An overview of systematic reviews of shenmai injection for healthcare.

Shenmai injection (SMI) is widely applied in clinical practice as an organ protector. This overview is to evaluate the current evidence from systematic reviews (SRs) of SMI for healthcare. The literature searches were carried out in 6 databases without language restrictions until December 2012. The quality of the primary studies from the respective SRs was evaluated by using Jadad score. The overview quality assessment questionnaire (OQAQ) was used to evaluate the methodological quality of all included SRs. Twenty eligible SRs were identified. They reported a wide range of conditions, including SMI for cardio/cerebrovascular diseases, viral myocarditis, tumor chemotherapy, and adverse drug reactions. Most of the primary studies were of good quality only in 1 SR of non-small-cell lung cancer. According to the OQAQ scores, the quality of included SRs was variable and six reviews were of high quality with a score of 5 points. Two SRs showed that SMI had low adverse drug reaction occurrence. In conclusion, there is mixed evidence to support efficacy of SMI for an adjunct therapy to tumor chemotherapy and premature evidence for the use of SMI for cardio/cerebrovascular disorders and viral myocarditis. SMI seems generally safe for clinical application. Further large sample-size and well-designed RCTs are needed.

Heat shock transcription factor 1 attenuates TNFα-induced cardiomyocyte death through suppression of NFκB pathway.

Heat shock transcription factor 1 (HSF1), which has been identified as an endogenous cardioprotective factor, possesses potent anti-inflammatory effects. However, the underlying mechanisms have not been fully understood yet. In this study, we investigated the effects of HSF1-regulated RelA, a subunit of NFκB on cardiomyocyte death. Cultured cardiomyocytes were transfected with HSF1 plasmid before the treatment of TNFα. Cell death ratio was determined by cell staining. Additionally, the expression of RelA in the cytoplasm and cytonucleus as well as its subcellular location was detected, and the expression of heat shock proteins (HSP70 and HSP90) in the cardiomyocytes was also examined. Not only did TNFα remarkably enhanced cardiac cell death, but also elevated the expressions of intracellular RelA and elicited its translocation. Overexpression of HSF1 effectively attenuated cell death induced by TNFα. Although HSF1 didn't significantly inhibit the intracellular activation of RelA induced by TNFα at an early stage, HSF1 decreased the levels of RelA and the translocation of RelA in the cytoplasm and cell nucleus at late stage. Besides, the expression of HSP70 and HSP90 was significantly increased when HSF1 was overexpressed. These results suggested that HSF1 attenuated cardiomyocyte death via inhibiting activation of RelA as well as preventing its translocation from the cytoplasm to the cytonucleus, which was partially associated with HSP70 and HSP90 up-regulated by HSF1 overexpression.

Shengmai injection, a traditional chinese patent medicine, for intradialytic hypotension: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Intradialytic hypotension (IDH) is a global public health problem. A rising number of IDH sufferers resort to Chinese patent medicine, Shengmai Injection (SMI) in China. The objectives of present study are to assess the effectiveness and safety of SMI as an adjunct therapy for IDH. A systematic search of 6 medical databases was performed up to December 2011. Randomized trials involving SMI adjuvant therapy versus conventional therapy were identified. RevMan 5.0 was used for data analysis. Ten randomized clinical trials with 437 participants were identified. Methodological quality was considered inadequate in all trials. Compared with conventional therapy, SMI adjunct therapy showed significant effects in improving the clinic effective rate (P < 0.01), decreasing the incidence of IDH episode (P < 0.01), decreasing the frequency of nursing interventions (P < 0.01), and increasing diastolic blood pressure (P < 0.01). There was no statistical significance in the improvement of mean arterial pressure (P = 0.22) and systolic blood pressure (P = 0.08) between two groups. Four studies had mentioned adverse events, but no serious adverse effects were reported in any of the included trials. In conclusion, SMI adjunct therapy appears to be potentially effective in treatment of IDH and is generally safe. However, further rigorous designed trials are needed.

Scalp acupuncture for acute ischemic stroke: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Scalp acupuncture (SA) is a commonly used therapeutic approach for stroke throughout China and elsewhere in the world. The objective of this study was to assess clinical efficacy and safety of SA for acute ischemic stroke. A systematical literature search of 6 databases was conducted to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of SA for acute ischemic stroke compared with western conventional medicines (WCMs). All statistical analyses were performed by the Rev Man Version 5.0. Eight studies with 538 participants were included in the studies. The studies were deemed to have an unclear risk of bias based on the Cochrane Back Review Group. Compared with the WCM, 6 RCTs showed significant effects of SA for improving neurological deficit scores (P < 0.01); 4 RCTs showed significant effects of SA for favoring the clinical effective rate (P < 0.01) However, the adverse events have not been documented. In conclusion, SA appears to be able to improve neurological deficit score and the clinical effective rate when compared with WCM, though the beneficial effect from SA is possibly overvalued because of generally low methodology of the included trials. No evidence is available for adverse effects. Rigorous well-designed clinical trials are needed.

[Survey of quality of life in the patients with revision endoscopic sinus surgery].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of revision endoscopic sinus surgery (RESS) on quality of life in the patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP). METHOD: To survey and evaluate 60 cases of RESS patients (treatment group) and 120 normal ones with physical examination (Control group) through the medical outcomes survey short form questions (MOS SF-36) and the Sino-Nasal Outcome Test-20 (SNOT-20), and comparison and analysis of the two groups results which we got were carried out. RESULT: With SF-36 scales for evaluation of quality of life, the results show that: the scores of CRSwNP patients (treatment group) without surgical treatments with RESS were significantly lower than that of the control group(P < 0.05); while use of SNOT-20 scales in evaluation of the preoperative treatment group patients, the results were significantly higher than that of the control group (P < 0.05). While the CRSwNP patients with surgical treatments with RESS for 6 months, not only with SF-36 scales but also with SNOT-20 scales, there was no significant difference between the two groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: RESS may obviously improve the clinical symptom of CRSNP patients. The SF-36 and SNOT-20 assessment scales could reflect the patient's QoL change.