BioMedicine RSS feed: Current Issue. BioMedicine is a peer-reviewed journal that aims to publish high quality scientific research in the field of translational and personalized medicine, with the goal of promoting and disseminating medical science knowledge to improve global health. It is published quarterly by Elsevier. Articles on clinical, laboratory and social research in translational and personalized medicine and other related fields that are of interest to the medical profession are eligible for consideration. Review articles, original articles, case reports, short communications, and letters to the editor are accepted. http://www.e-biomedicine.com/?rss=yesElsevier Inc.en © 2012 Published by Elsevier Inc. BioMedicine2211-802021March 2012 © 2012 Published by Elsevier Inc. healthpermissions@elsevier.comhttp://www.e-biomedicine.com/article/PIIS2211802012000022/abstract?rss=yesIt is well established that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) not only plays a key role in Eastern societies, but also looms as a major medical alternative in the West. Furthermore, mounting evidence indicates that the herbs used in TCM are capable of important pharmacological effects. This has lead to the development of Chinese herbal medicines, which are also known as Chinese materia medica (CMM). The database regarding the molecular targets, metabolic pathways, and herb-drug interactions in CMM has recently been enriched and improved, making investigations of CMM for current and future clinical therapies both evident and attractive. It is a great pleasure to introduce the second issue of this journal that focuses on the contributions of CMM.Biomedicine offers advanced medical findingsMei-chin Yin10.1016/j.biomed.2012.02.001BioMedicine 2, 1 (2012)2012-02-10BioMedicine2012-02-1021S2211-8020(12)X0002-0Editorial11http://www.e-biomedicine.com/article/PIIS2211802011000362/abstract?rss=yesAbstract: Triterpene compounds occur naturally in many herbs and plant foods. Triterpenes such as ursolic, oleanolic, and betulinic acid definitely possess antioxidative and anti-inflammatory activities as well as an inhibitory effect on advanced glycation end-product (AGE) formation. Furthermore, the effects of triterpenes upon the activity and expression of aldose reductase, sorbitol dehydrogenase, and glyoxalase I, enzymes involved in the polyol pathway, have been examined, with positive results reported. These studies indicate triterpenes as potent antiglycative agents, suggesting that they can benefit the prevention of and/or therapy for glycation-related diseases such as diabetes mellitus and Alzheimer’s disease. Further studies should examine their impact on receptors of AGE (RAGEs) and AGE–RAGE interaction in order to bolster the antiglycative application of these natural compounds.Anti-glycative potential of triterpenes: A mini-reviewMei-Chin Yin10.1016/j.biomed.2011.12.001BioMedicine 2, 1 (2012)2011-12-21BioMedicine2011-12-2121S2211-8020(12)X0002-0Review Articles29http://www.e-biomedicine.com/article/PIIS2211802012000034/abstract?rss=yesAbstract: Chinese herbal medicines have been used for the treatment of various diseases for centuries. Although several herbal formulas and herbal components have shown therapeutic potential, the active components and the molecular mechanisms mediating the effects of said formulas remain to be discovered. Microarray analysis has become a widely used tool for the generation of gene expression data on a genome-wide scale. This paper discusses the application of whole genome expression profiling as a tool to investigate the molecular mechanisms governing the therapeutic effects of traditional Chinese medicine. This review also highlights how data derived from DNA microarray analysis can be used to screen for drug targets of various herbal drugs, to predict the therapeutic potential of herbal drugs, to analyze the safety of drugs in the preclinical stage of drug development, and to establish a modern definition of traditional Chinese medicine.DNA microarray analysis as a tool to investigate the therapeutic mechanisms and drug development of Chinese medicinal herbsChia-Cheng Li, Hsin-Yi Lo, Chien-Yun Hsiang, Tin-Yun Ho10.1016/j.biomed.2012.02.002BioMedicine 2, 1 (2012)2012-02-13BioMedicine2012-02-1321S2211-8020(12)X0002-0Review Articles1016http://www.e-biomedicine.com/article/PIIS2211802011000374/abstract?rss=yesAbstract: Recent years have seen an increasing emphasis on foods and food components in disease prevention. Garlic (Allium sativum L.), one of the best-researched herbal remedies, holds a unique position in history, traditionally employed to treat infection, colds, diabetes, heart disease, and a host of other disorders. Clinically, it has been evaluated for lowering blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose concentration, as well as for the prevention of arteriosclerosis and cancer. Epidemiologically, garlic consumption inversely correlates with the risk of oral, stomach, esophageal, colon, and prostate cancers. In addition, the biological