The assessment and management of foot and toe oedema as part of holistic lower limb care.

Toe and foot swelling can manifest as lymphoedema or chronic oedema but can also be a complication of the treatment of these conditions. In this article, the authors discuss the assessment and treatment options for toe and foot swelling, highlighting the importance of prevention in the first instance.

GC-MS analysis of essential oil extracted from Chimonanthus praecox flowers and exploration of its anti-inflammatory effect / 西安交通大学学报(医学版)

【Objective】 To clarify the composition of essential oil extracted from Chimonanthus praecox flowers in Shiyan area and to explore its anti-inflammatory effects to provide support for further development of the resources of Chimonanthus praecox flowers. 【Methods】 SD rats were randomly divided into blank control group, model group, positive control group (aspirin 200 mg/kg), and low-, medium- and high-dose essential oil groups (0.1, 0.3 and 0.8g/kg). The blank control group and the model group were treated with distilled water by intragastric administration. The positive control group was treated with aspirin by intragastric administration. The low, medium, and high doses of the essential oil extracted from Chimonanthus praecox flowers were given 10, 30 and 80 mL/L at 10 mL/kg once a day. On day 5 of the experiment, 30 minutes after intragastric administration, 0.1 mL of Freund’s complete adjuvant was injected subcutaneously into the right foot plantar of each group of rats, and the blank control group was subcutaneously injected with 0.1 mL of normal saline. We observed and measured the toe’s volume of the rats before and 1, 2, 3, 5, 24, 48, and 72 h after injection by using drainage method. We then calculated the toe’s swelling rate in each group of rats at each time point, and used ELISA kit to measure the content of inflammatory factors in swollen foot tissue. 【Results】 In the medium- and high-dose essential oil groups, we observed significant inhibitory effects on the toe’s swelling rate in rats at 1, 2, 3, 5, 24, and 48 h after inflammation with Freund’s complete adjuvant (P<0.05). The essential oil extracted from Chimonanthus praecox flowers could significantly decrease the contents of TNF-α and IL-1β in the swollen foot tissue, and its anti-inflammatory effect was dose-dependent. 【Conclusion】 The essential oil extracted from Chimonanthus praecox flowers has obvious inhibitory effects on the rate of the toe’s swelling induced by Freund’s complete adjuvant. The anti-inflammatory effect may be related to the inhibition of TNF-α and IL-1β, but its anti-inflammatory effect is weaker than that of aspirin.

Microfine toe caps: an innovative and cost-saving solution.

This article discusses the use of Microfine toe caps (Haddenham, UK) for the treatment of digit swelling. It will discuss the indications and contraindications of the device and offers some case studies where toe caps have been used in clinical practice. The use of the Microfine toe cap offers an alternative to toe bandaging, has many different applications and can be safe and time-saving to apply when used appropriately following a full and holistic assessment.

Study on Anti-inflammatory Function of Gold Buckwheat Fermented Tea / 世界科学技术-中医药现代化

This study was aimed to observe the effect of gold buckwheat fermented tea on both acute and chronic inflammation in mice. Ear swelling was induced by xylene. Toe swelling was induced by carrageenan. The acute inflammation model was induced by the increasing of capillary permeability in the abdomen of mice by acetic acid. The chronic inflammation model of granuloma was used in the evaluation of anti-inflammatory function of gold buckwheat fermented tea. The results showed that the gold buckwheat fermented tea can obviously decrease the rate of xylene-induced ear swelling and the degree of carrageenan-induced toe swelling in mice. And the gold buckwheat fermented tea had antagonism effect on acute inflammation caused by acetic acid through the increasing of capillary permeability in abdomen of mice. Furthermore, the gold buckwheat fermented tea had obvious inhibition effects on proliferation of granuloma in chronic inflammation. It was concluded that the gold buckwheat fermented tea had the prevention and treatment effect on both acute and chronic inflammation.