ABSTRACT
Kaiy (medieval cautery) is an ancient method of heat therapy in traditional Persian medicine (TPM). Some of its important applications have been neglected during the medical revolution. Meanwhile, different treatment modalities that incorporate heat, including moxibustion, have progressed in traditional Chinese medicine. In this study, we reviewed the main TPM textbooks that were written specifically in the field of kaiy. We considered the traditional teachings in the context of contemporary information, gathered from the scientific literature about moxibustion and modern cauterization. Some surgical therapeutic indications of kaiy (e.g., debridement and coagulative procedures) have been advanced by the innovation of electro-cauterization. However, those therapeutic applications that were based on the TPM humoral theory for relieving body coldness or myofascial pains-which are similar to moxibustion usages-have not received the same attention. Apart from the broad similarities of kaiy and moxibustion as thermal therapies with similar indications, there is a striking correspondence between kaiy point mapping and acupoints. Therefore, further research on different kaiy aspects is recommended. Please cite this article as: Jaladat AM, Alizadeh Vaghasloo M, Atarzadeh F, Ayati MH, Kazemi AH, Akin E, Hashempur MH. Similarities and differences between kaiy in Persian medicine and moxibustion in Chinese medicine. J Integr Med. 2023; 21(4):354-360.
Subject(s)
Moxibustion/history , Acupuncture Therapy , Medicine, Chinese Traditional , Acupuncture Points , Medicine, TraditionalABSTRACT
Background: Metabolic syndrome (MS) predisposes to left ventricular dysfunction and heart failure, however, alterations in left atrial (LA) function in MS are unknown. Objectives: We aimed to use strain/strain rate (SR) imaging to investigate the effect of MS on LA function. Subjects and Methods: This prospective case control study included a total of 100 subjects divided in to 75 metabolic syndrome (MS) patients referred to Al-Azhar university hospital outpatient clinic for evaluation and treatment of hypertension and/or diabetes mellitus and 25 age and sex matched apparently healthy volunteers as a control group. All subjects underwent conventional echocardiographic examination and assessment of LA function by speckle tracking. Partial correlation and multiple stepwise regression analyses were used to determine the risk factors for impaired LA function. Results: Compared with the controls, the MS patients showed significantly lower levels of mean strain, mean peak systolic SR and mean peak early diastolic SR (P<0.05 for all), with no difference in the mean peak late diastolic SR. Central obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia and uncontrolled diabetes were independent risk factors for impaired LA function. Conclusion: SR imaging is reliable in assessing LA function in MS patients
Subject(s)
Atrial Function, Left , Case-Control Studies , Echocardiography , Egypt , Metabolic Syndrome/physiopathologyABSTRACT
<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Rheum ribes L. is a plant native to China, Iran, Turkey, India, and a few other countries. Antidiarrheal activity is considered to be one of its important properties according to various systems of traditional medicine. An increasing rate of bacterial resistance to antibiotics has led to treatment failure in some cases of shigellosis in children, and underlines a need for safe, efficient and valid options.</p><p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of R. ribes syrup as a complementary medicine for treatment of shigellosis in children.</p><p><b>DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTIONS</b>This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial started with a group of 150 children aged between 12-72 months with suspected Shigella dysentery. R. ribes syrup or placebo syrup was administered to the intervention and control groups, respectively for 5 days. In addition, the standard antibiotic treatment (ceftriaxone for the first 3 days and cefixime syrup for 2 further days) was administered to both groups.</p><p><b>MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES</b>Body temperature, abdominal pain, need for antipyretics, defecation frequency, stool volume and consistency and microscopic stool examination were recorded as outcome measures. Any observed adverse effects were also recorded.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Mean duration of fever and diarrhea in the R. ribes group was significantly lower than that in the placebo group (P = 0.016 and 0.001, respectively). In addition, patients in the R. ribes group showed shorter duration of need for antipyretics and shorter duration of abdominal pain (P = 0.012 and 0.001, respectively). However, there were no significant differences between the two groups regarding the microscopic stool analyses. Furthermore, no adverse effect was reported.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>R. ribes syrup can be recommended as a complementary treatment for children with Shigella dysentery.</p><p><b>TRIAL REGISTRATION</b>Iranian Registry of Clinical Trial: IRCT2014070518356N1.</p>
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Sentinel node mapping is a new technique of lymph nodal staging in solid tumors, which can decrease the morbidity of regional lymph node dissection considerably. Intra-thoracic tumors including non-small cell lung cancer [NSCLC] and esophageal carcinoma [EC] are among the solid tumors in which sentinel node [SN] mapping has been applied. In the current systematic review, we gathered the best available evidence [systematic reviews] in this regard and presented the results in a systematic review format
Material and methods: We searched MEDLINE and SCOPUS since the inception till 13 December 2014 using the following keywords: [lung OR esophagus OR esophageal] AND sentinel AND [systematic review OR meta-analysis OR metaanalysis]. No language limit was imposed on the search strategy. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses on SN mapping in EC or NSCLC were included in the current study. Narrative review articles were excluded from the study
