The efficacy and safety of Codonopsis lanceolata water extract for sarcopenia: A study protocol for randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to propose a protocol to demonstrate the efficacy of Codonopsis lanceolata water extract for the improvement of skeletal muscle mass (SMM) and function (muscle strength or performance function) and its safety compared to a placebo in adults with reduced muscle strength. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted. Participants will be recruited from the Korean Medicine Hospital in South Korea. One hundred and four adults with reduced muscle strength will be randomly assigned a 1:1 ratio to either the experimental or placebo comparator groups. The participants will consume the product corresponding to their assigned group for the following 12 weeks, and efficacy and safety tests will be conducted. This is the first clinical trial of C lanceolata water extract in adults with reduced muscle strength. The results of this study would provide a clinical basis for the efficacy and safety of C lanceolata water extract in patients with sarcopenia. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This trial was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Kyung Hee University Korean Medicine Hospital at Gangdong on July 15, 2021 (amendment number: MLB_DDE_H01 [ver. 01]). When a change was made in the clinical trial plan, the IRB reviewed and approved the revised clinical trial plan. The study was registered on the Clinical Research Information Service website on December 3, 2021 (registration number: PRE20211203-003; https://cris.nih.go.kr/cris/search/detailSearch.do?seq=20841&status=1&seq_group=20841&search_page=M). The results of this clinical trial will be reported in the future. Every document related to the clinical trial, such as the electronic case report form, will be recorded and classified by the subject identification code and not by the subject name.

A bibliometric analysis of research on herbal medicine for obesity over the past 20 years.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to analyze published papers on the use of herbal medicine in obesity research over the past 20 years using bibliometric methods and present an overview of global research trends. METHODS: English articles on herbal medicine for obesity published from 2001 to 2020 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection database using the search terms "herbal" AND "obesity". Microsoft Office Excel was used to sort and analyze the statistical data. Bibliographic analysis and data visualization were performed using visualization of similarities viewer based on publication year, country of publication, journal, research area, author, affiliated institution, and keywords. RESULTS: A total of 463 English articles were retrieved, and we observed a trend in which the number of publications on herbal medicine for obesity has gradually increased over the past 20 years. The most productive countries and research organizations in this field were Korea and Kyunghee University, respectively. Many papers have been published in research areas, such as pharmacology pharmacy and integrative complementary medicine, and the journals with the most published articles in this field were Journal of Ethnopharmacology and Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. The main research keywords formed 3 clusters, and keywords with the most occurrences were "obesity," "adipose-tissue," and "insulin resistance." CONCLUSION: This study presents an overview of the global research trend of herbal medicine for obesity from the bibliographic analysis. An increased understanding of the recently changing research topics provides a new perspective on future research directions. This study may help guide the research in the field of obesity in the future.

Effects of electroacupuncture for obesity: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Obesity-a public health problem that negatively affects the quality of life-is associated with various diseases, and its prevalence is on the rise. Although drugs and surgical interventions are used to treat obesity, they have adverse effects and limitations. Electroacupuncture is a widely used method for treating obesity in which electrical stimulation is transmitted to the body through acupuncture needles. This systematic review and meta-analysis will evaluate the efficacy of electroacupuncture in treating obesity. METHODS: MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, 3 Korean databases (Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System, ScienceON, and KoreaMed), 1 Japanese database (Citation Information by the National Institute of Informatics), and 1 Chinese database (Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure) will be searched from their inception to December 2021. The primary outcome will be body mass index, and the secondary outcomes will be body weight, waist and hip circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, body fat percentage, body fat mass, and adverse effects. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: This systematic review and meta-analysis will provide evidence for efficacy of electroacupuncture as a treatment method for obesity. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/YU5XR (https://osf.io/yu5xr).

Spontaneous hemomediastinum and hemothorax caused by a ruptured bronchial artery aneurysm.

A bronchial artery aneurysm (BAA) is uncommon and usually associated with chronic inflammatory lung disease or a systemic vascular condition, which is rarely the etiology of mediastinal hemorrhage. A middle-aged person presented with spontaneous hemothorax and hemomediastinum. A diagnostic evaluation identified a bronchial artery aneurysm as the source. To prevent further rupture, we performed a bronchial artery embolization. In the absence of trauma or other causes for hemothorax and mediastinal hemorrhage, the possibility of a BAA should be considered. A bronchial artery aneurysm can be managed by interventional techniques as well as surgery.

Transatrial resection of a left ventricular thrombus after acute myocarditis.

A mobile and pedunculated left ventricular thrombus developed after acute myocarditis in a 49-year-old woman. Surgical removal is recommended for cases such as this, especially when the ventricular thrombus is pedunculated or mobile. The thrombus was successfully removed by left atriotomy. There was no evidence of recurrent thrombus formation on the 50th day after surgery.

Direct block of cloned hKv1.5 channel by cytochalasins, actin-disrupting agents.

The action of cytochalasins, actin-disrupting agents on human Kv1.5 channel (hKv1.5) stably expressed in Ltk(-) cells was investigated using the whole cell patch-clamp technique. Cytochalasin B inhibited hKv1.5 currents rapidly and reversibly at +60 mV in a concentration-dependent manner with an IC(50) of 4.2 microM. Cytochalasin A, which has a structure very similar to cytochalasin B, inhibited hKv1.5 (IC(50) of 1.4 microM at +60 mV). Pretreatment with other actin filament disruptors cytochalasin D and cytochalasin J, and an actin filament stabilizing agent phalloidin had no effect on the cytochalasin B-induced inhibition of hKv1.5 currents. Cytochalasin B accelerated the decay rate of inactivation for the hKv1.5 currents. Cytochalasin B-induced inhibition of the hKv1.5 channels was voltage dependent with a steep increase over the voltage range of the channel's opening. However, the inhibition exhibited voltage independence over the voltage range in which channels are fully activated. Cytochalasin B produced no significant effect on the steady-state activation or inactivation curves. The rate constants for association and dissociation of cytochalasin B were 3.7 microM/s and 7.5 s(-1), respectively. Cytochalasin B produced a use-dependent inhibition of hKv1.5 current that was consistent with the slow recovery from inactivation in the presence of the drug. Cytochalasin B (10 microM) also inhibited an ultrarapid delayed rectifier K(+) current (I(K,ur)) in human atrial myocytes. These results indicate that cytochalasin B primarily blocks activated hKv1.5 channels and endogenous I(K,ur) in a cytoskeleton-independent manner as an open-channel blocker.