Can acupuncture reverse oxidative stress and neuroinflammatory damage in animal models of vascular dementia?: A preclinical systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Vascular dementia is a cognitive dysfunction syndrome caused by cerebral vascular factors such as ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke. The effect of acupuncture on vascular dementia models is ambiguous, and there is controversy about whether acupuncture has a placebo effect. Oxidative stress and inflammation are the most essential mechanisms in preclinical studies of vascular dementia. However, there is no meta-analysis on the mechanism of vascular dementia in animal models. It is necessary to explore the efficacy of acupuncture through Meta-analysis of preclinical studies. METHODS: Three major databases, PubMed, Embase and Web of Science (including medline), were searched in English until December 2022.The quality of the including literature was assessed using SYRCLE's risk of bias tool. Review Manager 5.3 was used to statistically summarize the included studies and the statistical effect values were expressed by SMD. The outcomes included: behavioral tests (escape latency, number of crossings), pathological sections (Nissl and TUNEL staining), oxidative stress markers (ROS, MDA, SOD, GSH-PX) and neuroinflammatory factors (TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-6). RESULTS: A total of 31 articles were included in this meta-analysis. The results showed that the escape latency, the contents of ROS, MDA, IL-1ß, and IL-6 were decreased, and the contents of SOD and Nissl-positive neurons were increased in the acupuncture group as compared with the non-group (P < .05). Compared with the impaired group, the acupuncture group also had the above advantages (P < .05). In addition, the acupuncture group also increased the number of crossings and GSH-PX content, and decreased the expression of TUNEL-positive neurons and TNF-α (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: From behavioral tests to slices and pathological markers in animal models of vascular dementia, it can be proved that acupuncture is effective in targeting oxidative stress and neuroinflammatory damage, and acupuncture is not a placebo effect. Nevertheless, attention needs to be paid to the gap between animal experiments and clinical applications.

[Prostatitis studies in China from 2000 to 2020: A Knowledge Atlas-based study on the development trend of contemporary disciplines].

OBJECTIVE: To review and analyze the trend of researches on prostatitis in China in the past two decades. METHODS: We searched the core collection of China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) for studies on prostatitis, and analyzed the data obtained using Excel, Citespace and VOSviewer. RESULTS: Totally, 1 216 original articles were identified, with 3 271 keywords, ≥3-time high-frequency keywords accounting for 12.9%, with "", "", "chronic prostatitis", "prostatitis", and "" as the top 5 ones, each with a centrality higher than 300. Major prostatitis-related studies focused on the 8 keywords, namely, prostatitis, prostatic fluid, rats, prostate, syndromes, efficacy observation, compound (in traditional Chinese medicine, TCM), and therapeutic application. The included literature involved 2 808 authors, with 402 involved more than twice and most of them in a scattered manner. The major topics of prostatitis studies varied in the past two decades, focusing on TCM therapies, promotion of blood circulation and stasis and comprehensive nursing in 2000－2001, on animal models, CD4+ lymphocytes and other experimental molecules in 2007－2010, on urodynamics, risk factors and specific antigens in 2013－2016, and on literature information resources in 2016. CONCLUSIONS: The immune mechanism remains a hot topic in the future researches on prostatitis. In terms of treatment of the disease, TCM has a potential value, and more practice and studies are required for an optimal combination of TCM and Western medicine. Strengthened collaborative efforts are needed to establish an authoritative source channel for the keywords, and incorporate it into the national standard system, and above all, to integrate the prostatitis study into multi-disciplinary researches, eliminate academic barriers, encourage collaborative innovation with multiple parties, and promote the exchanges and development in this field.

