Effects of herbal medicines (Eunkyosan/Yin qiao san and Samsoeum/Shen su yin) for treating the common cold: A randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter clinical trial.

Background: Eunkyosan (EKS) and Samsoeum (SSE), which are called Yin qiao san and Shen su yin in Chinese, are commonly used herbal medicines for the common cold in East Asian countries. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of EKS and SSE for treating the common cold. Methods: A randomized, patient-assessor-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel, and multicenter clinical trial was conducted. Adult participants who had one or more cold within 48 h before screening, were randomly allocated to EKS, SSE, or placebo groups. The recruitment goal was planned to be 375 participants. They took an EKS, SSE, or placebo, thrice daily for up to 8 days. The primary outcome was the change in the total score of the Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom Scale-21-Korean version (WURSS-21-K) on day 6 compared to the baseline. The secondary outcomes included visual analog scale (VAS) scores and the duration of symptoms was assessed throughout the trial. Results: A total of 128 participants were enrolled and 44, 42, and 42 were allocated to the EKS, SSE, and placebo groups, respectively. This study was prematurely terminated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and we were unable to recruit all the planned participants (n = 375). EKS showed significant clinical effectiveness over the placebo group in the treatment of the common cold, as assessed by the total, symptom, and quality of life scores of WURSS-21-K and VAS, whereas SSE showed significant improvement over the placebo group in terms of WURSS-21-K symptom score. No severe adverse events were reported. Conclusions: Although EKS and SSE demonstrated statistically significant clinical effectiveness and safety in patients with the common cold, we failed to recruit our pre-planned number of participants. Future definitive full-scale studies are needed to confirm these results. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials. gov, registration number: NCT04073511. Registered on 29 August 2019.

Traditional medicine for the treatment of common cold in Korean adults: A nationwide population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Traditional medicines (TMs) have been used to treat common cold in Asia, but no studies have been conducted to examine the trend of use for several years. The objective of this study was to analyze the prescription patterns of TMs for common cold using national claims data accrued over 7 years in Korea. This will contribute to the scientific evidence enhancing the understanding of TM use for the treatment of common cold. METHODS: This study analyzed national claims data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service database. We extracted data for diagnosis of common cold (Korean Standard Classification of Diseases: J00, Acute nasopharyngitis) and prescriptions of TMs for adults who visited all types of oriental medical institutions during 2010-2016. We estimated the prescription patterns of TMs by sex, age group, and year. RESULTS: We extracted 3,014,428 prescriptions. The total number of prescriptions increased by 125.1% in 2016 compared to that in 2010. For all ages and periods, the number of prescriptions in women was higher than that in men. The age range with the most prescriptions was 70-79 years. The seven most prescribed TMs for common cold were Socheongnyongtang, Samso-eum, Yeongyopaedoksan, Insampaedoksan, Gumigohwaltang, Galgeuntang, and Hyeonggae-yeongyotang. CONCLUSION: This was the first study to analyze the prescription patterns of TMs for common cold using National Health Insurance data in Korea. This study provides scientific evidences on the disease burden and the utilization pattern of TMs for common cold to support decision making on initiatives such as allocation and management of health resources.

Eunkyosan for the common cold: A PRISMA-compliment systematic review of randomised, controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Eunkyosan (EKS), also known as the Yinqiaosan formula, is widely applied for the common cold in East Asia. Many clinical trials have reported the efficacy and safety of the EKS formula for the treatment of the common cold. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess the clinical evidence for and against the use of EKS formula as a treatment for the common cold. DATA SOURCES: The following databases were searched from inception to the present: MEDINLE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, AMED CINAHL for English articles; OASIS, the Korean Traditional Knowledge Portal, the Korean Studies Information Service System, KoreaMed, the Korean Medical Database and DBPIA); and 3 Chinese databases, including CNKI (i.e., the China Academic Journal, the China Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses Full-text Database, the China Proceedings of Conference Full-Text Database and the Century Journal Project), Wanfang and VIP. In addition, we searched a Japanese database and conduct non-electronic searches of conference proceedings. STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Prospective randomised controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the effectiveness of EKS for the common cold were included in this review. PARTICIPANTS: All types of common colds were eligible for inclusion. Participants who had both the common cold and other conditions were excluded. There were no restrictions based on other factors, such as age, sex, or symptom severity. INTERVENTIONS: Studies that evaluated any type of formulation (ie, decoction, tablet, pill, powder) of EKS were eligible for inclusion. STUDY APPRAISAL AND SYNTHESIS METHODS: Differences between intervention and control groups were assessed. Mean differences with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to measure the effects of treatment for continuous data. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Fourteen databases were searched in March 2018. We included RCTs examining EKS decoctions for any type of common cold. All RCTs of decoctions or modified decoctions were included. The methodological qualities of the RCTs were assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration tool for assessing risk of bias; confidence in the cumulative evidence was evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) instrument. RESULTS: A total of 315 potentially relevant studies were identified, and 4 RCTs met our inclusion criteria. Four RCTs tested the effects of EKS on the common cold, and all RCTs showed that EKS was superior regarding the treatment effect. LIMITATIONS: All RCTs were conducted in China, and the generalisation of these results to other countries might be limited. Most trials did not use internationally recognised reliability and validity outcome measurements. Moreover, the result of the response rate can be distorted by the practitioner. Future trials in compliance with international standards in the evaluation of treatment effects may resolve this issue. CONCLUSION: Our systemic review and meta-analysis provides suggestive evidence of the superiority of EKS over other therapies for treating the common cold. The level of evidence is low because of the high risk of bias. IMPLICATIONS OF KEY FINDINGS: The results of this systematic review and meta-analysis provide suggestive evidence of the superiority of EKS alone or combined with conventional drugs. REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42018087694.

