Current Issue : October - December Volume : 2014 Issue Number : 4 Articles : 6 Articles
Moxibustion strengthens immunity and it is an effective treatment modality, but, depending on the material quantity, shape,\nand composition, the thermal strength and intensity can be difficult to control, which may cause pain or epidermal burns. To\novercome these limitations, a heat stimulating system which is able to control the thermal intensity was developed.Thetemperature\ndistributions on epidermis, at 5mm and 10mm of depth, in rabbit femoral tissue were compared between moxibustion and the\nelectric thermal stimulation system.Thestimulation system consists of a high radio frequency dielectric heating equipment (2MHz\nfrequency, maximum power 200 W), isolation probe, isolation plate, negative pressure generator, and a temperature assessment\nsystem. The temperature was modulated by controlling the stimulation pulse duty ratio, repetition number, and output. There were\n95% and 91% temperature distribution correlations between moxibustion and the thermal stimulus at 5mm and 10mm of depth\nin tissue, respectively. Moreover, the epidermal temperature in thermal stimulation was lower than that in moxibustion. These\nresults showed that heat loss by the electric thermal stimulation system is less than that by the traditional moxibustion method.\nFurthermore, the proposed electric thermal stimulation did not cause adverse effects, such as suppuration or blisters, and also\nprovided subcutaneous stimulation comparable to moxibustion....
This study investigates the leishmanicidal activity of five species of plants used in folk medicine in endemic areas of the state of\nAlagoas, Brazil. Data were collected in the cities of Colonia Leopoldina, Novo Lino, and UniÃ?Å?ao dos Palmares, Alagoas state, from\npatients with cutaneous leishmaniasis (Leishmania amazonensis) who use medicinal plants to treat this disease. Plants extracts\nwere tested at a concentration of 1ââ?¬â??100 ????g/mL in all experiments, except in an assay to evaluate activity against amastigotes, when\n10 ????g/mL was used. All plants extracts did not show deleterious activity to the host cell evidenced by LDH assay at 100, 10, and\n1 ????g/mL after 48 h of incubation. The plants extracts Hyptis pectinata (L.) Poit, Aloe vera L., Ruta graveolens L., Pfaffia glomerata\n(Spreng.) Pedersen, and Chenopodium ambrosioides L. exhibited direct activity against extracellular forms at 100 ????g/mL; these\nextracts inhibited growth by 81.9%, 82.9%, 74.4%, 88.7%, and 87.4%, respectively, when compared with promastigotes. The plants\nextracts H. pectinata, A. vera, and R. graveolens also significantly diminished the number of amastigotes at 10 ????g/mL, inhibiting\ngrowth by 85.0%, 40.4%, 94.2%, and 97.4%, respectively, when compared with control. Based on these data, we conclude that the\nfive plants exhibited considerable leishmanicidal activity....
Buyang Huanwu Decoction (BHD) is a famous herbal prescription that has been used to treat stroke for centuries. Recent studies\nreported that the use of BHD had been extended to treat various kinds of disorders according to the TCM syndrome theory of\nTreating Different Diseases with the SameMethod (TDDSM). Here, an overview of systematic reviews (SRs) of BHD for healthcare\nwas conducted to interpret theTCMtheory of TDDSMand its target of vascularity in an evidence-basedmanner. Literature searches\nwere carried out in 5 databases to search SRs of BHD for any indication up to August 2013. Thirteen eligible SRs were identified\nwhich reported a wide range of vascular conditions. Based on the Overview Quality Assessment Questionnaire scores, the quality\nof included SRs was varied, with an average score of 4 points. We found that there is premature evidence for the use of BHD\nfor healthcare, whereas BHD was well tolerable in all patients. BHD can be used to treat many disorders with the same therapeutic\nprinciple of invigorating Qi to activate blood circulation, which is essentially a manifestation of the TDDSMand is likely to account\nfor targeting the specific pathogenesis of vascular diseases....
