Analgesic Effect of Sinew Acupuncture for Patients with Soft-Tissue Injuries: A Pilot Trial / 中国结合医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the immediate analgesic effect of sinew acupuncture for patients with soft-tissue injuries (STIs).@*METHODS@#Two hundreds eligible adult patients suffering from STIs were recruited and received sinew acupuncture with flexible treatment schedules. The number of treatment sessions was pragmatically decided by each patient on the basis of their pain relief. The outcome measurement was the change of pain rating in the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) during the first 5 sessions. The adverse effect was also observed.@*RESULTS@#Of the 200 patients recruited, 7 were excluded due to incomplete data. In total, 888 sinew acupuncture treatments were administered to patients at 14 injury sites (including head, neck, shoulder, arm, chest, elbow, wrist, hand, waist and hip, knee, thigh, calf, ankle, and foot) where pain was felt. Compared with the baseline, the VAS rating after the first and last treatments were both significantly reduced at all the injury sites (P<0.01). The VAS rating was also significantly reduced after each session of treatment in the first five sessions (P<0.01). No serious adverse effect was observed.@*CONCLUSION@#Sinew acupuncture had not only an immediate analgesic effect for STIs, but also an accumulated analgesic effect during the first 5 treatment sessions.

Effect of Essential Oil on Patients with Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial / 中国结合医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To evaluate the efficacy and safety of essential oil treatment for type III chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS).@*METHODS@#A randomized controlled trial was conducted from December 2014 to October 2015. Seventy type III CP/CPPS patients were assigned to the essential oil group (35 cases) or almond placebo oil control group (35 cases) by a random number table. The oil was smeared by self-massage on the suprapubic and sacral region once a day for 4 weeks. The National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Syndrome Index (NIH-CPSI) and expressed prostatic secretions (EPS) were examined. The primary outcome was NIH-CPSI pain domain. The secondary outcomes included other NIH-CPSI domains and laboratory examinations of EPS. Adverse events were also observed.@*RESULTS@#Sixty-six subjects completed the full 4-week treatment. There was no significant difference between almond oil control and essential oil groups in terms of the total score of NIH-CPSI, pain, quality of life and urination domain scores of NIH-CPSI and EPS examinations (P>0.05). In the essential oil group, pain between rectum and testicles (perineum) in the domain of pain or discomfort was significantly reduced at week 2 and week 4 compared with almond oil control group (P<0.01). No serious adverse events occurred.@*CONCLUSION@#The essential oil may reduce the pain or discomfort in the perineum region in patients with CP/CPPS. (Registration No. ChiCTR-IPR-14005448).

Chinese medicine for idiopathic Parkinson's disease: A meta analysis of randomized controlled trials / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the efficacy of Chinese medicine (CM) adjunct to conventional medications for idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Electronic English and Chinese databases including PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Chinese Medical Current Contents, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Science and Technology Journal Database, Wanfang Med Database, and Traditional Chinese Medical Database System were used for key words searching in a highly sensitive search strategy. The extracted data was analyzed by the Review Manager 5.0.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Twelve trials involving 869 participants were included in the meta-analysis. Unified PD Rating Scale (UPDRS) I, II, III, IV scores and UPDRS V-IV total scores were used to be the primary outcomes, Parkinson Disease Question-39 (PDQ-39) and Scores of Chinese Medical Symptoms were the secondary outcomes. CM adjunct therapy had greater improvement in UPDRS I [2 trials; standardized mean difference (SMD)-0.40, 95% confidence interval (CI)-0.71 to-0.09; Z=2.49 (P=0.01)], II [5 trials; SMD-0.47, 95% CI-0.69 to-0.25; Z=4.20 (P<0.01)], III [5 trials; SMD-0.35, 95% CI-0.57 to-0.13; Z=3.16 (P=0.002)], IV scores [3 trials; SMD-0.32, 95% CI-0.60 to-0.03; Z=2.17 (P=0.03)], UPDRS I-IV total scores [7 trials; SMD-0.36, 95%CI-0.53 to-0.20; Z=4.24 (P<0.05)]. PDQ-39 and Chinese medical symptoms compared to the conventional medication only.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>CM adjunct therapy has potential therapeutic benefits by decreasing UPDRS scores and reducing adverse effect.</p>

Can moxibustion, an ancient treatment modality, be evaluated in a double-blind randomized controlled trial? - a narrative review / 中西医结合学报

For thousands of years, moxibustion has been used for various diseases in China and other Asian countries. Despite the recent surge in Chinese herbal studies, few randomized controlled trials have been conducted on this modality, possibly due to the lacking of suitable double blinding methodology. This is a review of extant sham moxa devices and an introduction to a recently developed device that needs further validation.

