Preliminary Efficacy and Safety of Reishi & Privet Formula on Quality of Life Among Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Background: Cancer patients often experience decreased quality of life during chemotherapy. This study aimed to determine the preliminary efficacy and safety of Reishi & Privet Formula (RPF) for maintaining quality of life among patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) undergoing chemotherapy.

Methods: We conducted a phase II randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial in China.

Polydatin for treating atherosclerotic diseases: A functional and mechanistic overview.

With the advancement of science and technology, the living standards of human beings have continuously improved, but the incidence and mortality from atherosclerosis worldwide have also increased by year. Although interventional surgery and the continuous development of new drugs have significant therapeutic effects, their side effects cannot be ignored. Polydatin, an active ingredient isolated from the natural medicine Polygonum cuspidatum, has been shown to have a prominent role in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

Intra-Rater and Inter-Rater Reliability of Tongue Coating Diagnosis in Traditional Chinese Medicine Using Smartphones: Quasi-Delphi Study.

Background: There is a growing trend in the use of mobile health (mHealth) technologies in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and telemedicine, especially during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. Tongue diagnosis is an important component of TCM, but also plays a role in Western medicine, for example in dermatology. However, the procedure of obtaining tongue images has not been standardized and the reliability of tongue diagnosis by smartphone tongue images has yet to be evaluated.

Design and development of spirulina polysaccharide-loaded nanoemulsions with improved the antitumor effects of paclitaxel.

In this study, we prepared spirulina polysaccharides into spirulina polysaccharide-loaded nanoemulsions (SPS-NEs), and determined the antitumor effect of SPS-NEs, when combined with paclitaxel (PTX). SPS-NEs were prepared by a phase transformation method. The Characterisation and stability of SPS-NEs was measured.

Association Between Hypoxemia and Mortality in Patients With COVID-19.

Objective: To identify markers associated with in-hospital death in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-associated pneumonia.

Patients And Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted of 140 patients with moderate to critical COVID-19-associated pneumonia requiring oxygen supplementation admitted to the hospital from January 28, 2020, through February 28, 2020, and followed up through March 13, 2020, in Union Hospital, Wuhan, China. Oxygen saturation (SpO) and other measures were tested as predictors of in-hospital mortality in survival analysis.

Jiawei Xiaoyao capsule treatment for mild to moderate major depression with anxiety symptoms: a randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, controlled, multicenter, parallel-treatment trial.

Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of Jiawei Xiaoyao (JWXY) capsules on mild to moderate depression with anxiety symptoms, a randomized, double-blind, double-dummy controlled, multicenter, parallel-treatment trial was carried out among 210 outpatients with mild to moderate depression and anxiety symptoms from three hospitals in Beijing China.

Methods: Participants were randomized into the JWXY group or the sertraline group. Each group received JWXY treatment and sertraline placebo, or sertraline and JWXY placebo for 8 weeks.

Effects of electroacupuncture on patients with chronic urinary retention caused by a lower motor neuron lesion: An exploratory pilot study.

Chronic urinary retention (CUR) is defined as a non-painful bladder that remains palpable or percussible after the patient has passed urine. Acupuncture may decrease PVR and improve bladder function in patients with neurogenic CUR. The aim of this study was to preliminarily observe the effectiveness of electroacupuncture (EA) for patients with CUR caused by a lower motor neuron lesion and to provide some therapeutic data for further study.

Validation of new classification criteria of rheumatoid arthritis in an international multicentre study.

Objectives: Early identification of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is essential to allow prompt therapy. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the performance of the newly proposed ERA criteria, compared to the 1987 ACR and 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria in an international multicentre study.

Methods: A total of 606 patients with disease duration ≤2 years and age ≥16 years who were diagnosed as RA or non-RA were enrolled from China, Sweden and India.

Gut Microbiota-Dependent Marker TMAO in Promoting Cardiovascular Disease: Inflammation Mechanism, Clinical Prognostic, and Potential as a Therapeutic Target.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide, especially in developed countries, and atherosclerosis (AS) is the common pathological basis of many cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) such as coronary heart disease (CHD). The role of the gut microbiota in AS has begun to be appreciated in recent years. Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), an important gut microbe-dependent metabolite, is generated from dietary choline, betaine, and L-carnitine.

