ABSTRACT
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a complex disease that often causes multiple systemic complications that have become a major international public health problem. Diabetic foot (DF) is one of the severe and frequent chronic complications of DM due to vascular lesions and neuropathy. DF ulcers (DFU) affect approximately 15% of people with DM and are the leading cause of death and disability. The prevalence and recurrence of DF are worrisome, and morbidity and mortality are also on the rise, which poses a substantial socioeconomic burden. Treating DF is difficult for clinicians and requires multidisciplinary cooperation, combining local and systemic therapy to reduce amputation and case-fatality rates. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has received extensive attention due to noticeable therapeutic effects and few adverse reactions. In recent years, research on DF treatment by TCM has been increasing, and further progress has been made. TCM includes oral medication, injectable preparations, and adjuvant therapy. This article reviews the relevant research on TCM-related adjuvant therapy for DF. We describe current progress in TCM in terms of external application, acupuncture, massage, acupoint injection, foot bath, fumigation, and moxibustion, as well as the mechanisms involved.
ABSTRACT
Introduction. The etiology and pathogenesis of psoriasis are complex. Blood-heat syndrome is the core pathogenesis of psoriasis. Based on theories of Chinese medicine (CM), heat-clearing and blood-cooling (HCBC) are the primary treatment. Very few studies have investigated the pharmacological mechanism of the CM HCBC method for treating psoriasis. This multicenter randomized controlled trial will focus on treating psoriasis blood-heat syndrome with the HCBC method using Jueyin granules (JYKL). This will be an objective and standardized evaluation of the efficacy, safety, and reproducibility of the HCBC method to obtain objective evidence meeting international standards that aim to establish a clinical standard suitable for the popular application of CM for treating psoriasis. Methods and Analysis. A five-center randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical design will be used in this study. At least 196 participants will be randomly assigned to receive either JYKL or placebo treatment approximately 30 minutes after meals in the morning and evening (one sachet per time, twice daily for 8 consecutive weeks). The study duration will be 17 weeks, including 1 week of screening, 8 weeks of intervention, and 8 weeks of follow-up. The patients will be evaluated every 2 weeks, and the measures will be compared with baseline values. The primary outcome measure will be the psoriasis lesion area severity index. We will also observe the recurrence rate, body surface area, physician global assessment, dermatology life quality index, quality of life index, visual analogue scale score, CM symptom score, combined drug use, and adverse events. This trial is registered with NCT03961230.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical effect of the herbal cake-separated moxibustion with new-type moxibustion device combined with bladder function exercise and simple bladder function exercise on improving urinary retention after spinal cord injury. METHODS: Sixty-eight patients were randomly divided into a control group and an observation group, 34 cases in each group. The bladder function exercise was given in the control group. On the basis of the treatment in the control group, herbal cake-separated moxibustion with new-type moxibustion decice was applied at Shenque (CV 8), Guanyuan (CV 4), Qihai (CV 6), Zhongji (CV 3) for 30 min, once a day in the observation group. The two groups were treated for 4 weeks as a course, 2 courses of treatment were needed. Bladder maximum volume, bladder residual urine volume and urinary tract infection before and after treatment were compared, and the clinical efficacy was evaluated in the two groups. RESULTS: The total effective rate in the observation group was 88.2% (30/34), which was better than 64.7% (22/34) in the control group (P<0.05). The increase of bladder maximum volume and decrease of bladder residual urine volume in the observation group were significantly better than those in the control group (P<0.01). At the 4th, 6th and 8th weeks for treatment, the improvement of urinary tract infection in the observation group was better than that in the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: At the same time of bladder function training, herbal cake-separated moxibustion with new-type moxibustion device could improve urinary retention after spinal cord injury.