Herbal medicine, Banxia-xiexin tang, for functional dyspepsia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The demand for complementary and alternative medicine for the management of functional dyspepsia (FD) is increasing due to the insufficient efficacy of conventional treatment options. In Asia, the Chinese herbal medicine formula Banxia-xiexin tang (BXT) has been used to treat FD. Methods: We searched 11 digital medical databases on 1 September 2021. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that investigated the efficacy of BXT or combination therapy (BXT plus Western medicines) for FD were selected. The outcome parameters were total clinical efficacy rate (TCE), motilin level, symptom checklist-90-revised (SCL-90-R), and visual analog scale (VAS) for dyspepsia and adverse events. Cochrane risk of bias tool 2.0 (RoB 2) was used for the quality assessment of included studies. Results: The meta-analysis comprised 57 RCTs with 5,525 participants. BXT was more efficacious, with a higher TCE than Western medicine. Combination therapy (BXT plus Western medicine) also resulted in a higher TCE than Western medicine. Combination therapy improved motilin levels and psychological symptoms to a greater extent than Western medicine, evidenced by a higher SCL-90-R score. However, no significant difference in VAS scores was observed between the BXT and placebo groups. BXT and combination therapy were associated with fewer adverse events than Western medicine or placebo. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that BXT and its combination therapy may be an effective and safe alternative treatment for FD. More RCTs with better methodologies are required to strengthen this evidence. Systematic Review Registration: [https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42019123285], identifier [CRD42019123285].

Herbal medicine Banha-sasim-tang for the treatment of functional dyspepsia protocol for a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Functional dyspepsia (FD) has a high prevalence rate. The dyspeptic symptoms are not easily cured despite the availability of various conventional Western medical treatments. Banha-sasim-tang (BST) is a traditional herbal medicine that has long been used for treating FD. METHODS: The following databases will be searched from inception to January 2019: Medline via PubMed, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EMBASE, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, National Digital Science Library, Korean Medical Database (KoreaMed), Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System, Korean Studies Information Service System, China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, and Citation Information by Nii. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that used BST or herbs-added BST for treating FD will be included in the systematic review. Control groups in these RCTs will be the placebo, no-treatment, and conventional Western medicine groups. RCTs that compared BST and Western medicine combination therapy with the conventional Western medicine will also be included in the systematic review to investigate the synergistic effect of BST and Western medicine. Data extraction and evaluation of risk of bias will be performed by 2 independent investigators. The primary outcome will be the total clinical effective rate and secondary outcomes will include gastrointestinal symptom scale, visual analog scale, FD-related quality of life, electrogastrography, plasma motilin, dyspepsia-related symptom score, gastric emptying, and adverse events. RevMan version 5.3 will be used for data integration and analysis. RESULTS: This systematic review will provide a high-quality integration of current evidence of BST for treating FD from several aspects including total clinical effective rate, dyspepsia-related symptoms, quality of life, and adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review will provide evidence of the effectiveness and safety of BST on FD. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Identifying information of the participants will not be revealed; hence, this protocol does not need ethical approval. The systematic review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and disseminated electronically. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: PROSPERO CRD42019123285.

Carbon Black and Titanium Interlayers Between Zinc Oxide Photo Electrode and Fluorine-Doped Tin Oxide for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.

Carbon black and titanium interlayers were deposited on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) anode layers using radio frequency magnetron sputtering method. On top of them, Zinc oxide (ZnO) photo anode layers were prepared using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique. ZnO high binding energy as well as good breakdown strength, cohesion, and stability used as a photo electrode material for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC), but it does not have a good electrical contact to the FTO anode. To solve this problem, the carbon black and titanium interlayers were deposited. The effect of interlayers on the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of DSSCs was investigated. The PCE of the devices with 120-nm-thick interlayers of carbon black or titanium was 5.21 or 4.45%, respectively, which were larger than the PCE of the devices without such interlayers (3.25%). The smooth interface of the carbon black interlayer reduced the interface impedance of the ZnO photo anode effectively. On the other hand, the titanium interlayer with TiO2 on the ZnO side increased the impedance, and decreased the PCE.

