Tai Chi Quan Versus Physical Therapy on Pain and Cognitive Performance for Elderly People With Chronic Low Back Pain: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objectives: Chronic low back pain has become a major cause of global disability and caused a huge economic burden to society. Physical therapy is a vital strategy for rehabilitation of chronic low back pain. Although several trials have shown that Tai Chi Quan is a beneficial treatment, the comparative effectiveness of Tai Chi Quan versus physical therapy is unknown. We are conducting a randomized controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of Tai Chi Quan versus that of physical therapy in treating chronic low back pain. Methods: We will perform a single-blind randomized controlled trial on elderly people with chronic low back pain. 138 participants will be randomly assigned to the Tai Chi Quan group (60-min classes, three times per week for 12 weeks) or physical therapy group (10 min of evaluation and warm-up, 40 min of therapist-directed exercise therapy, and 10 min of relaxation, three times per week for 12 weeks) with an allocation of 1:1. The participants will be followed up for 40 weeks for the study of long-term effects. The primary outcomes include pain intensity and back-related function at 12 weeks. Secondary outcomes include lumbar quantitative sensory testing, balance, cognitive function, psychosocial function, cost-effectiveness, compliance and adverse events. We will perform the intention-to-treat analysis for withdrawal and missing data. Discussion: The study will be the first randomized trial with comparative-effectiveness of Tai Chi Quan and physical therapy for chronic low back pain. Standardized protocol, large sample size, and comprehensive outcomes are important features in this trial. This study aims to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of Tai Chi Quan for low back pain. The results of this study will be beneficial for elderly people with low back pain and medical rehabilitation personnel. Clinical Trial Registration: www.chictr.org.cn, identifier ChiCTR2000029723.

Exercise for Neuropathic Pain: A Systematic Review and Expert Consensus.

Background: Neuropathic pain (NP), a severe and disruptive symptom following many diseases, normally restricts patients' physical functions and leads to anxiety and depression. As an economical and effective therapy, exercise may be helpful in NP management. However, few guidelines and reviews focused on exercise therapy for NP associated with specific diseases. The study aimed to summarize the effectiveness and efficacy of exercise for various diseases with NP supported by evidence, describe expert recommendations for NP from different causes, and inform policymakers of the guidelines. Design: A systematic review and expert consensus. Methods: A systematic search was conducted in PubMed. We included systematic review and meta-analysis, randomized controlled trials (RCTs), which assessed patients with NP. Studies involved exercise intervention and outcome included pain intensity at least. Physiotherapy Evidence Database and the Assessment of Multiple Systematic reviews tool were used to grade the quality assessment of the included RCTs and systematic reviews, respectively. The final grades of recommendation were based on strength of evidence and a consensus discussion of results of Delphi rounds by the Delphi consensus panel including 21 experts from the Chinese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine. Results: Eight systematic reviews and 21 RCTs fulfilled all of the inclusion criteria and were included, which were used to create the 10 evidence-based consensus statements. The 10 expert recommendations regarding exercise for NP symptoms were relevant to the following 10 different diseases: spinal cord injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, cervical radiculopathy, sciatica, diabetic neuropathy, chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, HIV/AIDS, and surgery, respectively. The exercise recommended in the expert consensus involved but was not limited to muscle stretching, strengthening/resistance exercise, aerobic exercise, motor control/stabilization training and mind-body exercise (Tai Chi and yoga). Conclusions: Based on the available evidence, exercise is helpful to alleviate NP intensity. Therefore, these expert consensuses recommend that proper exercise programs can be considered as an effective alternative treatment or complementary therapy for most patients with NP. The expert consensus provided medical staff and policymakers with applicable recommendations for the formulation of exercise prescription for NP. This consensus statement will require regular updates after five-ten years.

DNA barcoding and rapid identification of the precious herb Herba Anoectochili.

Herba Anoectochili is a commonly used medicinal material. However, its adulteration is a serious concern. Due to the similar morphological characteristics of Herba Anoectochili and its adulterants, traditional identification techniques often fail to distinguish between them accurately, which is not conducive to the circulation management and safety of the medicinal materials. To improve the distinction between Herba Anoectochili and its adulterants accurately, this study identified 41 Herba Anoectochili and its adulterant samples based on the ITS2 sequence. Sequence characteristics, Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) application, genetic distance, construction of phylogenetic tree, secondary structure prediction, and other methods showed the ITS2 sequence to accurately identify Herba Anoectochili from its adulterants. Furthermore, in this study, we designed a specific primer, based on the ITS2 sequence, and established a real-time PCR detection system for the rapid, sensitive, and specific identification of the original plant of Herba Anoectochili. Compared to DNA barcoding technology, this method has shorter detection time, stronger specificity, and higher sensitivity, which lays the foundation for the rapid identification of Herba Anoectochili.

[Molecular genetics research of medicinal plants].

With the development of various biotechnology,the research on molecular genetics of medicinal plants has gradually deepened. In this paper,the research system of molecular genetics of medicinal plants was proposed for the first time,which was elaborated from the aspects of genetic resources,genome,gene function and research methods. The application fields of medicinal plant mainly contain species identification,molecular breeding and biosynthesis. The research directions of molecular genetics of medicinal plants in genetic resources,model platform,synthetic biology and molecular breeding were put forward,which include 1 000 genome projects of medicinal plants,model species and mutant libraries,gene original libraries of heterologous synthetic systems,construction gene original library and specific chassis cells in heterologous synthesis system of active ingredient,breeding of new varieties of medicinal plants with high active ingredient and high resistance based on molecular markers andtransgenes.

[Correlative analysis of agronomic traits and quality of Panax ginseng saponins cultivation in farmland].

Cultivated ginseng in the farmland would become the mainly planting mode of Panax ginseng. However,there are relatively few cultivation ginseng varieties for farmland in China. Correlative analysis of qualitity and agronomic traits of P. ginseng cultivation in the farmland could provide a reference for the selection of excellent germplasm and new variety breeding of P. ginseng. In this study,the main index of saponin and agronomic traits of 4-6 years' samples were analyzed by UPLC and measured. The results show that there was significant difference in agronomic indexes of Damaya. The coefficient of variation of the root length( CV = 41. 97%) and fresh weight( CV = 31. 81%) were maximum,and the coefficient of variation of the stems thickness( 16. 72%) and root thickness were minimum. There was a significant correlation between yield and root thickness( P<0. 05). There was significant difference in drug yield of different harvest years( P<0. 05),and the yield of 6-years was 31. 52%-39. 69% higher than 4-years. However,there wasn't significant difference in total ginsenosides between 4 and 6 years old P. ginseng,but there was significant difference in ginseng Rg2,Rc and Rb2( P<0. 05),and the ginsenoside contents of different harvesting years were accorded with the criterion standards of 2015 Chinese Pharmacopoeia. There was no significant correlation between the saponin and the agronomic trait,while there was positive correlation with root thickness( P < 0. 05). Therefore,the stem diameter was positive correlation with yield of P. ginseng. Selection of the stem thickness of seedlings is beneficial to the increase of the yield and breeding of P. ginseng.