[Therapeutic effect of acupuncture combined with medication on chronic prostatitis of damp and heat stasis].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical therapeutic effect of electroacupuncture (EA) combined with tamsulosin hydrochloride sustained release capsule on chronic prostatitis (CP) of damp and heat stasis. METHODS: A total of 70 patients with CP of damp and heat stasis were randomized into an acupuncture plus medication group (35 cases, 4 cases dropped off) and a medication group (35 cases, 5 cases dropped off). In the medication group, tamsulosin hydrochloride sustained release capsule was given orally, 0.2 mg a time, once each night. On the basis of treatment in the medication group, EA was applied at Guanyuan (CV 4), Sanyinjiao (SP 6) and Yinglingquan (SP 9), with disperse-dense wave, 5 mA in intensity for 30 min. Treatment for 30 days was as one course, and totally 3 courses were required in both groups. Before treatment, 1, 2, 3 months into treatment and at the follow-up of 2 months after treatment, the TCM syndrome score and National Institutes of Health chronic prostatitis symptom index (NIH-CPSI) score were observed, and the clinical efficacy was evaluated in both groups. RESULTS: Compared before treatment, the TCM syndrome scores of 3 months into treatment and follow-up were decreased in the acupuncture plus medication group (P<0.01), and were lower than those in the medication group (P<0.05). Compared before treatment, the NIH-CPSI scores of 3 months into treatment and follow-up were decreased in both groups (P<0.01), and those in the acupuncture plus medication group were lower than the medication group (P<0.05). The total effective rate was 90.3% (28/31) in the acupuncture plus medication group, which was superior to 80.0% (24/30) in the medication group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Acupuncture combined with medication can improve the clinical symptoms in patients with CP of damp and heat stasis, and its therapeutic effect is superior to simple western medication.

Effect of acupuncture on clinical symptoms and laboratory indicators for chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To systematically review the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS). METHODS: PubMed, Cochrane library Central, Web of Science, Wang-fang Database, and CNKI were searched from their inception to June 30, 2016. Data of acupuncture for CP/CPPS following randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was included. The data were analyzed using the Cochrane Collaboration Review Manager. The primary data were the National Institute of Health-Chronic Prostatitis Index (NIH-CPSI) score at the end of follow-up. RESULTS: Ten RCTs were enrolled. Acupuncture was superior to the control in NIH-CPSI (MD -3.98, [95 % CI -5.78 to -2.19]; P < 0.0001) and response rate (RR 4.12, [95 % CI 1.67-10.18]; P = 0.002). Acupuncture was superior to sham acupuncture on NIH-CPSI, response rate, pain, urinary, and quality of life (QOL). Standard medication was inferior to acupuncture in terms of NIH-CPSI (MD -3.08, [95 % CI -5.57 to -0.60]; P = 0.02) and response rate (RR 2.03, [95 % CI 1.04-3.97]; P = 0.04), but standard medication was superior to acupuncture on improving urinary symptoms. There was no significant difference in the adverse events. Acupuncture/acupuncture plus standard medication significantly down-regulated IL-1ß compared with standard medication in prostatic fluid. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture treating CP/CPPS is effective and safe. The effects of acupuncture on NIH-CPSI, response rate, pain symptoms, and QOF were superior to the control, but standard medication significantly improved urinary symptoms compared with acupuncture. Acupuncture can decrease the IL-1ß in prostatic fluid for CP/CPPS.

[Biofeedback therapy for chronic prostatitis: Application and consideration].

Studies of biological feedback (BF) for the treatment of chronic prostatitis (CP) are occasionally reported have exhibited some related problems. This article presents an evaluation of the published literature on the BF treatment of CP at home and abroad in the aspects of instrument, method, application, effect, function, and mechanism. UROSTYMTM and MyoTrac are often employed and their operating paths are basically the same. NIH prostate symptom scores, urinary function, pain, sexual function, immune function, prostate fluid, and other indicators are generally used for the analysis of the effects of BF alone or in combination with other therapies on CP and its related symptoms. Either BF alone or BF combined with other therapies can promote urination, reduce pain, improve the quality of life, attenuate inflammation, improve sexual function, adjust immunity, and lessen physical and chemical stimulation. However, the relevant literature is of low quantity and quality, the reported studies are not standardized, and exploration of the action mechanisms is neglected.

[Acupuncture treatment of male infertility: a systematic review].

OBJECTIVE: To systematically evaluate acupuncture as a treatment for male infertility. METHODS: We searched Chi na Biology Medical Database (CBM), Wan Fang Medical Information System, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP Information Resource System (VIP), and PubMed for published literature on acupuncture as a treatment for male infertility on May 1 2014. Based on the Standards for Reporting Interventions in Clinical Trials of Acupuncture (STRICTA), we evaluated the quality of the reports, conducted meta-analysis on the identified studies via RevMan5.2, and assessed the quality of the evidence in the literature by Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE). RESULTS: A total of 12 studies involving 2,177 patients were included, the quality of which was evaluated as mediocre. With regard to the cure rate, acupuncture was comparable to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) (P > 0.05) but better than Western medicine (RR = 4.00, 95% CI 1.63 to 9.82, P < 0.01) while acupuncture + TCM was better than either TCM (RR = 1.77, 95% CI 1.20 to 2.60, P < 0.01) or Western medicine used alone (RR = 2.73, 95% CI 1.51 to 4.93, P < 0.01), and acupuncture + Western medicine was better than Western medicine alone (RR = 1.88, 95% CI 1.17 to 3.02, P = 0.01). The combined use of acupuncture, ear pressure, TCM, and Western medicine showed a higher cure rate than the combination of TCM and Western medicine (RR = 3.45, 95% CI 2.90 to 4.11, P < 0.01). In therapeutic effectiveness, acupuncture was comparable to TCM (P > 0.05) but superior to Western medicine (RR = 1.41, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.71, P < 0.01), acupuncture + TCM was superior to either TCM (RR = 1.14, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.23, P < 0.01) or Western medicine alone (RR = 1.43, 95% CI 1.22 to 1.67, P < 0.01), and acupuncture + Western medicine was superior to Western medicine alone (RR = 1.25, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.49, P = 0.01). In improving sperm concentration, acupuncture was as effective as TCM (P > 0.05) and sham acupuncture (P > 0.05) but outdid Western medicine (RR = 27.00, 95% CI 24.27 to 29.73, P < 0.01) and acupuncture + TCM outdid either TCM (RR = 14.65, 95% CI 7.58 to 21.72, P < 0.01) or Western medicine alone (RR = 1.04, 95% CI--1.43 to 3.51, P > 0.05). In improving grade a sperm, acupuncture exhibited a similar effect to TCM (P > 0.05) and sham acupuncture (P > 0.05), and acupuncture + TCM was more effective than TCM alone (RR = 7.78, 95% CI 3.51 to 12.23, P < 0.01) but equally effective as Western medicine (P > 0.05). In elevating the level of grade a + b sperm, acupuncture + TCM excelled either TCM (RR = 11.00, 95%, CI 3.17 to 18.82, P < 0.01) or Western medicine alone (RR = 12.22, 95% CI 6.87 to 17.57, P < 0. 01), while acupuncture produced a comparable effect with sham acupuncture (P > 0.05). As for the quality of the included studies, only 3 conclusions of the 23 meta-analyses were assessed to be of average quality, while the others of poor or extremely poor quality. Therefore, the recommendation grade of the conclusions was low. CONCLUSION: For the treatment of male infertility, acupuncture is reported to be equally effective as TMC and more effective than Western medicine, and its effectiveness is enhanced when applied in combination with either TCM or Western medicine. Acupuncture is distinctively efficacious in improving sperm quality. Nevertheless, the overall quality of the included studies is low.

[An epidemiological study on TCM syndromes of chronic prostatitis among male college students in Guangzhou City].

OBJECTIVE: To study the epidemiological characteristics of the TCM syndromes of chronic prostatitis (CP) among the male college students in the city of Guangzhou. METHODS: A total of 1 682 male college students were recruited from four colleges in Guangzhou City. The TCM syndromes of the CP patients (n = 561) were grouped according to age, major, residence area, native place, economic condition, interpersonal relation and academic record of the students. And the distribution and incidence rates of the syndromes were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: Among all the identified syndrome types, the single syndrome accounted for 32.98%; the damp-heat, the blood stasis, the liver- and kidney-yin deficiency and the kidney-yang deficiency syndrome constituted 63.28%, 47.59%, 39.39% and 33.69%, respectively. The incidence rates of blood stasis and liver- and kidney-yin deficiency were significantly different in different age groups (P < 0.01). The medical major group had a higher rate of blood stasis than the non-medical groups (P < 0.01). The rates of damp-heat syndrome and liver- and kidney-yin deficiency syndrome were obviously higher in the northern group than in the southerners (P <0.01 & P < 0.05), and were significantly different between the groups from different native places (P < 0.01) as well as between those of different economic conditions (P < 0.01). Among the groups of different interpersonal relations, significant difference was observed in the rate of liver- and kidney-yin deficiency syndrome (P < 0.01) but not in the rates of other syndromes. CONCLUSION: The college students with CP in Guangzhou City mostly have compound TCM syndromes consisting of simple radical ones. The incidence rates of the four main syndrome types, damp-heat, blood stasis, liver- and kidney-yin deficiency and kidney-yang deficiency, are related with the age, major, residence area, native place, economic condition and interpersonal relation of the students.