activities of garlic, including antibacterial, antithrombotic, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and antidiabetic actions and modulation of drug metabolism, have been extensively investigated. Here, we briefly summarize the recent findings on garlic and its sulfur-containing compounds in preventing cardiovascular diseases and cancer, along with its modulation of drug-metabolizing enzymes and membrane transporter activities. Finally, garlic safety and drug interaction are discussed.Garlic: Health benefits and actionsChia-Wen Tsai, Haw-Wen Chen, Le-Yen Sheen, Chong-Kuei Lii10.1016/j.biomed.2011.12.002BioMedicine 2, 1 (2012)2011-12-21BioMedicine2011-12-2121S2211-8020(12)X0002-0Review Articles1729http://www.e-biomedicine.com/article/PIIS2211802011000386/abstract?rss=yesAbstract: Herbs are an important aspect of traditional Chinese medicine, as well as a rich source of unique chemicals. Among the medicinal herbs, Angelica sinensis is the most popular used in Chinese medicine. The main compounds found in the acetone extract of Angelica sinensis (AS-AC) are ferulic acid, ligustilide, brefeldin A, butylidenephthalide, and polysaccharides, the latter with potential therapeutic effect on various human cancers. Based on molecular evidence from in vitro and in vivo studies, we discuss here how butylidenephthalide suppresses tumor cell proliferation and promotes tumor cell apoptosis. The molecular mechanisms involved include butylidenephthalide-stimulated translocation of Nur77 from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, leading to tumor apoptosis. Butylidenephthalide likewise suppresses telomerase activity, resulting in tumor senescence. Finally, a controlled release system can increase localized butylidenephthalide concentration. Importantly, butylidenephthalide can cross the blood–brain barrier. Current evidence suggests its efficacy against brain tumors and therefore potential clinical applications.Angelica sinensis: A Chinese herb for brain cancer therapyPo-Cheng Lin, Po-Yen Liu, Shinn-Zong Lin, Horng-Jyh Harn10.1016/j.biomed.2011.12.003BioMedicine 2, 1 (2012)2011-12-21BioMedicine2011-12-2121S2211-8020(12)X0002-0Review Articles3035http://www.e-biomedicine.com/article/PIIS2211802011000398/abstract?rss=yesAbstract: Obesity has traditionally been considered an independent risk factor for heart failure whose pathophysiology is generally believed to associated with the consequence of myocyte hypertrophy, myocardial fibrosis, and abnormalities of intracellular calcium handling. Obesity-related comorbities like chronic inflammation, coronary artery disease, diabetes, and hypertension play some causative roles in the development of heart failure. Currently, cardiac apoptosis and cardiac fibrosis are found in obesity and leptin-deficient animal models. Leptin pretreatment exerts antiapoptotic effects in cardiomyocytes. In obese rat hearts, key components of Fas-dependent apoptosis (Fas ligand, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, Fas death receptors, Fas-associated death domain, activated caspase 8, and activated caspase 3) as well as those of mitochondria-dependent apoptosis (Bad, Bax, Bax-to-Bcl2 ratio, cytosolic cytochrome c, activated caspase 9, and activated caspase 3) manifestly increased compared with lean controls. Obesity will activate cardiac Fas- and mitochondria-dependent apoptotic pathways while increasing cardiac fibrosis, which may provide one of the possible mechanisms for developing heart failure in obesity.Possible pathophysiology of heart failure in obesity: Cardiac apoptosisChih-Yang Huang, Shin-Da Lee10.1016/j.biomed.2011.12.004BioMedicine 2, 1 (2012)2011-12-23BioMedicine2011-12-2321S2211-8020(12)X0002-0Review Articles3640http://www.e-biomedicine.com/article/PIIS2211802011000404/abstract?rss=yesAbstract: Recent years have witnessed the incidence of cancer rise worldwide, with no end to the war against it in sight. It is believed that cancer emanates from a series of genetic alterations leading to the progressive disorder of the normal mechanisms that control cell proliferation, differentiation, death, and/or genomic stability. With our genome under constant exogenous and endogenous assault, cellular capacity to maintain genomic stability by means of various DNA repair mechanisms looms vital to preventing tumor initiation and progression. In the same vein, the relative role of DNA repair as biomarker for prognosis, predicator of drug and therapy response, or indeed as target for novel gene therapy, has been recently patented and is very promising. This paper summarizes studies probing association among nonhomologous end-joining genes XRCC4, XRCC5, and XRCC6 vis-à-vis oral cancer susceptibility, then discusses their role in carcinogenesis and personalized pharmacogenomics.Role of nonhomologous end-joining in oral cancer and personalized pharmacogenomicsDa-Tian Bau, Cheng-Chieh Lin, Chang-Fang Chiu, Ming-Hsui Tsai10.1016/j.biomed.2011.12.005BioMedicine 2, 1 (2012)2011-12-21BioMedicine2011-12-2121S2211-8020(12)X0002-0Review Articles4147