scholarly journals The Therapeutic Effects of the Chinese Herbal Medicine, Lang Chuang Fang Granule, on Lupus-Prone MRL/lprMice

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai-Peng Huang ◽  
Zhi-Hao Zhang ◽  
Rui-Ming Li ◽  
Xiao Chen

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease that leads to severe multiorgan damage. Lang Chuang Fang (LCF) is a Chinese herbal medicine that is clinically prescribed for treating SLE. In this study, we examined the therapeutic effects of LCF granule on lupus-prone MRL/lprmice. Female mice were randomly separated into six groups, and LCF treatment groups received LCF granule at the dosage of 0.97 g/kg/d, 1.95 g/kg/d, and 3.90 g/kg/d, respectively. Here, we found that, compared to the MRL/lprmice, both the spleen coefficient and thymus coefficient were reduced in the LCF granule-treated mice. There was a marked downregulation in CRP and anti-dsDNA autoantibody and an evident upregulation of CH50 in LCF granule-treated mice. LCF granule treatment also obviously reduced the proteinuria, BUN, and SCr levels in MRL/lprmice at the dosage of 0.97 g/kg/d, 1.95 g/kg/d, and 3.90 g/kg/d, indicating that LCF granule alleviated the renal injury of MRL/lprmice. Furthermore, LCF granule decreased p65 NF-κB levels and increased Sirt1 and Nrf2 levels in the kidney tissues of MRL/lprmice, which might elucidate the beneficial effects of LCF on lupus nephritis. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that LCF granule has therapeutic effects on lupus-prone MRL/lprmice.

1989 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 1003-1013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiromi KOBAYASHI ◽  
Masamitsu ISHII ◽  
Tsukasa TANII ◽  
Takeshi KOHNO ◽  
Toshio HAMADA

Lupus ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 096120332098858
Author(s):  
José A Gómez-Puerta ◽  
Guillermo J Pons-Estel ◽  
Rosana Quintana ◽  
Romina Nieto ◽  
Rosa M Serrano Morales ◽  
...  

Introduction: After more than 20 years of sustained work, the Latin American Group for the Study of Lupus (GLADEL) has made a significant number of contributions to the field of lupus, not only in the differential role that race/ethnicity plays in its course and outcome but also in several other studies including the beneficial effects of using antimalarials in lupus patients and the development of consensus guidelines for the treatment of lupus in our region. Methods: A new generation of “Lupus Investigators” in more than 40 centers throughout Latin America has been constituted in order to continue the legacy of the investigators of the original cohort and to launch a novel study of serum and urinary biomarkers in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Results: So far, we have recruited 807 patients and 631 controls from 42 Latin-American centers including 339 patients with SLE without renal involvement, 202 patients with SLE with prevalent but inactive renal disease, 176 patients with prevalent and active renal disease and 90 patients with incident lupus nephritis. Conclusions: The different methodological aspects of the GLADEL 2.0 cohort are discussed in this manuscript, including the challenges and difficulties of conducting such an ambitious project.


Author(s):  
Anna Wardowska ◽  
Żaneta Smoleńska ◽  
Katarzyna A. Lisowska ◽  
Zbigniew Zdrojewski ◽  
Michał Pikuła

The systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease related to a loss of immune tolerance against autoantigens that leads to tissue inflammation and organ dysfunction. Constant stimulation of dendritic cells (DC) with autoantigens is hypothesized to increase the B cells’ activity which are involved in production of autoantibodies that play an essential role in the SLE development. We focused our study on detecting alterations in DCs at the cellular and molecular levels in patients with treated SLE, depending on the disease activity and treatment. In order to phenotype subpopulations of DCs, multicolor flow cytometry was used. Transcriptional changes were identified with quantitative PCR, while soluble cytokine receptors were assessed with the Luminex technology. We show that SLE patients display a higher percentage of activated myeloid DCs (mDCs) when compared to healthy people. Both, the mDCs and plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) of SLE patients were characterized by changes in expression of genes associated with their maturation, functioning and signalling, which was especially reflected by low expression of regulatory factor ID2 and increased expression of IRF5. pDCs of SLE patients also showed increased expression of IRF1. There were also significant changes in the expression of APRIL, MBD2, and E2-2 in mDCs that significantly correlated with some serum components, i.e. anti-dsDNA antibodies or complement components. However, we did not find any significant differences depending on the disease activity. While the majority of available studies focuses mainly on the role of pDCs in the disease development, our results show significant disturbances in the functioning of mDCs in SLE patients, thus confirming mDCs’ importance in SLE pathogenesis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (17) ◽  
pp. 3996
Author(s):  
Lou Kawka ◽  
Aurélien Schlenckerv ◽  
Philippe Mertz ◽  
Thierry Martin ◽  
Laurent Arnaud

