Meta-analysis of scalp acupuncture for acute hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage

Objectives: Scalp acupuncture (SA) is a commonly used therapeutic approach for primary intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), but the efficacy and safety of SA therapy are still undetermined. The aim of this study is to systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of SA therapy for the treatment of acute hypertensive ICH. Methods: Literature reports with randomized controlled clinical trials and controlled clinical trials on SA therapy for acute hypertensive ICH were searched, and the efficacy and safety of SA therapy were evaluated by using the Cochrane systematic review methods. The primary outcome measures were death or dependency at the end of long-term follow-up (at least 3 months) and adverse events. The secondary outcome measure was neurological deficit improvement at the end of the treatment course. Results: Seven (7) independent trials (230 patients) were included in this study. All trials described the methods of randomization in which four trials had adequate concealment of randomization at the level of grade A, but no trial included sham acupuncture as a control group. None of the trials included "death or dependency" as a primary outcome measure. Four (4) trials contained safety assessments and stated that no adverse event was found, whereas the other three trials did not provide the information about adverse events. By using random effects statistical model, it was found that patients with acute hypertensive ICH who received SA therapy had significantly improved neurological deficit scores (Z=4.97, p<0.01). Conclusions: Although SA therapy is widely used to treat acute hypertensive ICH in TCM, the efficacy and safety of SA therapy remain to be further determined. No evidence is available on whether SA therapy can be used to treat acute ICH according to the primary outcome measure. However, SA therapy appears to be able to improve neurological deficit in patients with acute hypertensive ICH. © 2011, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.published_or_final_versio

Yizhi decoction as a therapy for vascular dementia: A metaanalysis

Purpose: Vascular dementia (VD) constitutes a heavy burden in health care systems in ageing societies. This review was aimed at assessing the effectiveness of Yizhi decoction against VD.Methods: Five computerized databases were searched. A total of 262 publications were retrieved. Jadad evaluation was used to analyze the quality of the literature. Random methods, random allocation concealment and blinding, withdrawal, exiting and other aspects were included. RevMan 5.3 was used for meta-analysis.Results: There were 1045 patients, consisting of 527 cases in the treatment group (Yizhi decoction group) and 518 cases in the control group. Risk ratio revealed that Yizhi decoction was significantly effective against VD, while the weighted by mean difference demonstrated that Yizhi decoction improved the MMSE score of patients.Conclusion: Yizhi decoction improves the quality of daily life and mental state in VD patients. However, more rigorous and scientific case studies are still needed for further confirmation to strengthen and support these findings.Keywords: Vascular dementia, Yizhi decoction, Meta-analysi

Complementary and Alternative Treatments for Tinnitus

Tinnitus is described as the perception of sound without any external acoustic stimulation. Any pathology of auditory pathways or any system of the human body may result with tinnitus. The pathophysiology of tinnitus accompanying the disorders of auditory system is not fully understood. In researches, a lot of therapy modalities have been used many years but there is no definitive treatments for tinnitus. Pharmacological treatments of various pharmacological interventions have been investigated for the treatment of tinnitus. However, no drug has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the treatment of tinnitus. The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is very popular in most countries, and several CAM products are often used by individuals with tinnitus with or without medical guidance. Nonconventional approaches for tinnitus have increased in prevalence and acceptance among both patients and practitioners. Many of these approaches have been shown to benefit some tinnitus sufferers. Complementary treatments may be particularly well suited for treating the dysfunction associated with tinnitus, as they specifically target aspects of tinnitus that are often overlooked in conventional medicine. CAM has frequently been used to treat tinnitus. The objective of this review was to assess complementary therapies as a treatment for the tinnitus

Content analysis of systematic reviews on the effectiveness of Traditional Chinese Medicine

