Acupuncture therapy for Alzheimer's disease: A protocol for an overview of systematic reviews

Analysis on Acupoint Selection and Combination for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Treated with Acupuncture Based on Data Mining

Objective

The aim of the study was to explore the regularity of acupoints in the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) by means of data mining technology.

Methods

Nine databases, including SinoMed, Chongqing VIP (CQVIP), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Data, Cochrane Library, PubMed, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Embase, were comprehensively searched till December 2021. The published clinical literature testing acupuncture in the treatment of ALS was eligible for inclusion. Studies were organized to establish the prescription database. Modular data mining analysis, including acupoint frequency, complex network analysis, association rule analysis, and cluster analysis were used to conduct statistical analysis.

Results

Forty-two literature studies on 141 acupoints were included, involving 626 times the total application frequency. The top 5 acupoints in application frequency were Hegu (LI 4, 67%), Zusanli (ST 36, 67%), Quchi (LI 11, 52%), Sanyinjiao (SP 6, 48%), and Yanglingquan (GB 34, 45%). The most involved meridian was the large intestine meridian of hand Yangming (90 times). The generally used acupoints were mainly distributed in the lower limbs. The top 5 combinations in application frequency were Hegu-Quchi (75 times), Quchi-Zusanli (66 times), Zusanli-Sanyinjiao (54 times), Hegu-Sanyinjiao (54 times), and Quchi-Sanyinjiao (49 times). The acupoint combinations with the strongest association were Quchi, Hegu, Zusanli, Sanyinjiao, and Shousanli (LI 10). There were 7 acupoint groups according to the cluster analysis. The core prescriptions were Hegu, Zusanli, Quchi, and Jiaji (EX-B 2).

Conclusions

Hegu, Zusanli, Quchi, and Jiaji could be used as the main prescriptions in treating ALS. The combination of Quchi, Hegu, Zusanli, and Sanyinjiao should be selected with priority in acupuncture therapy.

Identification of miRNA–mRNA Pairs in the Alzheimer’s Disease Expression Profile and Explore the Effect of miR-26a-5p/PTGS2 on Amyloid-β Induced Neurotoxicity in Alzheimer’s Disease Cell Model

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease and the most common type of dementia. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been extensively studied in many diseases, including AD. To identify the AD-specific differentially expressed miRNAs and mRNAs, we used bioinformatics analysis to study candidate miRNA–mRNA pairs involved in the pathogenesis of AD. These miRNA–mRNAs may serve as promising biomarkers for early diagnosis or targeted therapy of AD patients. In this study, based on the AD mRNA and miRNA expression profile data in Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), through differential expression analysis, functional annotation and enrichment analysis, weighted gene co-expression network analysis, miRNA–mRNA regulatory network, protein–protein interaction network, receiver operator characteristic and Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression and other analysis, we screened the key miRNA–mRNA in the progress of AD: miR-26a-5p/PTGS2. Dual-luciferase and qPCR experiments confirmed that PTGS2 is a direct target gene of miR-26a-5p. The expression of miR-26a-5p in the peripheral blood of AD patients and AD model cells (SH-SY5Y cells treated with Aβ_25–35) was up-regulated, and the expression of PTGS2 was down-regulated. Functional gain -loss experiments confirmed that PTGS2 protects AD model cells from damage by inhibiting proliferation and migration. However, the expression of miR-26a-5p promotes the proliferation of AD model cells. It is further found that PTGS2 is involved in the regulation of miR-26a-5p and can reverse the effect of miR-26a-5p on the proliferation of AD model cells. In addition, through network pharmacology, qPCR and CCK-8, we found that baicalein may affect the progression of AD by regulating the expression of PTGS2. Therefore, PTGS2 can be used as a target for AD research, and miR-26a-5p/PTGS2 can be used as an axis of action to study the pathogenesis of AD.

Plum-blossom needle plus Chinese herbal medicine for alopecia areata: A protocol for systematic review and meta analysis

BACKGROUND

Alopecia areata (AA) is a common, inflammatory, nonscarring type of hair loss that is characterized by depression, anxiety and social isolation. In recent years, Plum-blossom needle plus Chinese herbal medicine has gradually shown its clinical advantages and been more and more widely used in China. Whereas, there has been no systematic review and meta-analysis. The purpose of this study is to estimate the safety and effectiveness of Plum-blossom needle plus Chinese herbal medicine in AA treatment.

METHODS

Seven databases as following: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP), and Chinese Biomedical Literatures Database (CBM) will be searched from their inception to August 2020. Two reviewers (LBL and ZYZ) will respectively regulate research selection, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment. A third reviewer will be settled to consulting, if necessary. Review Manager Software 5.4 will be implemented for this study.

RESULTS

The results will be published in a peer-reviewed medical journal. This meta-analysis will provide a synthetic review of the credible evidence for the treatment of Plum-blossom needle plus Chinese herbal medicine with AA.

CONCLUSIONS

This systematic review and meta-analysis expects to provide high-quality evidence regarding the synergistic effect of Plum-blossom needle plus Chinese herbal medicine treatment for AA.