Earthworm extract attenuates silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis through Nrf2-dependent mechanisms.

Silicosis is an occupational pulmonary fibrosis caused by inhalation of silica (SiO2) and there are no ideal drugs to treat this disease. Earthworm extract (EE), a natural nutrient, has been reported to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-apoptosis effects. The purpose of the current study was to test the protective effects of EE against SiO2-induced pulmonary fibrosis and to explore the underlying mechanisms using both in vivo and in vitro models. We found that treatment with EE significantly reduced lung inflammation and fibrosis and improved lung structure and function in SiO2-instilled mice. Further mechanistic investigations revealed that EE administration markedly inhibited SiO2-induced oxidative stress, mitochondrial apoptotic pathway, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in HBE and A549 cells. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Nrf2 activation partly mediates the interventional effects of EE against SiO2-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Our study has identified EE to be a potential anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-fibrotic drug for silicosis.

Homeopathic Oscillococcinum® for preventing and treating influenza and influenza-like illness.

BACKGROUND: Influenza is a highly infectious viral disease that is particularly common in the winter months. Oscillococcinum® is a patented homeopathic medicine that is made from a 1% solution of wild duck heart and liver extract, which is then serially diluted 200 times with water and alcohol. OBJECTIVES: To determine whether homeopathic Oscillococcinum® is more effective than placebo in the prevention and/or treatment of influenza and influenza-like illness in adults or children. SEARCH METHODS: We searched CENTRAL (2014, Issue 8), MEDLINE (1966 to August week 4, 2014), MEDLINE In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations (4 September 2014), AMED (2006 to September 2014), Web of Science (1985 to September 2014), LILACS (1985 to September 2014) and EMBASE (1980 to September 2014). We contacted the manufacturers of Oscillococcinum® for information on further trials. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised, placebo-controlled trials of Oscillococcinum® in the prevention and/or treatment of influenza and influenza-like illness in adults or children. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Three review authors independently extracted data and assessed risk of bias in the eligible trials. MAIN RESULTS: No new trials were included in this 2014 update. We included six studies: two prophylaxis trials (327 young to middle-aged adults in Russia) and four treatment trials (1196 teenagers and adults in France and Germany). The overall standard of trial reporting was poor and hence many important methodological aspects of the trials had unclear risk of bias. There was no statistically significant difference between the effects of Oscillococcinum® and placebo in the prevention of influenza-like illness: risk ratio (RR) 0.48, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.17 to 1.34, P value = 0.16. Two treatment trials (judged as 'low quality') reported sufficient information to allow full data extraction: 48 hours after commencing treatment, there was an absolute risk reduction of 7.7% in the frequency of symptom relief with Oscillococcinum® compared with that of placebo (risk difference (RD) 0.077, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.12); the RR was 1.86 (95% CI 1.27 to 2.73; P value = 0.001). A significant but lesser effect was observed at three days (RR 1.27, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.56; P value = 0.03), and no significant difference between the groups was noted at four days (RR 1.11, 95% CI 0.98 to 1.27; P value = 0.10) or at five days (RR 1.06, 95% CI 0.96 to 1.16; P value = 0.25). One of the six studies reported one patient who suffered an adverse effect (headache) from taking Oscillococcinum®. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: There is insufficient good evidence to enable robust conclusions to be made about Oscillococcinum® in the prevention or treatment of influenza and influenza-like illness. Our findings do not rule out the possibility that Oscillococcinum® could have a clinically useful treatment effect but, given the low quality of the eligible studies, the evidence is not compelling. There was no evidence of clinically important harms due to Oscillococcinum®.

HISTORICAL AND CURRENT PERSPECTIVE IN THE USE OF THYROID EXTRACTS FOR THE TREATMENT OF HYPOTHYROIDISM.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the history, refinements, implementation, physiology, and clinical outcomes achieved over the past several centuries of thyroid hormone replacement strategies. METHODS: A Medline search was initiated using the following search terms: bioidentical thyroid hormone, thyroid hormone extract, combination thyroxine (T4) and tri-iodothyronine (T3) therapy, homeopathic thyroid hormone therapy, and thyroid hormone replacement. Pertinent articles of interest were identified by title (and where available abstract) for further review. Additional references were identified during a review of the identified literature. RESULTS: A rich history of physician intervention in thyroid dysfunction was identified dating back more than 2 millennia. Although not precisely documented, thyroid ingestion from animal sources had been used for centuries but was finally scientifically described and documented in Europe over 130 years ago. Since the reports by Bettencourt and Murray, there has been a continuous documentation of outcomes, refinement of hormone preparation production, and updating of recommendations for the most effective and safe use of these hormones for relieving the symptoms of hypothyroidism. As the thyroid extract preparations contain both levothyroxine (LT4) and liothyronine (LT3), current guidelines do not endorse their use as controlled studies do not clearly document enhanced objective outcomes compared with LT4 monotherapy. Among current issues cited, the optimum ratio of LT4 to LT3 has yet to be determined, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not appear to be monitoring the thyroid hormone ratios or content in extract preparations on the market. Taken together, these limitations are important detriments to the use of thyroid extract products. CONCLUSION: The evolution of thyroid hormone therapies has been significant over the extended period of time they have been in use to treat hypothyroidism. Although numerous websites continue to advocate the use of thyroid hormone extracts as a superior therapy for hypothyroidism, none of the most recent guidelines of major endocrine societies recommend thyroid extract use for hypothyroidism.