Chinese integrative medicine: inclusion of a Chinese medicine programme in a conventional medical institute / 中西医结合学报

To meet community demands with optimal Chinese and conventional medical treatment, the University of Hong Kong is promoting integrative medicine by developing Chinese medicine programmes that train students of both Western and Chinese medicine. The programmes emphasize multi-disciplinary training and interaction between the two therapeutic approaches, enabling students to establish reliable, consistent, and respectful mutual cooperation in their future careers.

Acupuncture combined with traction therapy for lumbar disc herniation: a systematic review / 中国针灸

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture combined with traction therapy for lumbar disc herniation, providing the basis for future research strategies. Randomized control trials. (RCT) of acupuncture combined with traction therapy for lumber disc herniation at home and abroad from 2000 to 2013 were searched, analysis and evaluation of literature and strength of evidence were based on the principles and methods of Evidence-based Medicine. The total effective rate and curative rate were considered as primary outcome measures; pain improvement, quality of life, relapse rate and adverse effects were considered as secondary outcome measures. Seventeen RCTs were identified, Meta-analysis showed that (1) total effective rate and curative rate: acupuncture combined with traction therapy was better than single therapy (acupuncture or traction); (2) pain improvement: acupuncture combined with traction therapy was better than traction therapy; (3) relapse rate: current evidence could not support the conclusion that acupuncture combined with traction therapy was better than traction therapy. Acupuncture combined with traction therapy for lumbar disc herniation was effective. However, the included studies were with high risk of bias, important outcome measures such as quality of life, relapse rate and adverse effects were not found in most of the studies. Current evidence has not yet been able to fully reflect acupuncture combined with traction therapy for lumbar disc herniation is better than single therapy, so more RCTs of higher quality are needed to further confirm its efficacy and safety.

Studies on chemical constituents from herbs of Taraxacum mongolicum / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the chemical constituents of the herbs of Taraxacum mongolicum.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The chemical constituents were isolated by various column chromatographic methods and their structures elucidated mainly by NMR and MS evidences.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Forty-four components were obtained and identified were as artemetin (1), quercetin (2), quercetin-3', 4', 7-trime-thyl ether (3), luteolin (4), luteolin-7-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (5), luteolin-7-O-beta-D-galactopyranoside (6), genkwanin (7), isoetin (8), hesperetin (9), genkwanin-4'-O-beta-D-lutinoside (10), hesperidin (11), quercetin-7-O-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl (1-->6) -beta-D-glucopyranoside (12), quercetin-3, 7-O-beta-D-diglucopyranoside (13), isoetin-7-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl- 2'-O-alpha-L-arabinopyranoside (14), isoetin-7-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-2'-O-alpha-D-glucopyranoside (15), isoetin-7- O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-2'-O-beta-D-xyloypyranoside (16), caffeic acid (17), furulic acid (18), 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid (19), 3, 5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid (20), 3, 4-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid (21), 4, 5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid (22), 1-hydroxymethyl-5-hydroxy-phenyl-2-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (23), p-hydroxybenzoic acid (24), p-coumaric acid (25), 3, 5-dihydroxylbenzoic acid (26), gallic acid (27), gallicin (28), syringic acid (29), 3, 4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (30), caffeic acid ethyl ester (31), esculetin (32), rufescidride (33), mongolicumin A [6, 9, 10-trihydroxy-benzoxanthene-1, 2-dicarboxylic acid] (34), mongolicumin B [1 l-hydroxy-2-oxo-guaia-1 (10), 3, 5-trien-8, 12-lactone] (35), isodonsesquitin A (36), taraxacin (37), sesquiterpene ketolactone (38), taraxasteryl acetate (39), phi-taraxasteryl acetate (40) and lupenol acetate (41), palmitic acid (42), beta-sitosterol (43), and stigmasterol (44).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Four compounds (14, 15, 34 and 35) were new compounds, compounds 1, 3, 6-13, 20-22, 30 and 31 were isolated from this genus for the first time, while compounds 18, 23-29, 32 and 37-42 were obtained from this species for the first time.</p>

Chemical constituents from Elsholtzia blanda / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the constituents of Elsholtzia blanda.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The chemical components were isolated by polyamide and silica gel column chromatography. Their structures were identified with extensive spectral (EI-MS, ESI-MS, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, DEPT, 1H-1H-COSY, HMBC, HMQC) and chemical methods.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Five compounds were isolated and identified as luteolin (I), luteolin-5-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (II), luteolin-7-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (III), 5-hydroxy-7, 8 -dimethoxyflavone (IV) and 5-hydroxy-6, 7-dimethoxyflavone (V).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Compounds III, IV, V were isolated from E. blanda for the first time and I was firstly separated from the genus Elsholtzia.</p>