AbstractObjectiveTo evaluate evidence for the efficacy of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in systematic reviews.MethodsChinese (TCMPeriodical Literature Database, Chinese Biological Medicine database, Chinese Medical Current Contents, China Hospital Knowledge Database journal fulltext database, Virtual Machining and Inspection System, and Wanfang) and English (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, PubMed and Embase) databases were searched.ResultsThree thousand, nine hundred and fifty-five articles were initially identified, 606 of which met the inclusion criteria, including 251 in English (83 from the Cochrane Database) and 355 in Chinese. The number of articles published each year increased between 1989 and 2009. Cardiocerebrovascular disease was the most studied target disease. Intervention measures includedTCM preparations (177 articles), acupuncture (133 articles) and combinations of TCM and western medicine (38 articles). Control measures included positive medical (177 articles), basic treatment (100 articles), placebo (219 articles), and blank and mutual (107 articles). All articles included at least one reference; the greatest number was 268. Six of 10 articles with high quality references demonstrated curative effectsagainst target diseasesincludingupper respiratory tract infection, dementia and depression. Interventions that were not recommendedwere tripterygium for rheumatoid arthritis andTCM syndrome differentiation for pediatric nocturia. In 10.4% of the studies, the authors concluded that the intervention had a curative effect. The assessors agreed with the authors' conclusions in 88.32% of cases, but rejected 8.94% (54 articles).Conclusion1) Training in systematic review methods, including topic selection, study design, methods and technology, should be improved. 2) Upper respiratory tract infection, dementia and depression may become the predominant diseases treatedby TCM, and the corresponding interventions could be developed into practical applications. 3) Use of non-recommended interventions should be controlled, and there should be more research on side effects

THE EFFECT OF ACUPRESSURE ON CONSTIPATION, QUALITY OF LIFE, AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS IN CANCER PATIENTS WITH CONSTIPATION

Constipation is the most common gastrointestinal complaint in the United States, resulting in about 2 million annual visits to the doctor. The purposes of this dissertation were to: 1) describe four theories of traditional Korean medicine; 2) review mechanisms of acupuncture and moxibustion and develop a conceptual model; 3) review findings from randomized controlled trials that tested the effects of acupressure used for the management of symptoms such nausea, pain, and dyspnea; 4) examine the reliability and validity of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) in heart failure patients with constipation compared to those with gastrointestinal disease; 5) describe how Korean women experienced constipation and how constipation affected the quality of life and the experience of using complementary and alternative medicine for constipation; 6) test the effect of acupressure on constipation and to examine the quality of life and depressive symptoms in cancer patients with constipation. Meridian theory explains that acupressure stimulates meridians, a network of energy pathways in the body to increase the flow of bio-energy. Authors of 48 studies supported that acupressure reduced nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, pain, fatigue, and dyspnea. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was used to examine the depressive symptoms in cancer patients with constipation, but has not been tested in patients with constipation. Therefore, in this study, the psychometric properties of PHQ-9 were tested in patients with constipation. Cronbach’s alphas for the Patient Health Questionnaire were .89 and the correlation between the PHQ-9 and the BDI-II (Beck Depression Inventory) was .81 (p\u3c.01) in 382 heart failure patients with constipation. Ten Korean women reported that living with constipation is a stressful and uncomfortable experience which impacts daily activity, lifestyle, social relationships, and diet. In this pilot study, three out of five patients in the acupressure group reported that acupressure was effective in improving constipation. Cancer patients with less than a four-month history of constipation had less depressive symptoms and higher quality of life compared to patient with more than a four-month history of constipation. In conclusion, acupressure can be a safe and cost effective alternative medicine for constipation

Corticosterone mediates electroacupuncture-produced anti-edema in a rat model of inflammation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Electroacupuncture (EA) has been reported to produce anti-edema and anti-hyperalgesia effects on inflammatory disease. However, the mechanisms are not clear. The present study investigated the biochemical mechanisms of EA anti-inflammation in a rat model.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Three experiments were conducted on male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 7–8/per group). Inflammation was induced by injecting complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) subcutaneously into the plantar surface of one hind paw. Experiment 1 measured plasma corticosterone (CORT) levels to see if EA regulates CORT secretion. Experiment 2 studied the effects of the adrenal gland on the therapeutic actions of EA using adrenalectomy (ADX) rats. Experiment 3 determined whether a prototypical glucocorticoid receptor antagonist, RU486, affects EA anti-edema. EA treatment, 10 Hz at 3 mA and 0.1 ms pulse width, was given twice, for 20 min each, once immediately after CFA administration and again 2 h post-CFA. Plasma CORT levels, paw thickness, indicative of the intensity of inflammation, and paw withdrawal latency (PWL) were measured 2 h and 5 h after the CFA injection.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>EA significantly increased plasma corticosterone levels 2 h (5 folds) and 5 h (10 folds) after CFA administration compared to sham EA control, but EA alone in naive rats and CFA alone did not induce significant increases in corticosterone. Adrenalectomy blocked EA-produced anti-edema, but not EA anti-hyperalgesia. RU486 (15 μl, 15 μg/μl), a prototypical glucocorticoid receptor antagonist, also prevented EA anti-edema.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The data demonstrate that EA activates the adrenals to increase plasma corticosterone levels and suppress edema and suggest that EA effects differ in healthy subjects and in those with pathologies.</p