Search for clinical predictors of good glycemic control in patients starting or intensifying oral hypoglycemic pharmacological therapy: A multicenter prospective cohort study.

Aims: Our aim was to search for clinical predictors of good glycemic control in patients starting or intensifying oral hypoglycemic pharmacological therapy.

Methods: A multicenter, prospective cohort of 499 diabetic subjects was enrolled in this study: patients with newly diagnosed diabetes (NDM group) or poor glycemic control with oral antidiabetic drugs (OADs) (PDM group). All subjects then started or intensified OADs therapy and followed up for 91 days.

Does heart failure increase the risk of incident cancer? A meta-analysis and systematic review.

Recently, several studies have demonstrated that heart failure (HF) may increase the risk of incident cancer. However, this association has not been statistically and systematically verified by any comprehensive pooled analyses. We performed a meta-analysis on cancer morbidity and co-mortality of adults with HF in a large sample size to explore the relationship between HF and the risk of developing cancer.

Efficacy and Safety of NaoShuanTong Capsule in the Treatment of Ischemic Stroke: A Meta-Analysis.

Ischemic stroke (IS) is a leading cause of death and long-term disability worldwide. The NaoShuanTong capsule (NSTC), a traditional Chinese patent medicine, has been extensively used in the treatment of stroke in China. However, the clinical efficacy and safety of this treatment has not been statistically and systematically verified by any comprehensive pooled analysis.

Comparing the effect of electroacupuncture treatment on obese and non-obese women with stress urinary incontinence or stress-predominant mixed urinary incontinence: A secondary analysis of two randomised controlled trials.

Objective: To explore whether obesity patients with a body mass index (BMI) of ≥25 kg/m who suffer from stress urinary incontinence (SUI) or stress-predominant mixed urinary incontinence (S-MUI) show less improvement in urinary incontinence (UI) symptoms after electroacupuncture (EA) treatment compared with non-obese counterparts.

Methods: This study was a secondary analysis of existing data. About 252 SUI patients and 250 S-MUI patients treated with the same EA regimen were assigned to one of the two groups: the obesity group for BMI ≥25 kg/m and the non-obesity group for BMI <25 kg/ m .

Evaluation of Traditional Chinese Medicine Herbs in Oncology Clinical Trials.

Despite wide empirical use and demand for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) herbs worldwide, high-quality clinical trials of TCM herbs in oncology are limited. We developed recommendations for rigorous clinical trials to evaluate their safety and efficacy for oncology patients. To accomplish this goal, the TCM & Cancer Research Committee of the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association convened a working group of oncologists, TCM experts, clinical researchers, biostatisticians, and industry/government representatives to develop principles and approaches for TCM cancer drug clinical trials.

The Bu Shen Yi Sui Formula Promotes Axonal Regeneration Regulating the Neurotrophic Factor BDNF/TrkB and the Downstream PI3K/Akt Signaling Pathway.

Axonal damage is recognized as an important pathological feature in the chronic progressive neurological disorder multiple sclerosis (MS). Promoting axonal regeneration is a critical strategy for the treatment of MS. Our clinical and experimental studies have shown that the Bu Shen Yi Sui formula (BSYS) promotes axonal regeneration in MS and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of MS, but the exact mechanism has not been thoroughly elucidated to date.

Does Adjuvant Treatment with Chinese Herbal Medicine to Antidiabetic Agents Have Additional Benefits in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes? A System Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Introduction: In the present meta-analysis, we aimed to determine the effects of adjuvant treatment with Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) on antidiabetic agents having additional benefits in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Methods: Randomized controlled trials were identified by searching the Cochrane Library, PUBMED, EMBASE, MEDLINE, the China National Knowledge Internet, Web of Science, Global Health, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts and the China biology medicine, Wanfang, and VIP databases. The intervention group received CHM as add-on treatment to antidiabetic agents therapy, and the control group received placebos in addition to antidiabetic agents or antidiabetic agents alone.

Electroacupuncture for women with urgency-predominant mixed urinary incontinence: secondary analysis of a randomized noninferiority trial.

