[Clinical study on traditional Chinese medicine syndrome differentiation and treatment of pneumoconiosis].

Objective: To explore the clinical effect of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome differentiation in the treatment of pneumoconiosis. Methods: We selected 160 pneumoconiosis patients who were hospitalized in our hospital from July 2015 to July 2016. 102 patients were divided into experimental groups, and the other 58 patients were assigned to the control group. These patients were randomly assigned. The control group was given routine treatment, while the experimental group received conventional treatment combined with TCM syndrome differentiation. We rated patients' quality of life using the SF-36 Quality of Life Scale. C-reactive protein levels in both groups before and after treatment were detected by ELISA. Furthermore, we detected the expression levels of IL-6 mRNA and TGF-ß mRNA in serum before and after treatment by RT-PCR.The analysis was performed with SPSS19.0 software. The normal distribution measurement data was expressed by Mean±SD, and the t-test was used for statistical analysis. Non-normal distribution measurement data were expressed as median(M) and interquartile range (P(25), P(75)), and non-parametric test was used for statistical analysis. Results: Compared with the control group, the readmission rate in the experimental group decreased within 3 months; The SF-36 quality of life score results of the two groups showed a statistically significant difference in BP, VT and RE (P<0.05);The levelofCRPdecreasedsignificantlyafter treatment in bothgroups,and thedifferencewasstatistically significant (P<0.05).Comparedwith thecontrolgroup, the levelsofIL-6mRNAandTGF-ß1mRNA alsodecreased (P<0.05). Conclusion: TCM syndromedifferentiation and treatmentofpneumoconiosis can effectively improve the patient's condition and life quality. We predict that it may inhibit the progression of pulmonary fibrosis in pneumoconiosis.

Evidence-based research on traditional Japanese medicine, Kampo, in treatment of gastrointestinal cancer in Japan.

Gastrointestinal cancer is a great threat to human health in Japan. Conventional anticancer therapies including surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy are the main strategies and play important roles in curing this disease or extending the life of patients with these cancers. On the other hand, patients undergo great suffering induced by these treatments. Kampo, the Japanese traditional medicine, has been used in clinics to reduce side effects and to improve the quality of life of gastrointestinal cancer patients in Japan. In order to testify to the efficacy and safety of these Kampo medicines and to clarify the underlying mechanisms, a number of clinical and basic studies were implemented in the past several decades. These studies suggested the benefits of Kampo medicine as an adjuvant to conventional anti-cancer therapies in treating gastrointestinal cancer. Since the safety and efficacy as well as quality control of traditional medicine have long been focused worldwide, the development course of Kampo medicine may provide reference to other countries in the world.

Standardization of traditional Chinese medicine and evaluation of evidence from its clinical practice.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a typical traditional medicine (TM) with a long-standing history of preventing and curing diseases in China and other countries in East Asia. Standardization of TCM has been a topic of discussion over the past few decades in China with the goal of promoting advances in TCM in China and elsewhere around the world. Many quality and safety control standards for TCMs have been implemented in China, but systematic standards of efficacy have not been established for TCMs until now because of the absence of evidence from clinical practice. Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is the best way to provide evidence from clinical practice, but the quality of current EBM studies of TCM, and especially randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of TCM, needs to be improved. International registration of clinical trials (CTs) of TCM is a good way to provide quality evidence from clinical practice of TCM because it can improve research transparency and ultimately enhance the validity and value of scientific evidence. This evidence will provide the springboard for efforts to standardize TCM.