Fatigue is a complex and multifactorial phenomenon which is often neglected by clinicians. The aim of this review was to analyze the impact, determinants and management of fatigue in patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). Fatigue is one of the most prevalent symptoms in SLE, reported by 67% to 90% of patients. It is also described as the most bothersome symptom, considering that it may impair key aspects of health-related quality of life, while also leading to employment disability. It is a multifactorial phenomenon involving psychological factors, pain, lifestyle factors such as reduced physical activity, whereas the contribution of disease activity remains controversial. The management of fatigue in patients with SLE should rely upon a person-centered approach, with targeted interventions. Some pharmacological treatments used to control disease activity have demonstrated beneficial effects upon fatigue and non-pharmacological therapies such as psychological interventions, pain reduction and lifestyle changes, and each of these should be incorporated into fatigue management in SLE.


F1000Research ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 970 ◽  
Author(s):  
Savino Sciascia ◽  
Massimo Radin ◽  
Dario Roccatello ◽  
Giovanni Sanna ◽  
Maria Laura Bertolaccini

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease presenting highly heterogeneous clinical manifestations and multi-systemic involvement. Patients are susceptible to relapse­ and remission, thus making management challenging. Moreover, a considerable number of side effects may occur with conventional therapies; therefore, there is clearly a need for new therapeutic strategies. Since the pathogenesis of SLE is highly complex, it is far from being fully understood. However, greater understanding of the pathways and of the cellular and molecular mediators involved in SLE is being achieved. Emerging evidence has allowed the development of new biological therapeutic options targeting crucial molecular mediators involved in the pathogenesis of SLE. This literature review analyzes the availability of biological and target-directed treatments, phase II and III trials, and new therapies that are being developed for the treatment of SLE.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunxiao Wu ◽  
Jingchun Zhang ◽  
Yingke Zhao ◽  
Jing Chen ◽  
Yue Liu

Background.Blood pressure variability (BPV) independent of average blood pressure is related to cardiovascular damage. Meanwhile, BPV is also associated with measures of endothelial injury. Decoction, a traditional used form of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), is inconvenient to prepare, carry, and store. Dispensing granules is now developing as an alternative to decoction, but the evidence supporting its clinical efficacy the same as decoction remains unclear.Objective.To examine the therapeutic effects on mean blood pressure (MBP), blood pressure variability, and endothelial function by giving Bushen Qinggan Formula, a compound Chinese Herbal Medicine and also to evaluate the difference in efficacy between decoction and granule.Methods.A total of 150 patients with hypertension were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive the placebo, Bushen Qinggan decoction, or Bushen Qinggan granule in addition to the standard medications (amlodipine-5 mg/d) for the treatment of essential hypertension (EH). The outcome was the reduction in the MBP and BPV and also included changes in the endothelial markers including endothelin-1 (ET-1) and nitric oxide (NO) after 8 weeks of treatment.Results.Compared with the control group, the Bushen Qinggan decoction and granule groups had significant improvement (P<0.01) in BPV and endothelial founction. The level of BPV and endothelial function between decoction and granule group had no significant difference (P>0.05).Conclusion.Based on the standard treatment, Bushen Qinggan Formula further improved BPV and endothelial function. The efficacy of Bushen Qinggan decoction and granule is similar in improving BPV and endothelial function. However, no significant antihypertensive effects could be demonstrated.


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