[Significance and operation mode of moxibustion intervention for the group under quarantine after close contact with COVID-19].

On the base of the idea of traditional Chinese medicine as "disease prevention", the mode and the protocol of the moxibustion intervention for the group under quarantine after close contact with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were explored. The group under quarantine after close contact with COVID-19 was taken as the subjects. By the non-contact physician-patient communication network platform co-developed by China Association of Acupuncture-Moxibustion, Hunan Provincial Association of Acupuncture-Moxibustion, Data Center of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences and Yuge Medicine Company, an exploratory randomized controlled trial was designed. A total of 100 cases were included and randomized into a moxibustion group and a conventional intervention group, 50 cases in each one. In the moxibustion group, moxibustion intervention was used. In the conventional intervention group, the conventional observation was adopted without moxibusiton intervention applied. The outcomes included the symptoms changes, e.g. anxiety, emotional disturbance, fatigue, headache and diarrhea, as well as whether quarantine release and the case confirmed or not, etc. The results were evaluated before intervention, in 14 days of intervention and 2 weeks after intervention separately. In this research, on the base of internet plus technology and with the internet communication platform adopted, through mobile phone WeChat App, it was to implement the subject screen, the random allocation and the instruction of moxibustion intervention as well as the quality control of patient's diary and data collection. It is anticipated that the significance and the implementation mode of moxibustion intervention can be assessed preliminarily for the group under quarantine after close contact with COVID-19.

Long-Term Effects of Tai Chi Intervention on Sleep and Mental Health of Female Individuals With Dependence on Amphetamine-Type Stimulants.

Previous studies provide evidence that Tai Chi (TC) can reduce the symptoms of sleep problems and be of benefit for the rehabilitation of substance abusers. In this study, we investigated if TC practice can improve sleep quality and mood of females who are dependent on amphetamine-type stimulant (ATS). Eighty subjects were randomly assigned to TC intervention and standard care (SC) for 6 months. We applied analysis of variance on repeated-measure with the year of drug dependence as the covariate to test the changes of the self-rated Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), as well as fitness after 3 and 6 months. Relapse investigation was conducted by checking the database of China's National Surveillance System on Drug Abuse and that of the Shanghai Drug Control Committee's illicit drug dependents. Our investigation focused on the relapse of participants who had undergone and completed treatment in the Shanghai Mandatory Detoxification and Rehabilitation Center in 2015. The result showed that the PSQI scores of sleep duration [F(2, 92) = 9.86], need for sleep medications [F(2, 92) = 36.44] and daytime dysfunction [F(2, 92) = 5.15] were found to have a significant difference by time × group interaction after 6 months. SDS showed no significant difference between the two groups; however, the score of SDS in TC decreased after 6-month intervention, and no changes were observed in SC. Pulse rate had significantly decreased in the TC group compared with the SC group after 6 months. 9.5% (4) ATS dependents in TC and 26.3% (10) ATS dependents in SC were found to have relapsed. Our result suggested that TC had positive effects on sleep quality, depression and fitness. Long-term study demonstrated that TC may be a cheap and potential supplementary treatment for ATS-dependent individuals. TC may also be considered as an alternative exercise to escalate abstinence for ATS-dependent females. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: ChiCTR-IPR-14005343 chictr. org.cn.

Warm-needling acupuncture and medicinal cake-separated moxibustion for hyperlipidemia: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Acupuncture and moxibustion has been widely applied to hyperlipidemia treatment in clinical practice in China, serving as an alternative treatment to statins. Warm-needling acupuncture and medicinal cake-separated moxibustion have been separately reported with potential therapeutic effects on hyperlipidemia treatment in several studies but with limitations in study methodology. Combining these two modalities may provide a more advantageous strategy in treating hyperlipidemia. Therefore, a strict evaluation through well-designed randomized controlled trials (RCT) is necessary to determine their efficacy and safety on hyperlipidemia. METHODS: The study a multicenter, open-label, randomized, stratified, active-controlled, noninferiority trial with two parallel groups. Subjects with hyperlipidemia will be stratified into different groups by risk levels of heart diseases. They then will be instructed to the Therapeutic Lifestyle Change (TLC) diet. Those who have not reached the target lipid level will be randomly assigned to the treatments of either acupuncture and moxibustion or simvastatin with a 1:1 allocation. One hundred and thirty subjects are aimed to be recruited. The duration of intervention for this study will be 12 weeks, followed by another 4 weeks for post-treatment assessment. The primary outcome is percentage change from baseline to the end of the study in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Other indicators in lipid change, safety and adherence will also be assessed secondarily. The repeated measures, linear mixed-effects model will be applied to the analysis. DISCUSSION: Acupuncture and moxibustion could be a potentially effective treatment alternative for hyperlipidemia. A study with careful design is developed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of combined acupuncture and moxibustion, by integrating the traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) regimens with the standardized Western medicine appraisal approach. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02269046 . Registered on 26 September 2014.

Beneficial effects of Tai Chi for amphetamine-type stimulant dependence: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Tai Chi is a traditional Chinese sport that is classified as a moderate exercise. Recent studies have evaluated the effectiveness of Tai Chi in substance abuse rehabilitation. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess the quality of life and physical effects of a Tai Chi intervention on individuals with amphetamine-type stimulant (stimulant) dependence. METHODS: Sixty male subjects with stimulant dependence from a Shanghai Mandatory Detoxification and Rehabilitation Center participated in a 12-week trial. Tai Chi was used as an intervention in the experimental group (n = 30). The control group (n = 29) underwent standard care, which included recreation activity, gesture language exercise, and self-education. Outcome measures included the quality of life for drug addiction (QOL-DA) questionnaire [four scales consisting of physiology (e.g., energy level), psychology (e.g., depression), symptoms (e.g., physical symptoms), society (e.g., interpersonal) and fitness evaluations (assessed by body mass index, body fat, hand-grip, flexibility, balance)]. Repeated measures were used to analyze the changes over time. RESULTS: Test scores of the QOL-DA in the Tai Chi group significantly increased after 12 weeks in the following areas: physiology, 8.71 (p = 0.005), symptoms, 4.34 (p = 0.042), society, 15.79 (p < 0.001), and total score, 10.60 (p = 0.002). A post hoc test further revealed that quality of life improved in the Tai Chi group but not in the standard care group. Physical results showed a significant interaction with balance(F(1,56) = 6.92, p = 0.011); participants in the Tai Chi group improved by 10 s while there was no change in the standard care group. Although there were no significant interactions in the fitness outcomes (i.e., hand-grip and sit-and-reach tests), the within-group factor displayed significant changes in body fat (F(1,56) = 27.79, p < 0.001) in both groups. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that Tai Chi is a promising exercise that improves quality of life for individuals with stimulant dependence.

China's National Health Policies: An Ontological Analysis.

The health care system in China is facing a multitude of challenges owing to the changing demographics of the country, the evolving economics of health care, and the emerging epidemiology of health as well as diseases. China's many national health care policies are documented in Chinese text documents. It is necessary to map the policies synoptically, systemically, and systematically to discover their emphases and biases, assess them, and modify them in the future. Using a logically constructed ontology of health care policies based on the common bodies of knowledge as a lens, we map the current policies to reveal their 'bright', 'light', and 'blind/blank' spots. The ontological map will help (a) develop a roadmap for future health care policies in China, and (b) compare and contrast China's health care policies with other countries'.