Aim. To investigate the effect of Ginsenoside Rb1 (GS-Rb1) on hypoxia/ischemia (H/I) injury in cardiomyocytes in vitro and the\nmitochondrial apoptotic pathway mediated mechanism. Methods. Neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (NRCMs) for the H/I groups were\nkept in DMEMwithout glucose and serum, and were placed into a hypoxic jar for 24 h. GS-Rb1 at concentrations from2.5 to 40 ????M\nwas given during hypoxic period for 24 h. NRCMs injury was determined by MTT and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage assay.\nCell apoptosis, ROS accumulation, and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) were assessed by flow cytometry. Cytosolic\ntranslocation of mitochondrial cytochrome c and Bcl-2 family proteins were determined byWestern blot. Caspase-3 and caspase-9\nactivities were determined by the assay kit. Results. GS-Rb1 significantly reduced cell death and LDH leakage induced by H/I. It\nalso reduced H/I induced NRCMs apoptosis induced by H/I, in accordance with a minimal reactive oxygen species (ROS) burst.\nMoreover,GS-Rb1markedly decreased the translocation of cytochrome c from themitochondria to the cytosol, increased the Bcl-2/\nBax ratio, and preserved mitochondrial transmembrane potential (??m). Its administration also inhibited activities of caspase-9\nand caspase-3. Conclusion. Administration of GS-Rb1 during H/I in vitro is involved in cardioprotection by inhibiting apoptosis,\nwhich may be due to inhibition of the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway...
Electroacupuncture (EA) treatment has been widely used for stroke-like disorders in traditional Chinese medicine. However, the\nunderlying mechanisms remain unclear. Our previous studies showed that single-time EA stimulation at ââ?¬Å?Baihuiââ?¬Â (GV 20) and\nââ?¬Å?Shuigouââ?¬Â (GV 26) after the onset of ischemia can protect the brain against ischemic injury in rats with middle cerebral artery\nocclusion (MCAO). Here, we further investigated the differential effects between multiple EA and single-time EA stimulation on\nischemic injury. In the present study, we found that both single-time EA andmultiple EA stimulation significantly reducedMCAOinduced\nischemic infarction, while only multiple EA attenuated sensorimotor dysfunctions. Also, with PCR array screening and\ningenuity gene analysis,we revealed thatmultiple EA and single-time EA stimulation could differentially induce expression changes\nin neurotrophic signaling related genes.Meanwhile,withwestern blotting,we demonstrated that the level of glia maturation factor????\n(GMF????) increased in the early stage (day 1) of reperfusion, and this upregulation was suppressed only by single-time EA stimulation.\nThese findings suggest that the short-term effect of single-time EA stimulation differs from the cumulative effect of multiple EA,\nwhich possibly depends on their differential modulation on neurotrophic signaling molecules expression....
In a follow-up study overweight and obese patients fasting according to Buchinger (modified) and a control group treated by a\nweight reduction diet in the context of an inpatient naturopathic complex treatmentwere compared using a questionnaire developed\nfor a standardized phone interview 6.8 �± 1.1 years after inpatient treatment. During the inpatient treatment the fasting patients\nsignificantly more body weight, but at the time of the interview significantly more weight was gained again. 10.7% of the fasting\npatients and 31.9% of the control group lowered their weight at least 5% of their initial weight up to the interview. 42% of the\nfasting and 74% of the control group persistently changed their diet. The control group followed a significantly higher number of\ntrained nutritional aspects. 21% of the fasting and 40% of the control group increased their leisure activity permanently. Continued\nimprovement in quality of life was achieved by 16% of the fasting patients and 28% of the control group.The fasting therapy, carried\nout as part of the inpatient naturopathic complex treatment, turned out to be less suitable for the treatment of overweight and\nobesity compared to standard therapy. One likely determinant is the minor poststationary lifestyle modification....
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