Effects of electroacupuncture on chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and its mechanism / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effects of electroacupuncture at Neiguan (PC 6) and Jianshi (PC 5) com- bined with granisetron on nausea and vomiting as well as serum levels of 5-hydroxy tryptamine (5-HT) and dopamine (DA) in chemotherapy patients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Seventy-two chemotherapy patients who met the inclusive criteria were randomly divided into an observation group (38 cases) and a control group (34 cases). The patients in the observation group were treated with electroacupuncture at Neiguan (PC 6) and Jianshi (PC 5) combined with granisetron injection; the patients in the control group were treated with electroacupuncture at sham-point 1 and sham- point 2, and the rest treatment was identical to the observation group. After 3-day treatment, the clinical indices including times of vomiting and severity of nausea, etc. were observed in the two groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>(1) At the acute stage within 24 h, the times of vomiting in the two groups were not significantly different (P>0.05); at the delay stage, the severity of nausea was significantly higher in the control group (P<0.05). (2) As for the comprehensive efficacy and rate of complete control, there was no obvious difference between the two groups at the acute stage (P>0.05); while in the delay stage, the rate of complete control in the observation group was superior to that in the control group (P<0.01). (3) Compared before and after the treatment, serum levels of 5-HT and DA were evidently reduced in the observation group (both P<0.05), while those in the control group were not significantly changed after treatment (both P>0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Electroacupuncture at Neiguan (PC 6) and Jianshi (PC 5) combined with granisetron could obviously relieve the nausea in chemotherapy patients at the delay stage. The effect mechanism is possibly related to reducing the content of 5-HIT nndl nA</p>

Treatment of functional dyspepsia by Chinese medical syndrome typing: a randomized control research / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To assess the short- and long-term efficacy and safety of treating functional dyspepsia (FD) by Chinese medical syndrome typing (CMST).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A randomized, positive-drug parallel controlled study was conducted. Recruited were 170 FD patients who were randomly assigned to the test group (13 cases, treated by Chinese herbs) and the control group (34 cases, treated by Western medicine) in the ratio of 4:1. Different recipes were administered to patients in the test group according to CMST at the 1st, 2nd, and 4th week, respectively, while those in the control group took Domperidone or Esomeprazole Magnesium Enteric-coated Tablet according to Roma III Criteria. The therapeutic efficacy was observed at the 1st, 2nd, and 4th week of the treatment, including (1) clinical symptom score; (2) the score of SF-36 quality of life scale; (3) safety (4) compliance; (5) satisfaction; (6) the relapse rate; (7) cost-effectiveness ratio (C/E). The follow-up were performed at the 1st, 3rd, and 6th month.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Sixteen patients fell off in the test group and 4 fell off i the control group, and the expulsion rate being 11.76% in the two groups, showing no statistical difference ( P > 0.05). The clinical symptom scores in the test group decreased from 5.62 +/- 2.30 before treatment to 1.41 +/- 1.22 after 4-week treatment, showing statistical difference (P < 0.01), but with no statistical difference when compared with the control group at the same time point (P>0.05). The healing rate and the total effective rate at week 4 were 38.24% and 86.76% respectively in the test group, and they were 60.00% and 65.00% at 6-month withdrawal. They were 41.18%, 79.41%, 46.67%, and 50.00%, respectively, in the control group. There was no statistical difference between the two groups (P>0.05). The scores of physical component-summary (PCS) and mental component-summary (MCS) both increased after 4-week treatment in the two groups, showing no statistical difference when compared with before treatment (P>0.05). There was statistical difference in the scores of PCS and MCS between at 6-month withdrawal and before treatment (P<0.05), but there was no statistical difference between the two groups (P>0.05). No obvious adverse reaction occurred in the two groups. The compliance and satisfaction after 4-week treatment were 95.59% and 91.91% in the test group, and 94.12% and 91.18% in the control group, showing no statistical difference between the two groups (P>0.05). The relapse rate in the test group was 10.29%, 19.12%, and 29.41%, respectively, after 1, 3, 6-month withdrawal, lower than that of the control group (17.65%, 23.53%, and 35.29%, respectively) at the same time point, but with no statistical difference. The C/E ratio of the test group/the control group was 15.59: 16. 53 at 4-week treatment and 22.27:28.28 after 6-month withdrawal respectively. The further analysis of incremental cost/incremental effectiveness showed that the ratio in the long-term decreased from 5.44 to 2.35 in the test group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The 4-week treatment of CMST had definite short- and long-term efficacy on FD patients, and improved their quality of life. It had better safety, compliance, and satisfaction. It was dominant in lower relapse rate and the cost/effectiveness. Therefore, it was worth spreading.</p>

Effects of zhizhu tongbian decoction on the colon ink propelling rate, GDNF, and NOS mRNA expression in rats with slow transit constipation / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effects of Zhizhu Tongbian Decoction (ZTD) on the enteric nervous system, mRNA expressions of glial cell line derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in the slow transit constipation (STC) rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Thirty STC rat model was established by gastric irrigation of rhubarb. After the model building, they were randomly divided into three groups, i. e., the model group, the high dose ZTD group, and the low dose ZTD group, 10 in each. Another 10 rats were selected as the blank control group. Rats in the high dose ZTD group and the low dose ZTD group were administered with ZTD (at the daily dose of crude drug 4.8 g/kg and 2.4 g/kg respectively) by gastrogavage. Normal saline was given to rats in the blank control group and the model group. The ink propelling rate was determined using ink propelling test. Meantime, mRNA expressions of GDNF and NOS in the rat colon were measured using reverse transcriptional polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the blank control group, the ink propelling rate and GDNF mRNA expression decreased, and NOS mRNA increased in the model group, showing statistical difference (P<0.01, P<0.05). Compared with the model group, the ink propelling rate increased in the high and low dose ZTD groups (P<0.01, P<0.05). The mRNA expressions of GDNF increased and the mRNA expressions of NOS decreased in the high dose ZTD group with statistical difference (P<0.01, P<0.05). But there was no difference in any index between the high and low dose ZTD groups.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>High dose ZTD could obviously improve the intestinal transmission function possibly through up-regulating the mRNA expressions of GDNF and down-regulating the mRNA expressions of NOS in STC rats.</p>