Acupuncture therapy for breast cancer-related lymphedema: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

This study aimed to conduct a comprehensive analysis of clinical studies on acupuncture treatment for breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL), so as to explore the efficacy and safety of acupuncture treatment and provide evidence for the clinical decision-making. Public databases, mainly including China Academic Journals Full-text Database, Database of Chinese Sci-Tech Journal, Wanfang, PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library, from the establishment of databases to December 2018 were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCT) of acupuncture for BCRL. Clinical RCT on the treatment of BCRL with acupuncture combined with drugs or functional exercise were enrolled for the analysis. Bias risk and quality were assessed by two investigators according to the Cochrane Handbook 5.1.0 standard, and the Revman 5.3 software was used for meta-analysis. A total of 13 studies were enrolled, comprising 747 patients (377 in the treatment group and 370 in the control group). The results of meta-analysis showed that acupuncture intervention could improve the total effective rate for the treatment of BCRL (odds ratio = 4.62; 95% confidence interval 2.61-8.17). Recent studies suggest that acupuncture therapy can alleviate the upper limb swelling and improve the subjective pain and discomfort in patients with BCRL, regardless of the control intervention used. However, the number of high-quality RCT is low. Moreover, most of the studies adopted inconsistent efficacy indicators. Hence, additional blinded, large-sample, randomized, well-controlled studies with objective and uniform efficacy indicators are needed, especially in China, to confirm the findings.

[A new method on investigate chemical constituents which have anti-thrombin effect by HPLC].

An in vitro anti-thrombin bioassay was developed to investigate the chemical constituents which have anti-thrombin effect from the water soluble components of Salvia miltiorrhiza. Using Chromozym TH as a probe combined with ethyl acetate Semi-micro extraction was applied to measure p-nitroaniline by HPLC. According to the results, the inactivationrate of thrombin by sodium danshensu, salvianolic acid A and salvianolic acid B under a given set of conditions were 3.06%, 77.77% and 2.35%, respectively. In the water-soluble components, salvianolic acid A has a direct inhibition of thrombin, while sodium danshensu and salvianolic acid B have no significant effect on thrombin. The method is sensitive and low consumption. It can eliminate the interference absorbed for the sample itself which can be used for screening single or multiple direct antithrombin active ingredient of herbal extract.

[Effect of different electroacupuncture stimulation parameters on sudden hearing loss].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of different electroacupuncture (EA) frequencies and wave patterns combined with medication and medication alone for sudden hearing loss (SHL), and to explore better electroacupuncture stimulation parameters. METHODS: All of 118 patients with SHL were randomly divided into an acupuncture and medication group 1 (group 1, 30 cases, 1 case dropped off), an acupuncture and medication group 2 (group 2, 30 cases), an acupuncture and medication group 3 (group 3, 31 cases) and a medication group (27 cases, 1 case dropped off ). The patients in the medication group were treated with conventional medication. On the base of the medication group, the patients in the group 1, 2, and 3 were treated with acupuncture at Ermen (TE 21), Tinggong (SI 19), Tinghui (GB 2), Fengchi (GB 20), etc. on the affected side, and EA at Ermen (TE 21)-Yifeng (TE 17), Tinghui (GB 2)-Yifeng (TE 17) alternately. The 3 groups were given continuous wave with frequency of 2 Hz, continuous wave with frequency of 50 Hz, and disperse-dense wave with frequency of 2 Hz/50 Hz respectively. The treatment was given once a day, 10 days were as one course, with 2 courses in total. Before and after treatment, the pure tone hearing threshold test was performed, and the curative effect of pure tone hearing threshold test and the curative effect of tinnitus, ear fullness and dizziness were compared in the 3 groups. RESULTS: After treatment, the pure tone hearing threshold test values of each group were lower than those before treatment (P<0.05); the total effective rates of pure tone hearing threshold test in the group 1, 2, and 3 were higher than that in the medication group (P<0.05), and the cured rate of the group 3 was higher than those in the medication group and the group 2 (P<0.05); the total effective rates of ear stuffiness in the group 1, 2, and 3 were higher than that in the medication group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: On the basis of conventional medication treatment, the addition of electroacupuncture can effectively improve the hearing and ear stuffiness symptoms of patients with SHL, and the disperse-dense wave with frequency of 2 Hz/50 Hz is more effective.

Manipulation of insulin signaling phenocopies evolution of a host-associated polyphenism.

Plasticity, the capacity of an organism to respond to its environment, is thought to evolve through changes in development altering the integration of environmental cues. In polyphenism, a discontinuous plastic response produces two or more phenotypic morphs. Here we describe evolutionary change in wing polyphenism and its underlying developmental regulation in natural populations of the red-shouldered soapberry bug, Jadera haematoloma (Insecta: Hemiptera: Rhopalidae) that have adapted to a novel host plant. We find differences in the fecundity of morphs in both sexes and in adult expression of insulin signaling components in the gonads. Further, the plastic response of ancestral-state bugs can be shifted to resemble the reaction norm of derived bugs by the introduction of exogenous insulin or RNA interference targeting the insulin signaling component encoded by FoxO. These results suggest that insulin signaling may be one pathway involved in the evolution of this polyphenism, allowing adaptation to a novel nutritional environment.

Acupuncture therapy for sudden sensorineural hearing loss: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

OBJECTIVE: Acupuncture has commonly been used in China, either alone or in combination with Western medicine, to treat sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL). The purpose of this systematic review is to assess the efficacy and safety of acupuncture therapy for patients with SSHL. METHODS: We searched PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, China National Knowledge Internet (CNKI), Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals (VIP), and Chinese Biomedical literature service system (SinoMed) to collect randomized controlled trials of acupuncture for SSHL published before July 2014. A meta-analysis was conducted according to the Cochrane systematic review method using RevMan 5.2 software. The evidence level for each outcome was assessed using the GRADE methodology. RESULTS: Twelve trials involving 863 patients were included. A meta-analysis showed that the effect of manual acupuncture combined with Western medicine comprehensive treatment (WMCT) was better than WMCT alone (RR 1.33, 95%CI 1.19-1.49) and the same as the effect of electroacupuncture combined with WMCT (RR 1.33, 95%CI 1.19-1.50). One study showed a better effect of electroacupuncture than of WMCT (RR 1.34, 95%CI 1.24-1.45). For mean changes in hearing over all frequencies, the meta-analysis showed a better effect with the combination of acupuncture and WMCT than with WMCT alone (MD 10.85, 95%CI 6.84-14.86). However, the evidence levels for these interventions were low or very low due to a high risk of bias and small sample sizes in the included studies. CONCLUSION: There was not sufficient evidence showing that acupuncture therapy alone was beneficial for treating SSHL. However, interventions combining acupuncture with WMCT had more efficacious results in the treatment of SSHL than WMCT alone. Electroacupuncture alone might be a viable alternative treatment besides WMCT for SSHL. However, given that there were fewer eligible RCTs and limitations in the included trials, such as methodological drawbacks and small sample sizes, large-scale RCTs are required to confirm the current findings regarding acupuncture therapy for SSHL.