Publications by authors named "Wei-Cheng Chung"

Article Synopsis
  • Nonspecific low back pain is common, and the study evaluated the effectiveness of electroacupuncture compared to standard and manual needling therapies through a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing research.
  • Out of the 10 included studies, electroacupuncture combined with standard therapy showed a significant reduction in pain compared to standard treatment alone, with a large effect size (SMD -0.83), while no significant difference was found when comparing it to manual needling (SMD 0).
  • Despite promising results, the review noted limitations like a small number of studies and participants, indicating a low certainty of evidence, suggesting that further and more rigorous research is necessary.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The associations of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) with Kawasaki disease (KD) and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) remain unclear. Few large-scale studies have estimated the cumulative incidence of MIS-C and KD after COVID-19 in children.

Methods: Data were obtained from TriNetX.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: There are a growing number of case reports of various autoimmune diseases occurring after COVID-19, yet there is no large-scale population-based evidence to support this potential association. This study provides a closer insight into the association between COVID-19 and autoimmune diseases and reveals discrepancies across sex, age, and race of participants.

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study based on the TriNetX U.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A functional permanent vascular access (VA) is required to perform a successful hemodialysis procedure. Hemodialysis VA dysfunction is a major cause of morbidity and hospitalization in the hemodialysis population. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in patients receiving chronic hemodialysis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study examined the impact of xerostomia (dry mouth) on the composition of oral microbiota by analyzing gingival plaques from 19 xerostomia patients and 10 healthy volunteers.
  • Results showed that the oral microbiota primarily consisted of five major phyla: Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Fusobacteria, and Proteobacteria, with no statistically significant differences found between xerostomia patients and healthy subjects.
  • The findings suggest that while some changes in oral microbiota exist, more data is needed to confirm results and explore the potential of using oral microbiota for diagnosing xerostomia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative disease of middle-aged and elderly people, contributed a higher burden of disease in China and the world. In 2017, under the support of the Rheumatology and Immunology Expert Committee of the Cross-Strait Medical and Health Exchange Association. The objective was to develop an evidence-based diagnosis and treatment guideline for OA in China based on emerging new evidence.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: To report patient-reported outcomes (PROs) of ixekizumab-treated patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and an inadequate response (IR) or intolerance to tumour necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) to 52 weeks.

Methods: In SPIRIT-P2, patients with active PsA and an IR or intolerance to TNFi were randomised to ixekizumab 80 mg every 4 weeks (IXEQ4W; N=122) or every 2 weeks (IXEQ2W; N=123), or placebo (PBO; N=118) during the initial 24-week double-blind treatment period. At Week 16, background therapy was modified for IRs; additionally, IRs in the placebo group were re-randomised (1:1) to IXEQ2W or IXEQ4W.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the treatment effects of BeauTop in alopecia by observing its effectiveness in improving androgenetic alopecia. Hair growth was observed using a dermatoscope and clinical photos, and was scored by three dermatologists. Dermatologists evaluated and selected suitable participants for this study using the Norwood scale or Ludwig scale.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Substituent effects on the open shell N-H···O═C hydrogen-bond has never been reported. This study examines how 12 functional groups composed of electron donating groups (EDG), halogen atoms and electron withdrawing groups (EWG) affect the N-H···O═C hydrogen-bond properties in a six-membered cyclic model system of O═C(Y)-CH═C(X)N-H. It is found that group effects on this open shell H-bonding system are significant and have predictive trends when X = H and Y is varied.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) can accumulate in organs and tissues during ageing and diabetes. Increased levels of AGEs are found in the bone tissue of patients with osteoporosis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate circulating AGEs in patients with osteoporosis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibody is highly specific for diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Cigarette smoking is a lifestyle and environmental factor associated with anti-CCP production and is strongly associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study assessed levels of anti-CCP antibodies and rheumatoid factor (RF) among patients with RA and COPD.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The yellow (1y) and orange (1o) crystalline polymorphs of [PtBr2(5,5'-bis(CF3CH2OCH2)-2,2'-bipyridine)] exhibit surprisingly short nearest neighbour Pt···Pt separations of 3.526 Å and 3.590 Å, respectively, at 295 K.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The existence of the rare six-membered and intramolecular C-H···F-C hydrogen-bond has been experimentally proven in the gas phase and in the solid state recently. However, the effect of the substituents on this C-H···F-C hydrogen-bond system has never been reported. In view of the importance of this type of C-H···F-C H-bonding whose weak interaction has been found critical in nanotechnology and biological systems, the nine functional groups composed of electron donating and electron withdrawing groups are inserted into this C-H···F-C interaction to study the group effect on the hydrogen bonding.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Diallyl sulfide (DAS) has been shown to have a preventive effect against various cancers.

Aims And Objectives: We evaluated the protective effects of DAS in regression of ultraviolet B (UVB)-induced skin tumor formation in SKH-1 hairless mice and its underlying early molecular biomarkers.

Methods: We examined the efficacy of DAS in UVB light-induced skin lesion in SKH-1 hairless mice and the associated molecular events.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) inhibitors including etanercept have been demonstrated to be very effective in severe ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in Caucasian patients. However, clinical efficacy of etanercept to treat active AS in Chinese patients has not been reported. In this study, a prospective, open-label trial of etanercept (25 mg BIW), involving 46 AS patients from 16 medical centers of Taiwan, was conducted.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The Chinese medicinal herbs Radix Isatidis and Viola yedoensis Makino have been suggested to possess antiviral activity. This study tests whether these and other Chinese and Western herbal medicinal formulas can modulate the immune functions involving virus-suppression in BALB/c mouse. We first confirmed the extract from Viola yedoensis Makino, but not from Radix Isatidis, the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula Chui-Uren-Chien (CUC), or a Western homeopathic medicinal drink Método Canova, could inhibit the replications of herpes simplex virus-1 and enterovirus 71 in the human neuroblastoma SK-N-SH cell line.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF