Solanum torvum induces ferroptosis to suppress hepatocellular carcinoma.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Solanum torvum Sw. (ST) is used to clear heat toxins, promote blood circulation, and alleviate blood stasis. Therefore, this plant has traditionally been used as an ethnomedicine for common cold, chronic gastritis, and tumors.

Chinese herbal medicine decreases incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma in diabetes mellitus patients with regular insulin management.

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is an independent risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), while insulin is a potent mitogen. Identifying a new therapeutic modality for preventing insulin users from developing HCC is a critical goal for researchers.

Aim: To investigate whether regular herbal medicine use can decrease HCC risk in DM patients with regular insulin control.

LipoCol Forte capsules reduce the risk of liver cancer: A propensity score-matched, nationwide, population-based cohort study.

Background: Liver cancer is among the top five most common cancers globally. Lipid-lowering drugs such as statins can lower the risk of liver cancer, but may also cause liver damage. LipoCol Forte capsules (LFC), a red yeast rice product, have demonstrated significant antihypercholesterolemic effects and a good safety profile in clinical studies.

Roles of conventional and complementary therapies in recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common type of cancer and the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the world. HCC has a reported recurrence rate of 70%-80% after 5 years of follow-up. Controlling tumor recurrence is the most critical factor associated with HCC mortality.

ABO blood type and clinical characteristics of patients with ulcerative colitis: A hospital-based study in central Taiwan.

Background: The variations in ABO blood groups are reported to be associated with multiple disorders, including ulcerative colitis (UC). We aimed to investigate the distribution of ABO blood groups in UC patients and explore its impact on disease severity.

Methods: We retrospectively collected 129 UC patients diagnosed at our hospital between January 2000 and November 2019.

D. Don Inhibits the Main Proteases (M and TMPRSS2) of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Infection.

In late 2019, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic emerged to severely impact the global population, creating an unprecedented need for effective treatments. This study aims to investigate the potential of D. Don (SB) as a treatment for SARS-CoV-2 infection through the inhibition of the proteases playing important functions in the infection by SARS-CoV-2.

Adverse Gastrointestinal Effects with Kayexalate or Kalimate: A Comprehensive Review.

Background: Patients with hyperkalemia are commonly treated with Kayexalate or Kalimate. Both drugs are associated with some fatal gastrointestinal (GI) adverse events (AEs).

Aim: To assess the clinical characteristics and outcomes of GI AEs induced by Kayexalate or Kalimate from published case reports.

Principles and treatment strategies for the use of Chinese herbal medicine in patients at different stages of coronavirus infection.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a novel, human-infecting β-coronavirus enveloped, positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses, similar to the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) infection that emerged in November 2002. In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the epidemic disease concepts of "febrile epidemics" (wenyi) or "warm diseases" (wenbing) are based on geographic and cultural aspects, and Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) played an important role in the treatment of epidemic diseases. CHM was widely used to treat patients suffered with SARS almost two decades ago during outbreak of SARS, with proven safety and potential benefits.

Irritable bowel syndrome increases the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A retrospective cohort study.

Both inflammation and infection are associated with the development of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The purpose of this study is to further elucidate the association between IBS and COPD through a retrospective cohort study. We enrolled IBS patients diagnosed between 2000 and 2011 with follow-up for at least one year.

QuantiFERON-TB Gold Test Conversion Is Associated with Active Tuberculosis Development in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients Treated with Biological Agents: An Experience of a Medical Center in Taiwan.

Taiwan has a lower prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and a higher prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) infection than Western countries. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of latent TB (LTB) and active TB infection in IBD patients treated with biological agents. From January 2000 to September 2018, we retrospectively collected data from IBD patients treated with biological agents at a tertiary referral center.

Signal Transduction Pathways of Acupuncture for Treating Some Nervous System Diseases.

In this article, we review signal transduction pathways through which acupuncture treats nervous system diseases. We electronically searched the databases, including PubMed, MEDLINE, clinical Key, the Cochrane Library, and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure from their inception to December 2018 using the following MeSH headings and keywords alone or in varied combination: acupuncture, molecular, signal transduction, genetic, cerebral ischemic injury, cerebral hemorrhagic injury, stroke, epilepsy, seizure, depression, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, vascular dementia, and Parkinson's disease. Acupuncture treats nervous system diseases by increasing the brain-derived neurotrophic factor level and involves multiple signal pathways, including p38 MAPKs, Raf/MAPK/ERK 1/2, TLR4/ERK, PI3K/AKT, AC/cAMP/PKA, ASK1-JNK/p38, and downstream CREB, JNK, m-TOR, NF-B, and Bcl-2/Bax balance.

Epidemiology and Clinical Outcomes of Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Hospital-Based Study in Central Taiwan.

The incidence and prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are low but increasing in Taiwan. We aimed to investigate the epidemiology and clinical outcomes of IBD in central Taiwan. We retrospectively analyzed patients with IBD diagnosed at our hospital between January 2000 and September 2018.

Acupuncture-Analgesia-Mediated Alleviation of Central Sensitization.

Pain can trigger central amplification called central sensitization, which ultimately results in hyperalgesia and/or allodynia. Many reports have showed acupuncture has an analgesic effect. We searched the related article on PubMed database and Cochrane database to discover central sensitization pathway in acupuncture analgesia.

Chinese herbal medicine to treat urolithiasis in a patient with right flank pain and hematuria: A case report.

Objective: Urolithiasis is a common medical condition affecting the urinary tract. Typical symptoms reported by patients include colic pain and hematuria. Some patients may undergo surgical intervention or lithotripsy to remove the stones.