Current Issue : April - June Volume : 2016 Issue Number : 2 Articles : 6 Articles
Depression is a prevalent mental illness in developed countries. In Western medicine, experimental\nand clinical investigations have demonstrated that depression is associated with the dysregulation\nof neurotransmitter signaling, and symptoms of depression can be alleviated by therapeutic\nintervention. However, patients taking antidepressant drugs often experience serious\nside effects and high relapse rates. On the other hand, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) views\ndepression as a manifestation of liver qi stagnation. Practitioners of TCM have long been treating\ndepression with herbs that promote qi circulation in the liver. In this article, we offer a hypothesis\nstating the biochemical basis of the linkage between liver qi stagnation and depression. Liver qi is\ninvolved in the processing of macronutrients into molecules to fuel energy metabolism in brain\nneurons, as well as the synthesis of plasma proteins that maintain blood circulation to the brain,\nthereby enabling these fuel molecules to be delivered to the brain. In cases of liver qi stagnation,\nthe failure in delivering sufficient fuel molecules to the brain disrupts mitochondrial ATP production\nin neurons. Because neurotransmitter release and neurotropin transport are driven by ATP,\nthe deficiency in release and transport processes resulting from insufficient ATP production could\nlead to depression. Therefore, if liver qi stagnation is causally related to the pathogenesis of depression,\nthe promotion of liver qi circulation by Chinese herbs might offer a promising prospect\nfor the effective treatment of depression....
Background: People seek Chinese medicine (CM) treatments for a variety of respiratory disorders, e.g., asthma and\nupper respiratory tract infection (URTI). No previous studies have reviewed the data available in medical records from\nAustralian clinics. This study aims to identify the characteristics of patients with respiratory disorders who visited a CM\nteaching clinic at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia.\nMethods: Primary data from January 2010 to December 2011 were collected from patient records in a CM teaching\nclinic at RMIT University. Patient data, including demographics, primary complaint, clinical history, lifestyle, CM treatment,\nand adverse events, were analyzed with descriptive statistics and the Chi square test using SPSS version 21.0.\nResults: From 1677 clinical records we identified 261 patients with respiratory disorders. The patients made a total\nof 842 visits (mean: 3.2 visits/patient; range: 1ââ?¬â??34 visits) during the study period. The mean age of the patients was\n38.5 Ã?± 17.9 years, and the majority were female (65.5 %). The most common respiratory disorders were URTI (27.8 %),\ncough (20.8 %), hay fever or allergic rhinitis (18.6 %), sinus congestion (11.2 %), and asthma (7.6 %). Acupuncture\nwas given at almost all visits (97.5 %) and was frequently combined with herbs (64.0 %). Fifteen adverse events were\nreported, but none were considered severe.\nConclusion: In the CM teaching clinic, respiratory conditions were a common presenting complaint of patients, and\nwere safely treated with a combination of acupuncture and herbs....
Background: There have been no studies of the patterns of post-marketing withdrawals of medicinal products to\nwhich adverse reactions have been attributed. We identified medicinal products that were withdrawn because of\nadverse drug reactions, examined the evidence to support such withdrawals, and explored the pattern of\nwithdrawals across countries.\nMethods: We searched PubMed, Google Scholar, the WHOââ?¬â?¢s database of drugs, the websites of drug regulatory\nauthorities, and textbooks. We included medicinal products withdrawn between 1950 and 2014 and assessed the\nlevels of evidence used in making withdrawal decisions using the criteria of the Oxford Centre for Evidence Based\nMedicine.\nResults: We identified 462 medicinal products that were withdrawn from the market between 1953 and 2013, the\nmost common reason being hepatotoxicity. The supporting evidence in 72 % of cases consisted of anecdotal\nreports. Only 43 (9.34 %) drugs were withdrawn worldwide and 179 (39 %) were withdrawn in one country only.\nWithdrawal was significantly less likely in Africa than in other continents (Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Australasia\nand Oceania). The median interval between the first reported adverse reaction and the year of first withdrawal was\n6 years (IQR, 1ââ?¬â??15) and the interval did not consistently shorten over time.\nConclusion: There are discrepancies in the patterns of withdrawal of medicinal products from the market when\nadverse reactions are suspected, and withdrawals are inconsistent across countries. Greater co-ordination among\ndrug regulatory authorities and increased transparency in reporting suspected adverse drug reactions would help\nimprove current decision-making processes....