Herbal medicines (Eunkyosan and Samsoeum) for treating the common cold: a protocol for a randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: The common cold is the most frequent acute respiratory illness that places a burden on society, both personally and economically. There is no standard therapy; only symptomatic therapy remains the mainstay of common cold treatment. Thus, interest in herbal medicines is on the rise. Eunkyosan and Samsoeum are used for the common cold in East Asian countries. Although Eunkyosan and Samsoeum are clinically used for the treatment of the common cold, their effectiveness and safety have yet to be studied. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate their effectiveness and safety. METHODS: This study is a randomized, patient-assessor blind, controlled, parallel, and multicenter clinical trial. A total of 375 participants diagnosed with the common cold will be enrolled via four hospitals. The common cold patients will take a daily dose of Eunkyosan or Samsoeum or a placebo, three times a day for eight days. The primary outcome is the change in total Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom Scale-21-Korean version (WURSS-21-K) score between baseline and six days. The secondary outcome includes the visual analogue scale (VAS). Safety is evaluated and adverse events are assessed throughout the trial. Written informed consent will be obtained from all study participants before enrollment. DISCUSSION: This results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and disseminated in related conferences. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials. gov, registration number: NCT04073511.

Blood-letting therapy for the common cold: A protocol for a systematic review of controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Many people experience the common cold, but there is currently no special treatment. For this reason, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies are used to improve the symptoms of the common cold. Blood-letting therapy (BL) is a CAM therapy that has been used for over 2000 years to treat various diseases. However, few studies have provided evidence for the efficacy and safety of BL for the common cold. This study aims to assess the effectiveness and safety of BL for the common cold. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A total of 11 databases will be searched for studies conducted through June 2017. We will include randomized controlled trials assessing BL for the common cold. All randomized controlled trials on BL or related interventions will be included. Risk of bias will be assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool, while confidence in the accumulated evidence will be evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation instrument. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This systematic review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and will also be disseminated electronically and in print. The review will be updated to inform and guide healthcare practices.

Effects of thalamic stimulation frequency on intention and postural tremor.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the ventral intermediate nucleus (VIM) of the thalamus improves essential tremor. Suppression of the amplitude of the postural tremor component with VIM DBS depends on stimulation frequency. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of DBS frequency on the intention tremor component, that is, tremor that is enhanced by target-directed movement, and to compare it to the effect of DBS frequency on postural tremor in people with essential tremor. We measured tremor frequency and amplitude during trials of postural holding and voluntary reaching between two targets at 10 different stimulation frequency settings between 0 and 185 Hz. Tremor frequency did not change with changes in stimulation frequency. Amplitude suppression of both intention and postural tremor depended on stimulation frequency. Maximal tremor reduction occurred at approximately 130 Hz for both forms of tremor. However, at optimal frequencies, the percent reduction in tremor amplitude relative to the DBS OFF condition was greater for postural than for intention tremor. These results suggest that VIM DBS stimulation frequencies near 130 Hz may provide maximal control of intention and postural tremor. Identification of optimal stimulation settings should consider assessment of intention tremor, not just postural tremor, as intention tremor may not be as well controlled as postural tremor but may be a better gauge for functional benefit.

Postural tremor suppression is dependent on thalamic stimulation frequency.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the ventral intermediate nucleus (VIM) reduces tremor in people with essential tremor (ET), yet the dependence of tremor suppression on stimulation frequency remains unclear. To address this issue, we tested tremor suppression for three 15-second measurements during a variety of stimulation frequencies in 11 ET patients treated with VIM DBS. Stimulation frequencies at or above 100 Hz produced maximal benefit; higher frequencies provided no additional benefit. If this short-term measure predicts long-term response in routine activities at home, then this stimulation frequency setting will prolong battery half-life compared to higher frequency settings. These findings suggest that ET patients treated with VIM DBS may receive adequate benefit from stimulation frequencies about 100 Hz and this setting compared to commonly used higher settings will prolong battery life of surgically implanted pulse generators.