Green tea extract supplementation ameliorates CCl4-induced hepatic oxidative stress, fibrosis, and acute-phase protein expression in rat

Background/PurposeWe evaluated the long-term effects of green tea extract (GTE) supplementation on oxidative stress, biliary acute phase protein expression, and liver function in CCl4-induced chronic liver injury.MethodsWe evaluated the antioxidant activity of GTE in comparison with those of vitamin C, vitamin E, and β-carotene in vitro by using an ultrasensitive chemiluminescence analyzer. Chronic liver injury was induced by intraperitoneally administering carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) (1mL/kg body weight, twice weekly) to female Wistar rats for 8 weeks. The effects of low (4mg/kg body weight per day) and high (20mg/kg body weight per day) doses of intragastric GTE on CCl4-induced liver dysfunction and fibrosis were examined by measuring the bile and blood reactive oxygen species levels and biochemical parameters by using Western blot and two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis techniques.ResultsGTE has greater scavenging activity against O2–, H2O2, and Hypochlorous acid (HOCl) in vitro than vitamin C, vitamin E, and β-carotene do. In vivo, CCl4 markedly increased bile and blood reactive oxygen species production, lipid accumulation, number of infiltrated leukocytes, fibrosis, hepatic hydroxyproline content, and plasma alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase activities, and reduced plasma albumin levels. Two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed that CCl4 increased the acute-phase expression of six biliary proteins and decreased hepatic B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), catalase, and CuZn superoxide dismutase protein expression. GTE supplementation attenuated CCl4-enhanced oxidative stress, levels of biochemical parameters, pathology, and acute-phase protein secretion, and preserved antioxidant/antiapoptotic protein expression.ConclusionGTE supplementation attenuates CCl4-induced hepatic oxidative stress, fibrosis, acute phase protein excretion, and hepatic dysfunction via the antioxidant and antiapoptotic defense mechanisms

The Effects of Tai Chi Chuan on Improving Mind-Body Health for Knee Osteoarthritis Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

properly cited. Purpose. To conduct a meta-analysis and systematic review examining whether Tai Chi Chuan could have mental and physical benefits for patients with knee osteoarthritis. Methods. MEDLINE, PUBMED, EMBASE, and CINAHL databases were searched for relevant studies. Data of the studies were collected, and outcomes were classified using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health model. Effect sizes of the mental and physical components were determined, along with the recommendation grades of Philadelphia Panel Classification System for Tai Chi Chuan on knee osteoarthritis. Results. Eleven studies were selected and retrieved from the databases. The results of meta-analysis revealed that the effects of Tai Chi Chuan were observed for physical components in the body functions and structures domain. The effects favoring Tai Chi Chuan were observed in the physical component in the activities and participation domain. Insufficient data was included in the meta-analysis of the mental component. Conclusions. The review revealed that Tai Chi Chuan had beneficial outcomes for patients with knee osteoarthritis. The evidence-based results represented that it had small-to-moderate effects on body functions and structures, activities, and participation of physical component. However, there was insufficient evidence to support that Tai Chi Chuan had beneficial mental effect

Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among school children in capital areas of the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, West Africa

Background: Although the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe (DRSTP) has undertaken school children-based deworming programs against intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) using a single dose of mebendazole annually since 2005, it remains unclear as to the outcome to date. The present study intends to  investigate the recent IPIs status among school children living in capital areas of the DRSTP.Methods: A total of 252 school children (121 boys and 131 girls) of grades 4 and 5 from 4 primary schools located in the capital areas participated in the present study and their fresh fecal specimens were examined for the presence of any parasites using the merthiolate- iodine-formaldehyde concentration method as conducted.Results: The overall prevalence of IPIs was 64.7% (163/ 252). No significant gender difference in prevalence between boys (67.8%) and girls (61.8%) was found (p = 0.3). The majority of school children were infected with a single species of parasite (55.8%). Altogether, 12 different intestinal parasite species were identified in DRSTP school children, of which 9 species were pathogenic and the remaining 3 were non-pathogenic.Conclusion: Improving the detection method, sanitation facilities and personal hygiene as well as utilizing combined drugs are all important measures to greatly reduce IPIs in DRSTP school children.Keywords: Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, school children, intestinal parasitic infection

TREATING PEDIATRIC ASTHMA WITH HOLISTIC APPROACHES OF TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

Background: Asthma is a chronic disease increasingly found in children. To find more economical and efficient alternatives to treat pediatric asthma, the Bureau of National Health Insurance of Taiwan launched the Traditional Chinese Medicine Holistic Treatment Program (TCMHTP). The effect of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) holistic treatments on pediatric asthma was evaluated based on data collected from the program. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was performed by analyzing a dataset from Changhua Christian Hospital, Taiwan, between January 1st, 2006 and December 31st, 2010. Patients aged between 2 and 15 years, who had been diagnosed with asthma, and had participated in the TCMHTP were recruited, whereas those with other severe diseases were excluded. We analyzed the frequency of emergency department visits (EDV), inpatient admission rate (IAR), and length of hospitalization (LH) of the patients, before and after TCM treatments. Spectral analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) was also conducted. Results: Fifty-eight patients were recruited. The average age of the patients receiving TCM treatments was 5.67±3.03 years. The frequency of EDV decreased from 0.94±0.85 to 0.67±1.19 times annually (p=0.095), the annual IAR decreased from 0.62±0.78 to 0.26±0.67 (p=0.002) and the average LH decreased from 3.32±4.25 to 0.80±1.64 (p=0.000) days per year. Parasympathetically mediated HRV decreased significantly from 60.42±15.33 to 54.89±16.45 nu (p=0.016). Conclusion: The present study revealed that an appropriate period of TCM holistic treatment intervention can not only significantly lower exacerbations and hospitalization frequency but also reduce vagal tone in asthmatic children

Plasma fatty acids and the risk of metabolic syndrome in ethnic Chinese adults in Taiwan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Evidence of predictive power of various fatty acids on the risk of metabolic syndrome was scanty. We evaluated the role of various fatty acids, including saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, transfat, n-6 fatty acid, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), for the risk of the metabolic syndrome in Taiwan.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A nested case-control study based on 1000 cases of metabolic syndrome and 1:1 matched control subjects. For saturated fat, monounsaturated fat and transfat, the higher the concentration the higher the risk for metabolic syndrome: participants in the highest quintile had a 2.22-fold (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.66 to 2.97) higher risk of metabolic syndrome. In addition, the participants in higher EPA quintiles were less likely to have the risk of metabolic syndrome (adjusted risk, 0.46 [0.34 to 0.61] for the fifth quintile). Participants in the highest risk group (low EPA and high transfat) had a 2.36-fold higher risk of metabolic syndrome (95% CI, 1.38 to 4.03), compared with those in the lowest risk group (high EPA and low transfat). For prediction power, the area under ROC curves increased from 0.926 in the baseline model to 0.928 after adding fatty acids. The net reclassification improvement for metabolic syndrome risk was substantial for saturated fat (2.1%, <it>P </it>= 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Plasma fatty acid components improved the prediction of the metabolic syndrome risk in Taiwan.</p