Background: Existing dementia risk scores require collection of additional data from patients, limiting their use in\npractice. Routinely collected healthcare data have the potential to assess dementia risk without the need to collect\nfurther information. Our objective was to develop and validate a 5-year dementia risk score derived from primary\nhealthcare data.\nMethods: We used data from general practices in The Health Improvement Network (THIN) database from across\nthe UK, randomly selecting 377 practices for a development cohort and identifying 930,395 patients aged 60ââ?¬â??95 years\nwithout a recording of dementia, cognitive impairment or memory symptoms at baseline. We developed risk algorithm\nmodels for two age groups (60ââ?¬â??79 and 80ââ?¬â??95 years). An external validation was conducted by validating the model on\na separate cohort of 264,224 patients from 95 randomly chosen THIN practices that did not contribute to the\ndevelopment cohort. Our main outcome was 5-year risk of first recorded dementia diagnosis. Potential predictors\nincluded sociodemographic, cardiovascular, lifestyle and mental health variables.\nResults: Dementia incidence was 1.88 (95 % CI, 1.83ââ?¬â??1.93) and 16.53 (95 % CI, 16.15ââ?¬â??16.92) per 1000 PYAR for those\naged 60ââ?¬â??79 (n = 6017) and 80ââ?¬â??95 years (n = 7104), respectively. Predictors for those aged 60ââ?¬â??79 included age, sex,\nsocial deprivation, smoking, BMI, heavy alcohol use, anti-hypertensive drugs, diabetes, stroke/TIA, atrial fibrillation,\naspirin, depression. The discrimination and calibration of the risk algorithm were good for the 60ââ?¬â??79 years model; D\nstatistic 2.03 (95 % CI, 1.95ââ?¬â??2.11), C index 0.84 (95 % CI, 0.81ââ?¬â??0.87), and calibration slope 0.98 (95 % CI, 0.93ââ?¬â??1.02). The\nalgorithm had a high negative predictive value, but lower positive predictive value at most risk thresholds.\nDiscrimination and calibration were poor for the 80ââ?¬â??95 years model.\nConclusions: Routinely collected data predicts 5-year risk of recorded diagnosis of dementia for those aged 60ââ?¬â??79, but\nnot those aged 80+. This algorithm can identify higher risk populations for dementia in primary care. The risk\nscore has a high negative predictive value and may be most helpful in ââ?¬Ë?ruling outââ?¬â?¢ those at very low risk from further\ntesting or intensive preventative activities....
Impaired wound healing in diabetic patients is a serious complication that often leads to amputation or even death with limited\neffective treatments. Tuo-Li-Xiao-Du-San (TLXDS), a traditional Chinese medicine formula for refractory wounds, has been\nprescribed for nearly 400 years in China and shows good efficacy in promoting healing. In this study, we explored the effect\nof TLXDS on healing of diabetic wounds and investigated underlying mechanisms. Four weeks after intravenous injection of\nstreptozotocin, two full-thickness excisional wounds were created with a 10 mm diameter sterile biopsy punch on the back of rats.\nThe ethanol extract of TLXDS was given once daily by oral gavage. Wound area, histological change, inflammation, angiogenesis,\nand collagen synthesis were evaluated. TLXDS treatment significantly accelerated healing of diabetic rats and improved the healing\nquality. These effects were associated with reduced neutrophil infiltration and macrophage accumulation, enhanced angiogenesis,\nand increased collagen deposition. This study shows that TLXDS improves diabetes-impaired wound healing....
Background\nComplementary medicine (CM) is popular in Switzerland. Several CM methods (traditional\nChinese medicine/acupuncture, homeopathy, anthroposophic medicine, neural therapy,\nand herbal medicine) are currently covered by the mandatory basic health insurance when\nperformed by a certified physician. Treatments by non-medical therapists are partially covered\nby a supplemental and optional health insurance. In this study, we investigated the frequency\nof CM use including the evolvement over time, the most popular methods, and the\nuser profile.\nMethods\nData of the Swiss Health Surveys 2007 and 2012 were used. In 2007 and 2012, a population\nof 14,432 and 18,357, respectively, aged 15 years or older answered the written questionnaire.\nA set of questions queried about the frequency of use of various CM methods\nwithin the last 12 months before the survey. Proportions of usage and 95% confidence intervals\nwere calculated for these methods and CM in general. Users and non-users of CM\nwere compared using logistic regression models.\nResults\nThe most popular methods in 2012 were homeopathy, naturopathy, osteopathy, herbal\nmedicine, and acupuncture. The average number of treatments within the 12 months preceding\nthe survey ranged from 3 for homeopathy to 6 for acupuncture. 25.0% of the population\nat the age of 15 and older had used at least one CM method in the previous 12 months.\nPeople with a chronic illness or a poor self-perceived health status were more likely to use\nCM. Similar to other countries, women, people of middle age, and those with higher education\nwere more likely to use CM. 59.9%of the adult population had a supplemental health\ninsurance that partly covered CM treatments.\nConclusions\nUsage of CM in Switzerland remained unchanged between 2007 and 2012. The user profile\nin Switzerland was similar to other countries, such as Germany, United Kingdom, United\nStates or Australia....
Loading....