Herbal medicine Yukgunja-tang for functional dyspepsia protocol for a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a common functional gastrointestinal disorder characterized by recurrent dyspeptic symptoms. Yukgunja-tang (YGT) is a traditional herbal formula that has been used for treating FD. This systematic review protocol aims to provide a guideline for investigating the efficacy and safety of YGT in the treatment of FD. METHODS: The following databases will be searched from their inception until July 2018: Medline (via PubMed), EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Allied and Complementary Medicine Database (AMED), KoreaMed, National Digital Science Library (NDSL), Korean Medical Database (KMbase), Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System (OASIS), Korean Studies information Service System (KISS), China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database (CNKI), and Citation Information by Nii (CiNii). Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that used YGT or modified YGT for treating FD will be included. The control groups in these RCTs will include placebo, no-treatment waiting, and conventional western medicine groups. Trials testing YGT as an adjunct to western medicine for synergistic effect will also be included. The main outcome will be the total clinical efficacy rate. Data extraction and risk of bias assessment will be performed by two independent assessors. RevMan V.5.3 will be used for data analysis. RESULTS: This study will provide a high-quality synthesis of current evidence of YGT for FD from several aspects including dyspepsia-related symptoms, quality of life and adverse events. CONCLUSION: The conclusion of our systematic review will provide evidence to judge whether YGT is an effective intervention for patient with FD. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The protocol does not need ethics approval because identifying information of the participants will not be revealed. The systematic review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and disseminated electronically and in print. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: PROSPERO CRD42018090139.

Demonstration of motor recovery process in a patient with intracerebral hemorrhage.

OBJECTIVES: Little is known about the mechanism of motor recovery for patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). We attempted to demonstrate the motor recovery mechanism in a hemiparetic patient with ICH using diffusion tensor tractography (DTT), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and functional MRI (fMRI). SUBJECTS: A 37-year-old female patient and twelve age-matched control subjects were evaluated. The patient presented with complete paralysis of the left extremities, which occurred at the onset of a spontaneous ICH in the left corona radiata and basal ganglia. Over the 16 month period following onset, motor function of the affected extremities slowly recovered to a nearly normal state. Three longitudinal evaluations (at 1 month, 4 months, and 16 months from onset) were conducted for the patient. RESULTS: DTT showed that the origin of the corticospinal tract (CST) had changed from the posterior parietal cortex, primary sensory cortex, and primary motor cortex. Additionally, TMS and fMRI demonstrated the recovery process of the damaged lateral CST. CONCLUSIONS: It seems that, in this patient, the affected motor function was recovered through the normalization process of the damaged lateral CST of the affected hemisphere. We conclude that this may be one of various motor recovery mechanisms for patients with ICH. Process of the damaged lateral CST.

Recovery of corticospinal tract with diffuse axonal injury: a diffusion tensor image study.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to identity the recovery process of the corticospinal tract with diffuse axonal injury (DAI) using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). DESIGN: A 47-year-old female patient and six age-matched control subjects were evaluated. The patient presented with quadriparesis (more severe in the right extremities than the left ones) due to DAI at the onset of traumatic brain injury. Over the 24-month period following the onset of the injury, motor function of the four extremities slowly recovered to range which was close to normal. Two longitudinal DTIs were acquired from the patient (at 10 weeks and 24 months from onset) and from the control subjects. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and an apparent diffusion coefficient were measured using the region of interest (ROI) method. RESULTS: On the 10-week DTI, FAs of ROIs of the brainstem in both hemispheres of the patient were significantly lower than those of the control subjects. Compared to normal controls, the patient showed significantly increased FA in both sides of the brainstem at 24 months after the onset, which occurred in parallel with the improvement in motor function. CONCLUSIONS: Recovery in this patient could be attributed to the recovery of the corticospinal tract with diffuse axonal injury.

Motor outcome according to diffusion tensor tractography findings in the early stage of intracerebral hemorrhage.

We tried to investigate the motor outcome according to diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) findings for the corticospinal tract (CST) in the early stage for hemiparetic patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Forty patients with severe paralysis of the affected side were enrolled. DTT was obtained in the early stage of the stroke (7-30 days) and was classified into four groups: type A, the CST originating from primary motor cortex was preserved around the hematoma; type B, the CST was similar to type A except the fiber originated from the adjacent areas to the primary motor cortex; type C, the CST was interrupted at or around the hematoma; and type D, the CST did not reach the hematoma due to degeneration (Fig. 1). Six months after onset, motor function was measured and the statistical influence of the DTT type was tested. Initially, none of the motor function scales of the affected side differed among the four DTT types. Six months after the onset of ICH, motor functions of the same side were significantly different according to DTT type (p<0.05). All motor scales were highest in the DTT type A group, and were lowest in the DTT type D group (p<0.0003). The early DTT findings for CST may be used to predict the motor outcome of the affected extremities in hemiparetic patients with ICH.