Observation on clinical effect of tuina plus Western medication for functional dyspepsia due to liver qi stagnation and spleen deficiency

Objective

To observe the clinical effects of tuina plus Western medication for functional dyspepsia (FD) due to liver qi stagnation and spleen deficiency.

Methods

total of 72 patients in conformity with the inclusion criteria of FD were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group based upon the random number table, 36 cases in each group. The control group was treated with mosapride citrate dispersible tablets, and the observation group was treated with the same tablets plus tuina. Before the treatment and 4 weeks after the treatment, the clinical symptoms, quality of life (QOL) and depression severity were observed by the scale, and were followed up two months later after the treatment for assessment of the clinical effects.

Results

After the treatment and at the follow-up, the symptom scores of FD and the sores of Hamilton depression rating scale (HAMD) in both groups decreased, and the scores in Chinese version of quality of life questionnaire for functional digestive disorders (Chin-FDDQL) increased, with statistically significant differences in comparison with the same group before the treatment (all P<0.05). In comparison between the two groups at the same time point after the treatment, the scores of FD symptoms, HAMD and Chin-FDDQL were improved better in the observation group than those in the control group, with statistically significant differences (all P<0.05). The total effective rates at the follow-up were 91.7% in the observation group and 75.0% in the control group, without statistical difference between the two groups (P>0.05). The rate of clinical cure and remarkable effect was 66.7% in the observation group, higher than 41.7% in the control group, it is higher in the observation group than that in the control group, with a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05).

Conclusion

Tuina plus Western medication is precise in the therapeutic effects for FD due to liver qi stagnation and spleen deficiency and can effectively relieve clinical symptoms, elevate the QOL and alleviate depression severity of the patients. Moreover, it’s better than the treatment by Western medication alone in the long-term therapeutic effects.

     

Clinical trial on the role of tuina in rehabilitation therapy following total hip replacement

目的：观察推拿在全髋关节置换术后康复治疗中的临床疗效。方法：将60例患者随机分成治疗组和对照组。治疗组30例进行推拿结合康复治疗,对照组30例进行单纯康复治疗。两组均治疗2星期。分别观察两组患者术后7天、术后2星期、术后6星期的改良人工髋关节Harris量表及汉密尔顿焦虑量表（Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale,HAMA）。结果：Harris量表评分总分,两组组内患者不同时间点多重比较差异有统计学意义（P〈0．05）;术后1天、术后7天及术后6星期两组间比较,差畀均无统计学意义（A,0．05）;术后2星期两组间比较差异有统计学意义（P〈0．05）。HAMA量表两组组内患者不同时间点多重比较差异有统计学意义（P〈0．05）;术后1天两纽间评分无显著性差异（P〉0．05）;术后7天、术后2星期、术后6星期两组间评分均有显著性差异（P〈0．05）。结论：单位时间内,推拿结合康复治疗对全髋关节置换术后患者的疼痛、关节活动范围及焦虑等方面的改善作用优于单纯康复治疗。     

Giganteaside D induces ROS-mediated apoptosis in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells through the MAPK pathway

Purpose

Every year, almost one million individuals are diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) worldwide and more than 690,000 patients die of it. At present, most therapeutic anti-HCC agents are not effective, which is due to the appearance of chemo-resistance and/or toxic side effects. Therefore, it is imperative to find novel more effective anti-HCC agents. Here, we evaluated the effect of giganteaside D (GD), an oleanolic acid saponin from P. scabiosaefolia, on the growth and apoptosis of HCC cells.

Methods and results

Using MTT and clonogenic assays, we found that GD exhibited a significant growth inhibitory effect on the HCC-derived cell lines HepG2 and Bel-7402. In addition, we found that GD induced mitochondria-mediated apoptosis in these HCC-derived cells, as indicated by a decreased mitochondrial potential, activation of Caspase-9 and Caspase-3, cleavage of PARP and release of Cytochrome C from the mitochondria. Besides, we found that GD stimulated the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and that blockage of ROS attenuated the GD-induced mitochondria-mediated apoptosis. Additionally, we found that GD treatment led to a decrease in phosphorylated Erk (p-Erk) and triggered the generation of p-JNK, both components of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. Inhibition of Erk or JNK by specific inhibitors or siRNAs augmented or attenuated the cytotoxic and apoptotic effects of GD.

Conclusions

From our results we conclude that GD can induce ROS-mediated apoptosis in HCC-derived cells through the MAPK pathway. This observation may open up avenues to explore the future use of GD as a HCC chemotherapeutic agent.

     

Prediction of response to repeat utilization of anthracycline in recurrent breast cancer patients previously administered anthracycline-containing chemotherapeutic regimens as neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy

Summary Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify the predictors of the response to doxorubicin plus cyclophosphamide in patients with recurrent breast cancer (RBC) previously treated with anthracycline-containing regimens in a neoadjuvant or adjuvant setting. Method: Between December 1993 and October 2005, 664 patients had received combined doxorubicin plus cyclophosphamide chemotherapy (doxorubicin, 40 mg/m², iv on day 1; cyclophosphamide, 500 mg/m², iv on day 1, every 21 days) for RBC at our institution. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed the efficacy of doxorubicin plus cyclophosphamide in 99 of these 664 RBC patients who had also previously been administered an anthracycline-based chemotherapy in a neoadjuvant or adjuvant setting. Results: The median cumulative dose of the previously administered anthracycline was 156 mg/m². The median disease-free interval (DFI) and median anthracycline-free interval were 33.8 and 43.7 months, respectively. The overall response rate to doxorubicin plus cyclophosphamide therapy was 38.4% (95% CI; range, 28.8–48.0%). The median time to progression and overall survival were 6.2 and 17.5 months, respectively. The results of a multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed a significant association of the response to doxorubicin plus cyclophosphamide therapy with the DFI (P = 0.02); human epidermal receptor type 2 (HER2) status also tended to affect the response rate, however the association was not statistically significant (P = 0.06). Conclusion: DFI and HER2 status may be associated with the response to repeat utilization of anthracycline-containing regimens in RBC patients also treated previously with anthracycline-containing chemotherapeutic regimens in a neoadjuvant or adjuvant setting.     

Attempting to distinguish between endogenous and contaminating cytokeratins in a corneal proteomic study

Background  

The observation of cytokeratins (CK's) in mass spectrometry based studies raises the question of whether the identified CK is a true endogenous protein from the sample or simply represents a contaminant. This issue is especially important in proteomic studies of the corneal epithelium where several CK's have previously been reported to mark the stages of differentiation from corneal epithelial stem cell to the differentiated cell.     

Ocular fat embolism syndrome

Ocular fat embolism syndrome in the complete absence of any cardiac defects is a rare phenomenon which is not commonly encountered in ophthalmic practice. We present a case of a 16-year-old girl with fat embolism syndrome and involvement of the retina after a tibial fracture without any cardiac defect.