Results: Overall five systematic review were included. One of the included studies was on SN mapping in NSCLC and four were on EC. Overall detection rate and sensitivity for EC and NSCLC were high and both were related to mapping technique, pathological involvement of the mediastinal nodes, size and location of the tumors
Conclusion: SN mapping is feasible and highly accurate in EC and NSCLC. Attention to the technique [using radiotracers, peri-tumoral injection] and restriction of the patients to less advanced cases [cN0 and T1, 2] would ensure the best results with high detection rate and sensitivity
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<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>There is increasing interest in complementary and alternative medicine generally, and especially by those affected by chronic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus. We aimed to determine the prevalence and pattern of complementary and alternative medicine use among patients suffering from diabetes mellitus in Shiraz, southern Iran. Another objective was to explore associated factors for use of complementary and alternative medicine among patients with diabetes mellitus.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A 19-item semi-structured questionnaire (open- and close-ended) was administered to 239 patients with diabetes mellitus in this cross-sectional study. It was carried out in two outpatient diabetes clinics affiliated with the Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>One hundred and eighty patients (75.3%) used at least one type of complementary and alternative medicine in the last year prior to the interview. Patients with diabetes mellitus who were living in a large family (≥5 members), not taking insulin, and believed that complementary and alternative medicine have synergistic effects with conventional medicine, were independently and significantly (P values: 0.02, 0.04, and 0.01, respectively) more likely to use complementary and alternative medicine. Most of the users (97.7%) reported use of herbal preparations, and 89.4% of users did not change their medication, neither in medication schedule nor its dosage.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The use of complementary and alternative medicine, especially herbal remedies, is popular among diabetes patients in Shiraz, Iran. This use is associated with patients' family size, type of conventional medications and their view about concomitant use of complementary and conventional medicine.</p>
Subject(s)
Adult , Aged , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Complementary Therapies , Cross-Sectional Studies , Diabetes Mellitus , Therapeutics , Iran , PhytotherapyABSTRACT
This paper investigates some of the ways that Chinese medicine has been transferred to the Western world and to Islamic territories. During the Golden Age of Islam (8th to 13th century CE), the herbal drug trade promoted significant commercial and scientific exchange between China and the Muslim world. Chinese herbal drugs have been described by medieval Muslim medical scholars such as Tabari (870 CE), Rhazes (925 CE), Haly Abbas (982 CE), Avicenna (1037 CE) and Jurjani (1137 CE). The term al-sin (the Arabic word for China) is used 46 times in Avicenna's Canon of Medicine in reference to herbal drugs imported from China. Cinnamon (dar sini; "Chinese herb"), wild ginger (asaron), rhubarb (rivand-e sini), nutmeg (basbasa), incense tree wood (ood), cubeb (kababe) and sandalwood (sandal) were the most frequently mentioned Chinese herbs in Islamic medical books. There are also multiple similarities between the clinical uses of these herbs in both medical systems. It appears that Chinese herbal drugs were a major component of the exchange of goods and knowledge between China and the Islamic and later to the Western world amid this era.
Subject(s)
Humans , Drugs, Chinese Herbal , Therapeutic Uses , IslamABSTRACT
Recent use of lasers for porcelain surface treatment for adhesion of brackets to restorations has not only showed some promising results, but is also accompanied with less undesirable effects among other advantages. The purpose of this study is the comparative electron microscope evaluation of feldspathic porcelain surfaces under irradiation by Neodymium-Doped Yttrium Aluminium Garnet [Nd:YAG] with different powers [0.75, 1.5 and 2W] via the acid etching with hydrofluoric acid [HF] technique. The glazed porcelain samples were obtained by duplicating labial surfaces of maxillary central incisor teeth. The specimens were randomly treated by 4 different methods. Group1 was etched with hydrofluoric acid 9.6%. Samples in group 2 to 4 were also irradiated by Nd:YAG laser with different powers: 0.75, 1.5 and 2W. Then the samples were prepared for evaluation by scanning electron microscope [SEM]. Etching quality from a porosity point of view was similar for group2 and HF group. Laser with power of 0.75W has little potential to create mechanical porosity. In regard of the results of this study, it is possible to benefit from Nd:YAG laser with appropriate parameters for surface conditioning
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Gastric cancer accounts for 8% of the total cancer cases and 10% of total cancer deaths worldwide. In Iran, gastric cancer is the leading cause of national cancer-related mortality. Most human cancers show substantial heterogeneity. The cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis has been proposed to reconcile this heterogeneity. ZFX encodes a member of the krueppel C2H2-type zinc-finger protein family that is required as a transcriptional regulator for self-renewal of stem cells. A total of 30 paired tissue gastric samples were examined for ZFX gene expression by quantitative real-time RT-PCR. Although the relative expression of the gene was significantly high in 47% of the examined tumour tissues, its expression was low in the others (53%). There was a statistically significant association between the ZFX gene expression and different tumour types and grades. This is the first report that shows ZFX was differentially expressed in gastric cancer. Of note, it was overexpressed in diffused-type and grade III gastric tumoural tissues. Due to this, ZFX may have the potential to be used as a target for therapeutic interventions.
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T helper 1 and T helper 17 cells play important roles in immunity against foreign invaders. Differentiation of these Th subsets is affected by state of maturation and cytokines that are produced by dendritic cells [DCs]. Curdlan is a linear [1-3]-beta- glucan and has shown activity against tumors and infectious agents. This study aims to investigate whether curdlan plays its role through affecting the maturation and cytokine production by DCs. DCs were isolated from the spleen of BALB/c mice by MACS method. After an overnight culture of DCs in the presence of curdlan, the expression levels of CD40, CD86, and MHC-II molecules were determined by flow cytometry. The production of cytokines involved in Th1 and Th17 cell differentiation [IL-12 and IL-6, respectively] was also evaluated by ELISA. Lipopolysaccharide [LPS] treated and untreated cells were considered as positive and negative controls, respectively. The results of this study did not show a significant difference in the levels of surface expression of CD40 [p=0.82], CD86 [p=0.79], and MHC class II [p=0.84] molecules upon exposure to curdlan. However, LPS increased the intensity of CD40 expression on dendritic cells [p=0.04]. In addition, it was revealed that curdlan-exposed DCs are not able to produce a significant amount of IL-6 and IL-12 cytokines. Conversely, LPS-treated DCs were able to make a significant amount of IL-12 [p=0.005]. The results of the present study suggest that curdlan has no effect on Th1 or Th17 differentiation while LPS may induce Th1 deviation by induction of CD40 expression and IL-12 production.
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Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids [PUFAs] of the omega-3 family are important for sperm membrane integrity, sperm motility and viability. There are evidences to suggest that dietary supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids affects reproduction in men and males of different animal species. Therefore, the aim of current study was to investigate changes in the quality parameters of Holstein bull semen during heat stress and the effect of feeding a source of omega-3 fatty acids during this period. Samples were obtained from 19 Holstein bulls during the expected time of heat stress in Iran [June to September 2009]. Control group [n=10] were fed a standard concentrate feed while the treatment group [n=9] had this feed top dressed with 100 g of an omega-3 enriched nutriceutical. Semen volume, sperm concentration and total sperm production were evaluated on ejaculates collected after 1, 5, 9 and 12 weeks of supplementation. Moreover, computer-assisted assessment of sperm motility, viability [eosin-nigrosin] and hypo-osmotic swelling test [HOST] were conducted. Heat stress affected sperm quality parameters by weeks five and nine of the study [p<0.05]. Supplementation significantly increased total motility, progressive motility, HOST-positive spermatozoa and average path velocity in the fresh semen of bulls [p<0.05]. Dietary omega-3 supplementation improved in vitro quality and motility parameters of fresh semen in Holstein bulls. However, this effect was not evident in frozen-thawed semen
Subject(s)
Animals , Male , Fatty Acids, Omega-3 , Semen Preservation , In Vitro Techniques , Dietary SupplementsABSTRACT
The present study was undertaken to evaluate the validity of glucosuria measurements by double voided technique to monitor plasma glucose level, and use of plasma/urine glucose ratio [P/U-GR] changes as a sign of development of diabetic nephropathy. The study was conducted at AI-Azher University Hospitals between March to November 2002 on 200 diabetic patients [72 type 1 and 128 type 2] who had inadequate glucose control. It has been found that urine glucose levels was correlated significantly with blood sugar levels in uncontrolled diabetic patients. Sensitivity, specificity and negative prediction value were 96.5%, 89.5% and 79% respectively. Glucosuria was significantly higher in diabetic hypertensive patients than diabetic alone and in diabetic hypertensive patients treated by ACE inhibitors than those treated by other lines of antihypertensives. On other hand, glucosuria was significantly lower in patients with proteinuria than the rest of patients and in macroalbuminuria than those with microalbuminuria. P/U-GR which was found to be fixed and individualized for each patient, correlated with age, duration of disease, hypertension, serum creatinine, creatinine clearance, HbA1c and proteinuria but not correlated with blood urea and type of diabetes. P/U-GR was significantly lower in diabetic patients with hypertension than those without hypertension and in patients treated by ACE inhibitors than those treated by other lines of antihypertensive agents. On the other hand, P/U-GR was significantly higher in diabetic patients with proteinuria than the rest of diabetic patients and in diabetic patients with macroalbuminuria than those with microalbumrnuna. Our results recommend that the use of urine testing by double voided technique is reliable and accurate method in more than 79% of diabetic patients and could be used as a guide for detection of plasma glucose level in non emergency conditions