1.
Effects of comprehensive therapy based on traditional Chinese medicine patterns on older patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a subgroup analysis from a four-center, randomized, controlled study.
Wang, M, Li, J, Li, S, Xie, Y
Frontiers of medicine. 2014;(3):368-75
Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of comprehensive therapy based on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) patterns on older patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) through a fourcenter, open-label, randomized controlled trial. Patients were divided into the trial group treated using conventional western medicine and Bu-Fei Jian-Pi granules, Bu-Fei Yi-Shen granules, and Yi-Qi Zi-Shen granules based on TCM patterns respectively; and the control group treated using conventional western medicine. A total of 136 patients ≥ 65 years completed the study, with 63 patients comprising the trial group and 73 comprising the control group. After the six-month treatment and the 12-month follow-up period, significant differences were observed between the trial and control groups in the following aspects: frequency of acute exacerbation (P ≤ 0.040), duration of acute exacerbation (P = 0.034), symptoms (P ≤ 0.034), 6-min walking distance (6MWD) (P ≤ 0.039), dyspnea scale (P ≤ 0.036); physical domain (P ≤ 0.019), psychological domain (P ≤ 0.033), social domain (P ≤ 0.020), and environmental domain (P ≤ 0.044) of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire; and daily living ability domain (P ≤ 0.007), social activity domain (P ≤ 0.018), depression symptoms domain (P ≤ 0.025), and anxiety symptoms domain (P ≤ 0.037) of the COPD-QOL. No differences were observed between the trial and control groups with regard to FVC, FEV1, and FEV1%.
2.
Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels as potential drug targets in respiratory disease.
Li, S, Westwick, J, Poll, C
Cell calcium. 2003;(5-6):551-8
Abstract
Calcium-permeable channels have traditionally been thought of as therapeutic targets in excitable cells. For instance, voltage-operated Ca2+ channels in neurones and smooth muscle cells for neurological and cardiovascular diseases although calcium-permeable channels are also functionally important in electrically non-excitable cells. In the lung, calcium channels play a pivotal role in the activation of all the cell types present, whether resident cells such as airway smooth muscle cells and macrophages or migratory cells such as neutrophils or lymphocytes.Previously, research in this area has been hindered by the lack of obvious molecular identity. More recently, the emergence of the transient receptor potential (TRP) cation family has yielded promising candidates which may underpin the different receptor-operated calcium influx pathways. The challenge now, is to ascribe function to the TRP channels expressed in each cell type as a first step in identifying which TRP channels may be potential drug targets for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (Fig. 1).