Quality of reporting of integrative Chinese and Western medicine intervention in randomized controlled trials of ulcerative colitis: a review.

BACKGROUND: Integrative Chinese and Western medicine (ICWM) is commonly used for the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC) in clinical practice. However, it is unclear whether the details of ICWM interventions, such as selection rationale, implementation design, and potential interactions, were adequately reported. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the quality of reporting in the ICWM interventional randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of UC and to identify the common problems if any. METHODS: Through a search of 10 international electronic databases, we identified RCTs of UC with ICWM interventions published in English or Chinese from the inception date of each database up to 16 June 2023. Literature screening was strictly conducted based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the Population, Concept, and Context (PCC) framework. The general characteristics of the included studies were described. The quality of reporting was assessed according to three checklists, including the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) with 36 items (except for one item 1b about abstract), the CONSORT for Abstracts (17 items), and a self-designed ICWM-related checklist (27 items covering design rationale, intervention details, outcome assessments, and analysis). The reporting scores of RCTs published before and after 2010 were compared. RESULTS: A total of 1458 eligible RCTs were included. For the reporting compliance, the median score (interquartile ranges) of the CONSORT (72 score in total), the CONSORT for Abstract (34 score), and ICWM-related (54 score) items was 21 (18-25), 13 (12-15), and 18 (15-21), respectively. Although the time period comparisons showed that reporting quality of included publications improved significantly after the CONSORT 2010 issued (P < 0.01), more than 50% of items were evaluated as poor quality (reporting rate < 65%) among each checklist, especially in the CONSORT for Abstract and ICWM-specific items. CONCLUSION: Although CONSORT appears to have enhanced the reporting of RCTs in UC, the quality of ICWM specifics is variable and in need of improvement. Reporting guidelines of the ICWM recommendations should be developed to improve their quality.

Inhibition of hepatitis B virus replication by stably expressed shRNA.

The major challenges for anti-hepatitis B Virus (HBV) therapy are the low efficacy of current drugs and the occurrence of drug resistant HBV mutations. A drug with new target sites or independent metabolic pathways may overcome these shortcomings. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) offers the possibility of developing a new anti-HBV therapy. Here we describe the almost complete inhibition of HBV replication by stably expressed 21-mer short hairpin RNAs (shRNA). Besides the conventional targets on HBV reverse-transcriptase, we also systemically targeted other sites of pregenomic RNA, including direct repeat (DR) elements, S, core, and X gene. Our results indicated that shRNAs can serve as efficient alternative anti-HBV agents. They can also be used in combination with chemotherapy, because they showed better effects on the inhibition of HBV replication due to different mechanisms of drug actions.

Induction of rcl, a novel growth-related gene by coptidis rhizoma in rat H4IIE cells.

Exposure of rat hepatoma cells to a low concentration of Coptidis Rhizoma reduces cell viability and probably induces apoptotic cell death. However, Coptidis Rhizoma treatment increased the expression of a putative c-myc-responsive gene rcl and could increase the activity of a transcription factor in inhibiting the growth of cancer cells. This increase was accompanied by an increment in the expression of mRNA for c-myc-responsive gene. The expression was analysed by PCR and confirmed by Northern blot analysis. The rcl expression level increases with the Coptidis Rhizoma concentration, and in the time-course study. The results suggest the expression of rcl is important to the fate of cell growth, since overexpression of the c-myc proto-oncogene cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis can be regulated by the treatment of Coptidis rhizoma. Additionally, difference between overexpression of c-myc-responsive gene in the control suggested that this protein was responsible for the inhibitory effect of a transcriptional factor on cell growth. The results support the notion of rcl as an important antiapoptotic protein mediating sensitivity to Coptidis Rhizoma induction in cancer cells. rcl may play an important role during cellular proliferation and c-myc-mediated transformation.

Herbal medicine in the treatment of cancer.

Many of the classes of phytochemicals in herbal medicine are finding therapeutic use. In particular, cancer patients are reported to benefit from treatment with herbal medicine and survivability in many cases is significantly enhanced. Recent studies showed the anti-oxidative and superoxide scavenging activities of individual active components of herbal medicine for their inhibitory activities on lipid peroxidation and anti-cancer properties. Individual herbal medicines show antipyretic, analgesic and anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects. In addition to sharing many therapeutic activities, herbal medicine is also used in nutrient supplement for anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory activity. Numerous in vitro studies of herbal medicine on different cell lines and in vivo study of herbal medicine have been reported. However, the mechanisms of actions remain unclear. This review aims to give an overview on the recent development of herbal medicine in the prevention and treatment of cancer. The report covers the possible mechanism of action of some of the herbal medicine. In addition, the common properties of herbal medicine are described. Finally, the study sheds lights on the pharmacological applications of herbal medicine in the treatment of cancer and its potential use as anti-cancer agents.