensive development of DPD as a discipline.
The Mediterranean diet has long been recognized as one of the most effective ways to prevent and improve cardiovascular disease. Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is the typical sources of fat in the Mediterranean diet which have been shown to have noteworthy nutritional value and positive impact on human health. It is worth noting that EVOO owes its superior nutritional value to its bioactive composition. The main component of EVOO is monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) in the form of oleic acid. Oleic acid accounts for up to 70%-80% of EVOO. Secondly, EVOO contains approximately more than 30 phenolic compounds, of which HT is essential for the protection against CVDs. In this review, we focused on the potential mechanisms of oleic acid and polyphenols combat cardiovascular diseases risk in terms of oxidative stress, inflammation, blood pressure, endothelial function and cholesterol. This review might provide a reference for the studies on cardiovascular protective effects of EVOO.
Chaihu Shugan San (CSS) is a well-known herbal formula used to nourish liver and blood, promote blood circulation and Qi flow in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Modern pharmacological studies and clinical uses showed that CSS could ameliorate cognitive dysfunction of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The present study aimed to elucidate the multi-target mechanisms of CSS on AD using network pharmacology analysis and verify its effect by biological experiments. Firstly, a total of 152 active compounds in CSS, 520 predicted biological targets and 160 AD-related targets were identified. Subsequently, the networks including herb-compound-target network, AD-target network, and CSS potential target-AD target network were constructed. 60 key targets highly responsible for the beneficial effect of CSS on AD were identified by central network topological analysis. They were significantly characterized as nuclear or cytoplasmic proteins with molecular function of protein binding. They were also enriched in various biological processes through PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway and HIF signaling pathway by GO function and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. Pretreatment with CSS ameliorated Aβ-induced neural cell death and reduced the number of apoptotic cells in differentiated PC12 cells. Moreover, increased phosphorylation of Akt accompanied with decreased Bax expression was found after CSS pretreatment, suggesting that Akt signaling pathway was involved in the protective effect of CSS against neural cells death. The present study systematically revealed the multi-target mechanisms of CSS on AD using network pharmacology approach, as well as validated the protective effect of CSS against Aβ-induced neural cells death through Akt signaling pathway. It provided indications for further mechanistic studies and also for the development of CSS as a potential treatment for AD patients.
Evodiamine (EVO), an indole alkaloid derived from Rutaceae plants Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth.、Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth. Var. bodinieri (Dode) Huang or Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth. Var. officinalis (Dode) Huang, has anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor activities. Our previous study found that EVO attenuates colitis by regulating gut microbiota and metabolites. However, little is known about its effect on colitis-associated cancer (CAC). In this study, the protective effects of EVO on azoxymethane (AOM)/dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis and tumor mice were observed, and the underlying potential mechanism was clarified. The results suggested that EVO ameliorated AOM/DSS-induced colitis by inhibiting the intestinal inflammation and improving mucosal barrier function. And EVO significantly reduced the number and size of AOM/DSS-induced colorectal tumors along with promoted apoptosis and inhibited proliferation of epithelial cell. Moreover, EVO promoted the enrichment of SCFAs-producing bacteria and reduced the levels of the pro-inflammatory bacteria, which contributes to the changes of microbiota metabolism, especially tryptophan metabolism. Furthermore, inflammatory response (like Wnt signaling pathway、Hippo signaling pathway and IL-17 signaling pathway) were effectively alleviated by EVO. Our study demonstrated that the protective therapeutic action of EVO on CAC is to inhibit the development of intestinal inflammation-cancer by regulating gut microbiota metabolites and signaling pathways of colon intestinal epithelial, which may represent a novel agent for colon cancer prevention via manipulation of gut microbiota.
XS0601, consisting of active ingredients (Chuangxiongol and paeoniflorin), has been shown to inhibit arterial neointimal hyperplasia in animal models and in preliminary human studies. The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of XS0601 in preventing restenosis following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). A multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted. A total of 335 patients were randomized into treatment with the oral administration of XS0601, or a placebo for 6 months after successful PCI. Angiographic follow-up was scheduled at 6 months, and clinical follow-ups performed at 1, 3 and 6 months after PCI. The primary end point was angiographic restenosis. The secondary end points were the combined incidence of death, target lesion nonfatal myocardial infarction, repeat angioplasty, and coronary artery bypass graft surgery. A total of 308 patients (91.9%) completed the study and 145 cases (47.1%) received angiographic follow-up. The restenosis rates were significantly reduced in the XS0601 group as compared with the placebo group (26.0% vs. 47.2%, P < 0.05), and the minimum lumen diameter (MLD) was greater [(2.08 +/- 0.89) mm for XS0601 vs. (1.73 +/- 0.94) mm for placebo, P < 0.05]. XS0601 also significantly reduced the combined incidence of major adverse cardiac event (10.4% in the XS0601 group vs. 22.7% in the placebo group, P < 0.05). The incidence of recurrent angina at 3 and 6 months after PCI was also significantly reduced in XS0601 group (7.1% and 11.0%) as compared with those in placebo group (19.5% and 42.9%) (P < 0.05). No significant side effects occurred within the 6-month follow-up period in the XS0601 group. Administration of XS0601 for 6 months is demonstrated to be safe and effective in reducing restenosis in post-PCI patients.
10 February 2011 in Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine