The value of MRI in evaluating the therapeutic effect of desmoid-type fibromatosis / 中华放射学杂志

Objective@#To compare the characteristics of MRI signals in different therapeutic effect of desmoid-type fibromatosis (DF).@*Methods@#One hundred and twenty-four DF patients with pathologically proven postoperative recurrent lesions from Peking University Cancer Hospital from 2008 to 2015 were enrolled in the study. All patients had baseline MRI scans, followed by once MRI scan at least every six months, and the follow-up period was three years. All patients had MRI images at the end of the third year. The therapeutic effect was evaluated by response evaluation criteria in solid tumors (RECIST) criteria, and the patients were divided into three groups: progressive disease (PD), stable disease (SD) and partial response (PR). Differences in features in the PD, SD, and PR groups were compared using one-way analysis of variance, Kruskal-Wallis, or Chi-square test. Multiple comparisons were performed using Bonferroni to correct P values. The spearman correlation coefficient was used to test the correlation between signal score and tumor maximum diameter.@*Results@#Among the 124 patients, 17 experienced PD, 37 exhibited SD and 70 exhibited PR. There were no significant differences in age, gender distribution and the location of lesion among three groups (P>0.05). The difference of treatment strategies was statistically significant (P<0.05). The difference of tumor maximum diameter of baseline and the last follow-up MRI scan was also statistically significant between three groups (P<0.05). There was no significant differences in T2 scores and enhancement scores of baseline MRI scan among the PD, SD, and PR groups (P>0.05). At the last follow-up MRI scan, the T2 signal scores, the changes of T2 signal, the scores of enhancement and the changes of enhancement of the PD, SD, and PR groups were significantly different among three groups (P<0.05). At the last follow-up MRI scan, the tumor maximum diameter was positively correlated with the score of T2 signal (r=0.434, P<0.01), and the tumor maximum diameter was positively correlated with the score of enhancement (r=0.743, P<0.01).@*Conclusion@#MRI has great value in evaluating the therapeutic effect of DF.

Efficacy and safety of traditional Chinese medicine combined with sildenafil in the treatment of ED in Chinese men： A real-world study / 中华男科学杂志

Objective@#To make a real-world study on the efficacy and safety of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) combined with sildenafil in the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED) that failed to respond to TCM medication.@*METHODS@#This study included 1 038 ED patients with the International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5) scores ≤21 and improvement <30% after 4 weeks of TCM medication, differentially diagnosed with kidney-yang or kidney-yin deficiency syndrome. We administered TCM combined with sildenafil (Viagra, Pfizer Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd) at 100 mg 1 hour before sexual intercourse. After 2 and 4 weeks of medication, we recorded the scores in IIEF-5, erection hardness, Sexual Encounter Profile question 2 (SEP-2: whether vaginal penetration is successful), SEP-3 (whether sexual intercourse is successful), and TCM Syndromes Scale as well as the indexes of routine blood, urine, liver function, and renal function of the patients, and compared them with those obtained before treatment.@*RESULTS@#No serious adverse reactions were observed in any of the patients. Compared with the baseline, the patients achieved significantly increased IIEF-5 scores after 2 and 4 weeks of medication (15.01 ± 2.25 vs 16.96 ± 2.55 and 19.41 ± 2.82, P <0.05), penileelectionhardness remarkably improved at 4 weeks (3.36% vs 44.58%, P<0.05), and the positive answers to SEP-2 and SEP-3 both markedly increased at 2 (38.11% vs 90.49%, P<0.05; 22.01% vs 63.77% , P<0.05) and 4 weeks (38.11% vs 96.95% , P<0.05; 22.01% vs 89.73%, P<0.05).@*CONCLUSIONS@#TCM combined with sildenafil is safe and effective in the treatment of ED in Chinese men, which can significantly improve the IIEF-5 score and erection hardness of the patients.

The therapeutic effect of Buqi-Huoxue decoction on the cervical spondylotic arteriopathy / 国际中医中药杂志

Objective To evaluate the therapeutic effect of Buqi-Huoxue decoction on cervical spondylotic arteriopathy(CSA). Methods 182 patients were diagnosed with CSA in our hospital during the period of March 2009 to November 2013. Among which 92 cases were assigned to a test group(outpatients) and 90 cases to a control group. The test group was treated with traditional Chinese medicine Buqi-Huoxue decoction, while the control group was treated with flunarizine and nimodipine. The level of seriousness of the symptoms, abilities and physical signs were recorded by clinical assessment scale for cervical spondylosis(CASCS), and velocity of blood flow at systolic peak(Vs)and mean blood flow velocity(Vm) of vertebral arteries(VA)and basilar artery(BA)were measured by transcranial doppler(TCD) monitoring to evaluate the blood supply before and after the treatment. After 30 days of treatment, CASCS and the TCD were recorded again to observe the clinical symptoms and the degree of blood supply improvement, and then the data were analyzed to value the curative effect. Results CASCS score of the two groups was 88.82±5.19, and 83.46±5.72 respectively, with P<0.05. The TCD results showed that, the patients less than 60 years old in the test group had Vs values of LVA, RVA and BA at(50.52±6.86)cm/s,(49.14±5.81)cm/s,(57.20± 5.37)cm/s after the treatment, and these values of the control group were(53.70±8.14)cm/s, (51.67±7.45)cm/s, (59.76±5.11)cm/s respectively;while patients over 60 years old in the test group had Vs values of LVA, RVA and BA at(40.37±2.24)cm/s, (40.78±1.85)cm/s, (51.04±3.81)cm/s after the treatment, these values of the control group were(37.58±2.86)cm/s, (37.58±2.72)cm/s, (46.92±5.26)cm/s respectively. The effective rate of the test group was 97.83%, while the value was 88.89%of the control group, which also showed a significant difference(χ2=13.743, P=0.01). Conclusion More significant effects of Buqi-Huoxue decoction for treating disease of CSA was achieved compared with the treatment of flunarizine and nimodipine.

Clinical observation on treating gouty arthritis with modified Simiao decoction and external application of traditional Chinese medicine / 国际中医中药杂志

Objective To evaluate the effects of treating gouty arthritis with modified Simiao decoction and external application of traditional Chinese medicine. Methods 76 patients with gouty arthritis of our hospital from January 2010 to August 2013 were recruited and randomly divided into a treatment group and a control group, 38 patients in each group. Patients in both groups were given low caloric diet, large amount of water(>2 000 ml), and forbidden to smoking, alcohol, sea food, animal splanchna and bean products. The control group was treated with oral intake of colchicines and indometacin in acute stage and oral intake of diclofenc in stable stage, while the treatment group was further added modified Simiao decoction and external application of traditional Chinese medicine on the basis of the control group. TCM symptom score, arthritis symptom score, symptomatic relief time, ESR, CRP, UA, IL-1?and IL-18 were observed after 7 days treatment. Results CRP, ESR decreased after the treatment[The treatment group respectively(22.06±10.31)mg/L, (25.18±17.80)mm/h,the control group respectively(14.11±7.32)mg/L, (24.16±22.09)mm/h]in both groups compared with the values before the treatment[The treatment group respectively(82.16±21.37)mg/L, (72.13± 32.36)mm/h,the control group respectively(52.46±22.26)mg/L, (62.72±33.31)mm/h, P<0.01],while the decrease after of ESR in the treatment group was much obvious than the control group(P<0.05). IL-1?, IL-18 decreased after the treatment[The treatment group respectively(55.26±16.31)pg/ml, (187.32±50.38)pg/ml;the control group respectively(57.25±18.21)pg/ml, (178.49±52.60)pg/ml] in both groups compared with the values before the treatment[The treatment group respectively(106.11±41.02)pg/ml, (398.15±132.52)pg/ml.The control group respectively(109.23±40.12)pg/ml, (397.16±141.21)pg/ml, P<0.01]. The symptomatic relief time was(4.02±2.08)d and(4.95±2.68)d in the treatment group and the control group respectively, showing statistical difference between the two groups(P<0.05). Conclusion Modified Simiao decoction combined with external application of Chinese medicines reduced TCM symptom score and arthritis symptom score, increase symptomatic relief time, decrease ESR, CRP and UA level, and enhance body immunity.

Establishing a system of therapeutic effect evaluation reflecting the theory of body and spirit / 中华中医药杂志

In this article,the authors analyzed the current status of the therapeutic effect evaluation of TCM and proposed some measures to improve the current therapeutic effect evaluation of TCM,quantificated messages from TCM four diagnostic methods,explored biological parameter reflected essence of diseases,introduced quality of life scale and PRO,in the hope of establishing a comprehensive system of therapeutic effect evaluation reflecting the superiority and characteristics of theory of body and spirit.