[THE APPLICATION OF ANTIHOMOTOXIC DRUG PREPARATIONS IN THE COMPLEX TREATMENT IN PATIENTS WITH NEUROLOGICAL MANIFESTATIONS OF LUMBAR OSTEOCHONDROSIS].

The expediency of application homeosyniatry by preparations of Traumel S and Placenta Compositum after the offered chart in relation to a complex with classic acupuncture and in relation to the group of the generally accepted treatment has been proved in complex treatment patients with reflex syndromes of lumbar osteochondrosis. A similar conclusion was done after the statistically reliable (P < 0.05) dynamics of parameters of endogenous intoxication, liperoxydation and antioxydant systems of the protection (by the level of katalase, superoxyddismutase, SH-groups, ceruloplasmine).

Homeopathic Oscillococcinum(®) for preventing and treating influenza and influenza-like illness.

BACKGROUND: Influenza is a highly infectious viral disease that is particularly common in the winter months. Oscillococcinum(®) is a patented homeopathic medicine that is made from a 1% solution of wild duck heart and liver extract, which is then serially diluted 200 times with water and alcohol. OBJECTIVES: To determine whether homeopathic Oscillococcinum(®) is more effective than placebo in the prevention and/or treatment of influenza and influenza-like illness in adults or children. SEARCH METHODS: We searched CENTRAL (2012, Issue 7), MEDLINE (1966 to July week 4, 2012), MEDLINE In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations (6 August 2012), AMED (2006 to August 2012), Web of Science (1985 to August 2012), LILACS (1985 to August 2012) and EMBASE (1980 to August 2012). We contacted the manufacturers of Oscillococcinum(®) for information of more trials. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised, placebo-controlled trials of Oscillococcinum(®) in the prevention and/or treatment of influenza and influenza-like illness in adults or children. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Three review authors independently extracted data and assessed risk of bias in the eligible trials. MAIN RESULTS: We included six studies: two prophylaxis trials (327 young to middle-aged adults in Russia) and four treatment trials (1196 teenagers and adults in France and Germany). The overall standard of trial reporting was poor and hence many important methodological aspects of the trials had unclear risk of bias. There was no statistically significant difference between the effects of Oscillococcinum(®) and placebo in the prevention of influenza-like illness: risk ratio (RR) 0.48, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.17 to 1.34, P = 0.16. Two treatment trials (judged as 'low quality') reported sufficient information to allow full data extraction: 48 hours after commencing treatment, there was an absolute risk reduction of 7.7% in the frequency of symptom relief with Oscillococcinum(®) compared with that of placebo (risk difference (RD) 0.077; 95% CI 0.03 to 0.12); the RR was 1.86 (95% CI 1.27 to 2.73; P = 0.001). A significant but lesser effect was observed at three days (RR 1.27, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.56; P = 0.03), and no significant difference between the groups was noted at four days (RR 1.11, 95% CI 0.98 to 1.27; P = 0.10) or at five days (RR 1.06; 95% CI 0.96 to 1.16; P = 0.25). One of the six studies reported one patient who suffered an adverse effect (headache) from taking Oscillococcinum(®). AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: There is insufficient good evidence to enable robust conclusions to be made about Oscillococcinum(®) in the prevention or treatment of influenza and influenza-like illness. Our findings do not rule out the possibility that Oscillococcinum(®) could have a clinically useful treatment effect but, given the low quality of the eligible studies, the evidence is not compelling. There was no evidence of clinically important harms due to Oscillococcinum(®).

