Current Issue : October - December Volume : 2017 Issue Number : 4 Articles : 6 Articles
Background: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has a long history in the treatment of psoriasis vulgaris. We\naimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of Chinese herbal Pulian ointment in treating psoriasis vulgaris of\nblood-heat syndrome.\nMethods: A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted. Participants with\npsoriasis vulgaris of blood-heat syndrome were blinded and randomized to receive Pulian ointment or\nplacebo ointment twice daily for 4 weeks, with follow-up 8 weeks after treatment. Psoriasis Area Severity\nIndex (PASI) scores, severity of each symptom and area of skin lesion and quality of life were assessed at\nbaseline, 2 weeks, and 4 weeks. Adverse events were recorded during the study. SAS 9.4 software and SPSS\n17.0 software was applied for data analysis.\nResults: A total of 300 participants with psoriasis vulgaris of blood-heat syndrome were assessed for eligibility, and\n294 were randomly assigned to the Pulian ointment and placebo group from six study centers. Full analysis set (FAS):\nafter 4 weeks of treatment, there were significant differences between groups in PASI score and the separate score of\nskin lesion area, favoring Pulian ointment group (P < 0.05). However, no significant differences were observed in scores\nof scaling, erythema and induration/thickness (P > 0.05). Per protocol set (PPS): There was no statistically significant\ndifference in PASI score and separate score of each symptom and area of skin lesion between two groups (P > 0.05).\nQuality of life measured by Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA) and 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36)\nimproved after treatment in both groups, but there was no significant difference between the two groups (P > 0.05).\nAfter being followed up for 8 weeks, the total relapse rates of the Pulian Ointment group and placebo group were 5.88\nand 8.45%, respectively, and the difference was not statistically significant between the two groups (P > 0.05). No\nadverse event was observed in both groups throughout the study.\nConclusions: Pulian Ointment seems effective and well tolerated in improving the PASI score and separate score of\nskin lesion area for patients with psoriasis vulgaris of blood-heat syndrome. Further research could build on the current\nstudy to explore whether other preparation forms and greater intervention intensity are necessary for better\ntherapeutic effects....
Background: Abnormal Savda Munziq (ASMq) is a traditional prescription in Uyghur Medicine, and its treatment of\ncomplex diseases such as tumors and asthma has been proven to be effective in Uyghur medical clinical practice.\nThe efficacy-enhancing and toxicity-reducing properties of ASMq were studied on mice with transplanted cervical\ncancer (U27) tumors, which were treated with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in this work.\nMethods: To investigate the synergistic effect of ASMq and 5-FU on U27 cells, inhibitory effects on cell proliferation\nwere determined through a MTT assay. 48 Kunming mice which were randomly divided in to 6 groups: control group,\nmodel group, 5-FU group, 5-FU combine with ASMq low-dose group, 5-FU combine with ASMq medium-dose group,\nand 5-FU combine with ASMq high- dose group, the inhibition rate of the tumor, the viscera indexes, and the content\nof serum tumor necrosis factor-�± (TNF-�±), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were\ndetermined. The expression levels of transforming growth factor-�²1 (TGF-�²1) and human papillomavirus type 16 E2\n(HPV16 E2) protein were assessed by Western blot. Pathological changes in the liver were observed.\nResult: The inhibition rates of tumors, the 5-FU + ASMq.H group(80.64%), 5-FU + ASMq.M group (90.67%), 5-FU + ASMq.L\ngroup (72.03%) and 5-FU group (66.89%), clearly indicated that the effects of tumor inhibition. The thymus index and\nspleen index were increased, and the serum concentration of TNF-�± increased while ALT and AST concentrations were\ndecreased, and TNF-�± protein expression were increased while TGF-�²1 and HPV16 E2 were decreased. ASMq might can\nimprove livers central vein hyperemia and interstitial edema, and preserve the radial structure of the hepatic cords.\nConclusions: The results suggested that ASMq might reduce toxicity and enhance the efficacy of the chemotherapeutic\ndrug 5-fluorouracil in the treatment of cervical carcinoma....
Background. Endometriosis is a common but bothersome gynecological disease, and Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is used for\ntreating endometriosis. The aim of this study is to explore CHM network and core treatments for endometriosis by analyzing\nnationwide CHM prescription database. Methods. From 1998 to 2013, the CHM prescriptions made primarily for endometriosis\namong women diagnosed with endometriosis (ICD-9-CMcode: 671) by gynecologists during their reproductive age were collected.\nCHM network analysis was then carried out by using association rule mining and social network analysis. Results. A total of\n12,986 CHM prescriptions made for endometriosis were analyzed. There were 556 kinds of CHM ever used, and, in average,\neach prescription was composed of 6.2 CHMs. Gui-Zhi-Fu-Ling-Wan (GZFLW) was used most frequently, followed by Cyperus\nrotundus (28.1% and 18.8% of all prescriptions, resp.). Additionally, the combination of Cyperus rotundus with GZFLW(8.0%) was\nthe most frequently used combination of two CHMs. CHM network showed that GZFLW was the core CHM for endometriosis\nand graphically demonstrated the extensive coverage of TCM syndromes and pathogenesis of endometriosis. Conclusions. CHM\nnetwork provides graphical demonstration and summary of commonly used CHMs for endometriosis, and further studies are\nwarranted based on these findings....