Registered Dietitian Interest in Complementary Medicine

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has become very popular with populations internationally and in the United States. CAM is defined as “a group of diverse medical and health systems, practices and products that are not generally considered as part of conventional medicine”. CAM is described as having five specific divisions: whole medical systems, mind-body medicine, biologically-based practices, manipulative- or body-based practices, and energy medicine. Recent studies have shown that CAM use is increasing. In the US 33% of the population reported using CAM in 1990, but 1997 usage rates increased to over 41%. The popularity of CAM is one of the reasons for the creation of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) by the National Institutes of Health the Federal Government\u27s lead agency for scientific research on the diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine”. NCCAM information was the foundation for this project. The goals of this project are to evaluate the interest of dietitians in Georgia in CAM and introduce participants of this project to a segment of CAM treatments. The primary research question is: Are dietitians in the state of Georgia interested in using CAM as part of their practice? There were three distinct portions to this project; the initial survey of the dietitian participants, the development and use of the introductory CAM lesson, and the evaluation of this lesson and final survey. The data from both the first and second surveys as well as the post test does support a positive answer to the research question, “Are registered dietitians in the state of Georgia interested in CAM? The results clearly indicate an interest from both the survey 1 and survey 2/ post test group. Some may ask, “Is this really of any importance to the dietetics profession?” The answer to this can be found in the nutrition literature. Conducting a topic search of “Complementary and alternative medicine” in three predominant nutrition journals: the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, The Journal of Nutrition and The Journal of the American Dietetic Association, revealed more than 17,000 articles. These articles range for original research to review of original research to commentary articles evaluating the use of CAM to the dietetics practice. A number of articles addressed the importance of CAM in dietetics education as well as its importance to the practice and reimbursement for services

Routledge Handbook of Chinese Medicine

The Routledge Handbook of Chinese Medicine is an extensive, interdisciplinary guide to the nature of traditional medicine and healing in the Chinese cultural region, and its plural epistemologies. Established experts and the next generation of scholars interpret the ways in which Chinese medicine has been understood and portrayed from the beginning of the empire (third century BCE) to the globalisation of Chinese products and practices in the present day, taking in subjects from ancient medical writings to therapeutic movement, to talismans for healing and traditional medicines that have inspired global solutions to contemporary epidemics. The volume is divided into seven parts: Longue Durée and Formation of Institutions and Traditions Sickness and Healing Food and Sex Spiritual and Orthodox Religious Practices The World of Sinographic Medicine Wider Diasporas Negotiating Modernity This handbook therefore introduces the broad range of ideas and techniques that comprise pre-modern medicine in China, and the historiographical and ethnographic approaches that have illuminated them. It will prove a useful resource to students and scholars of Chinese studies, and the history of medicine and anthropology. It will also be of interest to practitioners, patients and specialists wishing to refresh their knowledge with the latest developments in the field. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 licens

FDA Regulation of Imported Non-Compliant Chinese Herbal Remedies

I've seen the past and it works! So wrote James Reston, a New York Times reporter, after being treated with acupuncture on the occasion of the removal of his appendix in Beijing in the early trade. At that point, arguably, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) entered mainstream American Consciousness. Today in the United States, the use of TCM, of which Chinese herbal medicines are a part, is quite widespread. In spite of this growth, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not have a consistent policy of regulating Chinese herbal medicines. The purpose of this paper is to investigate why a policy of regulating Chinese herbal medicines is lacking, and to suggest some possible solutions to the dilemma. To achieve this goal, the paper will be divided into three parts. Part one will briefly examine the history of Chinese herbal medicines, and will specifically define the type of herbal medicines that are the focus of this paper. This part will also contain a description of some of the problems that may arise when some Chinese herbal medicines are ingested, as well as a description of the degree to which alternative medical practices, including herbal remedies have permeated American society. The landscape having been set, in part two I will examine the FDA's response to the issues raised by unregulated non-compliant Chinese herbal medicines. Finally, in part three, I shall present some suggestions for the best approach to the regulation of these remedies