Remedies of animal origin and their indications in Nikolaos Myrepsos׳ Dynameron.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Dynameron is a Byzantine medical compendium, divided into 24 sections, in accordance with the letters of the Greek alphabet. Being the largest medical and pharmaceutical book ever written in Byzantium, Dynameron contains 2667 recipes intended to treat many pathological conditions. A lot of information convey to us through prescriptions. In addition to plants, Nikolaos Myrepsos proposes the use of many animals, animal parts and animal by-products, for the treatment of various diseases. This article presents for the first time a full account of the animal products included in Dynameron. AIM OF THE STUDY: In continuation to our previous studies, this paper focuses on the use of animal products in composite medicines described in Dynameron. An effort was made to trace down the use of similar or identical animal products in texts of earlier medical writers. Recording recipes with animals or animal products intended for use in everyday medical practice highlights the timeless belief in their healing properties. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our main source of material is the recent digital edition of Nikolaos Myrepsos' Dynameron. This huge treatise was written in the 13th century and reflects in many ways the long medical tradition of the Greek, the Hellenistic and the Roman eras, having also received influences from the materia medica of Arabic medicine. In addition, information from dictionaries and databases were cross-checked to confirm and classify the animals and their products and to identify them. For the various pathological conditions these products are meant for, we have used the current medical terminology. RESULTS: In the present study, we could identify the therapeutic use of 93 animals. In several instances, Myrepsos suggests the use of specific organs of an animal, and for that reason he includes in his treatise 16 anatomical parts of different animals. Moreover, Dynameron comprises also 34 animal by-products, such as milk and honey. Medicines of animal origin are used in recipes concerning diseases of the respiratory, the digestive, the cardiovascular and the urinary system, as well as gynecological diseases, and ailments of the eyes, the ears and the skin. CONCLUSIONS: Of the 2667 recipes of Dynameron, 344 recipes contain medicines of animal origin, which can be detected in totally 769 citations. In addition, 626 citations for animal by-products are found in 268 recipes. Honey and milk are quoted in 2136 recipes, mostly as excipients. Dietary instructions are present on many occasions, reflecting the attitude for a healthy everyday life, similar to the modern beliefs pertaining to food as an essential factor for a good health.

Efficacy of frog skin lipids in wound healing.

BACKGROUND: Frog skin has been sequentially and scientifically evaluated by our group for its wound healing efficiency. Owing to the complex structure of skin, attempts were being made to analyse the role of individual constituents in different phases of healing. Our earlier papers have shown the significance of frog skin not only in wound healing but also enhancing the proliferating activity of the epidermal and dermal cells which are instrumental for normal healing process. We also have identified for the first time novel antimicrobial peptides from the skin of Rana tigerina and thereby reduce the complications involved in the sepsis. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY AND RESULTS: The current study envisages the role of frog skin lipids in the inflammatory phase of wound healing. The lipid moiety of the frog skin dominated by phospholipids exhibited a dose dependent acceleration of healing irrespective of the mode of application. The efficiency of the extract is attributed partially to the anti-inflammatory activity as observed by the histochemical and immunostimulatory together with plethysmographic studies. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, frog skin for the first time has been demonstrated to possess lipid components with pharmaceutical and therapeutic potential. The identification and characterization of such natural healing molecules and evaluating their mechanism of action would therefore provide basis for understanding the cues of Nature and hence can be used for application in medicine.

Oscillococcinum for influenza treatment.

The use of a complementary medicine approach, and specifically of the popular medicine Oscillococcinum, for the treatment of influenza-like syndromes remains controversial. This brief paper analyses the currently available literature on this homeopathic preparation and the Cochrane Collaboration's 2006 systematic review, along with other recent studies, in order to clarify certain fundamental aspects of its use in the treatment of influenza. In the light of the reported findings, and applying the rigorous criteria of evidence-based medicine, we suggest that this medicine should be placed in category "BI".

[Controversial and so-called alternative therapeutic approaches]. / Umstrittene und sogenannte ausserschulische Therapieansätze.

In spite of intensive research, it has not yet been possible to produce a complete explanation of the aetiology and pathology of rheumatoid arthritis (R.A.). Therapeutic measures are possible in many phases of the pathogenetic concept, and often produce good, modifying results, improving the course of the disease. No causal therapy of R.A. exists--we do not know the aetiology of this disease. Frustration with conventional medicine on the one side, and the predominating spirit of the times on the other--back to biological methods and the old forms of therapy--are the reasons why chronic polyarthritics drift into the sphere of para-medicine. In the judgement of para-medical methods, "risk/benefit relationship", "superfluous and no longer up-to-date", "controversial--absence of scientific evidence", "controversial", and "controversial--not scientifically acceptable" present some of the decision criteria. Treatment with mussel extracts, beta-sitosterins, THX, and substitution with various substances, as well as anthroposophically-oriented high-potency homeopathy, are to be allocated to the "controversial--not scientifically acceptable" category. If one weighs up the "risk/benefit relationship" of cell therapy, this treatment concept also cannot be supported. Moreover, precisely documented scientific results of this form of therapy do not exist. Methods standing on scientifically-hypothetically interesting ground, but which were tested on too small a group and cannot yet be accepted as sufficiently proven, are therapy with Vitamin E, the use of Thymopoietin, in which, for example, dose-finding and mode of application are not yet firmly established, and therapy with enzyme mixtures. Interferon results, initially extolled in the lay press, have not been confirmed in the most recent studies. Thymopoietin treatments, via the laborious road to the correct application (oral, subcutaneous, intramuscular, intravenous as bolus, intravenous--fractionated), show encouraging successes. As tissue-localized immune complexes (which sort?) play a role in the pathogenesis of R.A., but enzyme mixtures, apart from the problems of absorption, only influence circulating immune complexes, and moreover, in many diseases neither the aetiology nor the pathogenesis is connected with the immune complexes, this therapy concept can be regarded neither as causal nor as scientifically guaranteed. In summary: from the start-point that healing is the ideal aim, it has been forgotten that there are many human sufferings which medicine can ease and ameliorate, but not yet cure.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)