Introduction.The aim of this study was to explore the acupuncture effect on the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the median nerve at\nthe wrist in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and, additionally, to identify whether clinical, electrophysiological, and\nultrasonographic changes show any association. Methods. Forty-five limbs of 27 female patients were randomly divided into two\ngroups (acupuncture and control). All patients used night wrist splint. The patients in the acupuncture group received additional\nacupuncture therapy. Visual analog scale (VAS), Duru�¨oz Hand Index (DHI), Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand\n(DASH) questionnaire scores, electrophysiologic measurements, and median nerve CSAs were noted before and after the treatment\nin both groups. Results. VAS,DHI, QuickDASHscores, and electrophysiological measurements were improved in both groups.The\nmedian nerve CSA significantly decreased in the acupuncture group, whereas there was no change in the control group. Conclusion.\nAfter acupuncture therapy, the patients with CTS might have both clinical and morphological improvement....
Background: JC-001 is a Chinese medicine that can modulate the immunity in Hepa 1-6 tumor-bearing mice, and we\nquestioned whether JC-001 can serve as efficient adjuvant chemotherapy. We aimed to identify a novel approach for\nenhancing cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II) (CDDP)-based chemotherapy by immunomodulation.\nMethods: The anti-tumor activity in vitro was determined based on foci formation and a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-\n2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. A LLC1 tumor xenograft model was used to analyze the activity of tumor\nrejection in vivo. The tumors were analyzed through hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, immunohistochemistry\n(IHC) staining and cytokine arrays.\nResults: JC-001 suppressed foci formation and reduced the viability of Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC1) cells in vitro. JC-001\nsuppressed LLC1 tumor growth in immunodeficient BALB/c nude mice and in immunocompetent C57BL/6 mice to an\neven greater extent. Furthermore, JC-001 up-regulated interferon-�³ expression in the tumor microenvironment, enhanced\nthe Th1 response in tumor-bearing mice, and increased the chemosensitivity of LLC1 tumors to CDDP chemotherapy.\nThe results of our study suggest that JC-001 is associated with low cytotoxicity and can significantly suppress tumor\ngrowth by enhancing the Th1 response.\nConclusion: JC-001 is a Chinese medicine with potential clinical applications in CDDP-based chemotherapeutic regimens....
The aim of this study is to examine the short-term effect of visual function\nfollowing acupuncture treatment in patients with congenital idiopathic nystagmus and acquired\nnystagmus (CIN and AN). Methods: An observational pilot study on six patients with confirmed\ndiagnosis of nystagmus (three CIN and three AN patients (2ââ?¢â?¬, 4ââ?¢â??; mean age 42.67; SD Ã?± 20.57 y)),\nwas performed. Acupuncture treatment was done following a standardized protocol applying\nneedle-acupuncture on the body and the ears. The treatment was scheduled with 10 sessions of\n30 min duration over five weeks. To assess the effect of the treatment, we performed before, between,\nand after acupuncture objective measurement of the BCVA (EDTRS charts), contrast vision (CSV-1000,\nVector Vision), nystagmography (Compact Integrated Pupillograph), complemented by evaluation\nquestionnaires. A placebo non-acupuncture control group (Nr: 11, 22 eyes; 8ââ?¢â?¬, 3ââ?¢â??; mean age:\n33.34 y (SD Ã?± 7.33 y)) was taken for comparison. Results: The results showed that, following\nacupuncture treatment, CIN and AN patients showed improvement (SDÃ?± mean) in their binocular\nBCVA (baseline: 0.45 Ã?± 0.36; between: 0.53 Ã?± 0.34 and post-treatment: 0.51 Ã?± 0.28), and in their\nmonocular contrast sensitivity (baseline: 11.29 Ã?± 12.35; between: 11.43 Ã?± 11.45 and post-treatment:\n14.0 Ã?± 12.22). The post-/baseline-difference showed a significant improvement in contrast vision\nand in BCVA for CIN and AN patients, but not for controls (p = 0.029 and p = 0.007, respectively).\nThe effect of the eye showed also, within CIN and AN, significant values for the examined parameters\nin the post-/baseline difference (p = 0.004 and p ââ?°Â¤ 0.001). Evaluated only binocularly, the respective\nbetween-/baseline and post-/baseline difference in the CIN and AN group showed significant values\n(p < 0.045). Two AN patients reported reduction of oscillations. Among general subjective symptoms,\nour patients reported reduction of tiredness and headache attacks, improvement of vision, and shorter\nsleep onset time. Conclusion: The applied acupuncture protocol showed improvement in the visual\nfunction of nystagmus patients and thus, in their quality of life. Further studies are mandatory to\ndifferentiate which group of nystagmus patients would benefit more from acupuncture....
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