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Background: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune antibody-mediated disorder caused by dysfunction at the neuromuscular junction spreads. The main clinical features of this disease are fluctuating fatigue, and weakness of the skeletal muscles of the eyes and limbs. At present, the tonifying the spleen and replenishing the kidney method in traditional Chinese medicine has been widely used for MG. The present study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the tonifying the spleen and replenishing the kidney method in traditional Chinese medicine for MG., Methods: The following 10 databases were searched from inception to March 2021: PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Web of Science, Springer, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wan fang, VIP Chinese Science and Technique Journals Database, the Chinese Bio Medical Database (CBM), and Baidu Scholar. The language was limited to the Chinese and English language. Merely randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included. The Cochrane Collaboration risk-of-bias tool was used for the methodological quality assessment and risk of bias. The meta-analysis was assessed using the Cochrane RevMan 5.3 software., Results: In the present study, a meta-analysis was conducted, and RCTs that met the eligibility criteria were included. Furthermore, the different outcome indicators of different methods were objectively compared. The main outcome indicators included the effective rate, quantitative myasthenia gravis (QMG) scores, adverse events, and quality of life (QOL). The secondary outcome indicators included AchRAb, serum-related immune cells (such as CD3+CD4+cells and CD4+/CD8+cells), the traditional Chinese medicine syndrome score scale (TCMSSS), the serum interleukin-6 level, the level of IFN-γ and its mRNA, and the clinical score that contains the clinical absolute score (CAS) and clinical relative score (CRS)., Conclusion: This study would provide credible evidence to determine whether the tonifying the spleen and replenishing the kidney method in traditional Chinese medicine is an effective treatment method for MG., Trial Registration Number: INPLASY202110097., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Background: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an archetypal autoimmune disorder. The conventional treatments for this disease are drugs, plasma exchange, surgical, and so on. However, this disease is difficult to cure. A mass of studies revealed that the external treatment of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for MG is a safe and economical approach. The present study conducted a meta-analysis to compare TCM external treatment combined with modern medicine with modern medicine for MG, in order to determine which TCM external treatment intervention has the best relative efficacy, safety, and provide the best evidence for clinical practice., Methods: PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Web of Science, Springer, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wan-fang database, VIP Chinese Science and Technique Journals Database, the Chinese Bio Medical Database (CBM), and Baidu Scholar were searched. The time of publication was limited from inception to February 28, 2021. Two reviewers independently searched for the selected articles and extract the data. The RevMan V.5.3 statistical software (Cochrane Collaboration) and Stata V.16.0 software were used to conduct the meta-analysis., Results: The results of the systematic review and meta-analysis will be published in a peer-reviewed journal., Conclusion: The present study provides a protocol that can be used in the systematic review and meta-analysis, with the intent to inform professionals on the external treatment of TCM for MG. These would lead to investigations on the use of the most external treatment of TCM for MG., Trial Registration Number: INPLASY202110083., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Background: Essential hypertension is the primary cause of death and disability and it has become a major public health problem globally. Yufeng Ningxin (YFNX) is a commonly used Chinese patent medicine in treating essential hypertension. The objective of this protocol is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of YFNX for the treatment of essential hypertension., Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in relation to the effectiveness and safety of YFNX in the treatment of essential hypertension will be systematically searched and collected from the following databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, and Chinese Scientific Journal Database from the database inception to January 1, 2021. The data screening and extraction will be carried out by 2 different reviewers. The quality of randomized controlled trials will be assessed based on the version 2 of the risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials (RoB 2) in the Cochrane Handbook. The reduction of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) will be served as the primary outcome. The secondary outcomes will include average SBP and average DBP during the day and the night measured by 24 hours ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, the clinical effectiveness rate, scores of traditional Chinese medicine syndrome, clinical symptoms, the quality of life and adverse events. Statistical analysis will be conducted with Review Manager 5.3 and STATA 14.0 software., Conclusion: This systematic review will provide strong evidence to assess the effectiveness and safety of YFNX in the treatment of essential hypertension., Trial Registration Number: INPLASY202110059., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)