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The aim of this study was to gain insight into the progress and dynamics of psycho-cardiological disease research and track its hot spots. We have analyzed psycho-cardiological disease-related literature extracted from the Web of Science (WOS) Core Collection from 2001 to 2021 with the help of Cite Space. As a result, we have included 5,032 records. Then, we have analyzed connected networks for the country, author, subject category, keywords, and cited reference. We have summarized the findings in four aspects. First, the annual quantitative distribution of publications is on the rise, although there is a slight drop. Second, in terms of country analysis, the United States, England, Australia, Germany, and Italy are the main research forces in psycho-cardiological diseases. At the same time, several academic entities represented by Andrew Steptoe and Roland von Känel, MD, have been formed based on the early consciousness of physical and mental health in these countries. Besides, China is also more concerned about it due to the rapid population aging process and the largest population. Third, the psycho-cardiological disease is multidisciplinary, including psychology, psychiatry, clinical medicine, such as cardiovascular system and neurology, public environmental and occupational health, and pharmacology. Finally, the results of keyword analysis and co-cited references indicate the hot spots and frontiers in psycho-cardiological disease. The hot spots in psycho-cardiological disease include three aspects. The first aspect includes psychosocial factors, such as depression, lack of social support, and low economic and social status; the second aspect includes priority populations, such as Alzheimer’s disease dementia caregivers, elderly, and patients with cancer, and the third aspect includes interventions, such as exercise therapy and diet. In addition, there are three future research frontiers. The first is a psycho-cardiological disease in patients with COVID-19; the second is cardiac rehabilitation, especially exercise therapy and health behavior evaluation; and the final is evidence-based medical evaluation, such as systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a disease with complex pathological mechanisms. We explored the potential molecular mechanisms behind the therapeutic functions of Qingzi Zhitong decoction (QZZTD) in the treatment of UC by network pharmacology and molecular docking. QZZTD is a formula of Chinese traditional medicine consisting of 10 herbs. The potential active ingredients of QZZTD and their target genes were obtained from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform database, and UC-related target genes were obtained from GeneCards and OMIM databases. A total of 138 co-identified target genes were obtained by plotting the intersection target Venn diagram, and then the STRING database and Cytoscape software were used to establish protein–protein interaction networks and herb–ingredient–target networks. Four key active compounds and nine key proteins were identified. Then, Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analyses showed that the biological functions of potential target genes were associated with DNA transcription, signaling receptor and ligand activity, cytokine activity, cellular autophagy, and antioxidant pathways, with related pathways involving the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)–Akt signaling pathway, advanced glycosylation end product (AGE)–RAGE signaling pathway, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling pathway, and IL-17 signaling pathway. Moreover, the binding activities of key target genes and essential active compounds of Chinese herbal medicines in QZZTD were further validated by molecular docking. This demonstrated that quercetin, luteolin, hyndarin, and beta-sitosterol had good binding to eight key proteins, and Akt1 was the target protein with the best binding activity, suggesting that Akt1 could be the essential mediator responsible for signaling transduction after QZZTD administration. The rat experiment verified that QZZTD inhibited PI3K-Akt pathway activation and reduced inflammation in UC. In conclusion, our study suggested four potential key active components, including quercetin, were identified in QZZTD, which could interact with Akt1 and modulate the activation of the PI3K-Akt pathway. The other three pathways may also be involved in the signaling transduction induced by QZZTD in the treatment of UC.