Objective: To compare the effects and safety of electroacupuncture (EA) and the integration of pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) and solifenacin in women with urgency-predominant mixed urinary incontinence (MUI).

Methods: The study was a secondary analysis of a randomized noninferiority trial which recruited 500 women with MUI and randomized 178 with urgency-predominant MUI to either receive 12-week EA treatment and 24-week follow-up or 36-week PFMT-solifenacin treatment. Clinical response was defined as at least 50% reduction in average 24-h urgency incontinence episode frequency (IEF), measured by 72-h voiding diary through weeks 1-12.

Ca signalling plays a role in celastrol-mediated suppression of synovial fibroblasts of rheumatoid arthritis patients and experimental arthritis in rats.

Background And Purpose: Celastrol exhibits anti-arthritic effects in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but the role of celastrol-mediated Ca mobilization in treatment of RA remains undefined. Here, we describe a regulatory role for celastrol-induced Ca signalling in synovial fibroblasts of RA patients and adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) in rats.

Experimental Approach: We used computational docking, Ca dynamics and functional assays to study the sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca ATPase pump (SERCA).

for Diabetic Nephropathy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Many trials have shown that could further improve proteinuria and protect kidney function in patients with DN when added to a renin-angiotensin system (RAS) blocker. A systematic assessment of the efficacy and safety of in DN is essential.

Cryptotanshinone has curative dual anti-proliferative and immunotherapeutic effects on mouse Lewis lung carcinoma.

Lung cancer is currently the leading cause of cancer-related mortality with very limited effective therapy. Screening of a variety of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) for their capacity to inhibit the proliferation of human lung cancer A549 cells and to induce the in vitro maturation of human DCs led to the identification of cryptotanshinone (CT), a compound purified from the TCM Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge. Here, CT was shown to inhibit the proliferation of mouse Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cells by upregulating p53, downregulating cyclin B1 and Cdc2, and, consequently, inducing G2/M cell-cycle arrest of LLC cells.

Correction to: Efficacy of electro-acupuncture and manual acupuncture versus sham acupuncture for knee osteoarthritis: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

After publication of the original article [1], the authors have notified us that the Trial registration number NCT03274713 should be replaced by NCT03366363 in the Abstract section of the paper.

The Role of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Regulation of Oxidative Stress in Treating Coronary Heart Disease.

Oxidative stress has been closely related with coronary artery disease. In coronary heart disease (CHD), an excess of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production generates endothelial cell and smooth muscle functional disorders, leading to a disequilibrium between the antioxidant capacity and prooxidants. ROS also leads to inflammatory signal activation and mitochondria-mediated apoptosis, which can promote and increase the occurrence and development of CHD.

Tobacco Use in Fibromyalgia Is Associated With Cognitive Dysfunction: A Prospective Questionnaire Study.

Objective: To evaluate the association between smoking and cognitive function in patients with fibromyalgia.

Patients And Methods: We surveyed 668 patients with fibromyalgia from May 1, 2012 through November 30, 2013 at a major tertiary referral center. Patients were categorized by smoking status.

Efficacy of electro-acupuncture and manual acupuncture versus sham acupuncture for knee osteoarthritis: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders. Although the available evidence for its efficacy is inconclusive, acupuncture is used as an alternative therapy for KOA. The aim of this trial is to determine the efficacy of electro-acupuncture and manual acupuncture versus sham acupuncture for KOA.

[Long-term efficacy and safety of electroacupuncture on improving MMSE in patients with Alzheimer's disease].

Objective: To observe the efficacy and safety of electroacupuncture (EA) on improving mini-mental state examination (MMSE) in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and to evaluate the efficacy during follow-up visit.

Methods: Forty patients were randomly divided into a treatment group and a control group, 20 patients in each one (3 patients dropped off in the treatment group and 4 patients in the control group). The patients in the treatment group were treated with acupuncture at Baihui (GV 20), Fengfu (GV 16), Shenting (GV 24), Taiyang (EX-HN 5), Shangyintang (Extra 3) and Dazhong (KI 14); besides, EA was applied at Taiyang (EX-HN 5), Baihui (GV 20) and Shenting (GV 24) with dilatational wave, 10 Hz/50 Hz in frequency, 0.