Tuina for spasticity of poststroke: protocol of a systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Spasticity is a common complication of poststroke, tuina is a widely used rehabilitation treatment, although there is a lack of supportive evidence on efficacy and safety for patients with poststroke spasticity. The aim of this systematic review is to assess and synthesis evidence of efficacy and safety of tuina for spasticity of poststroke. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A comprehensive electronic search of EMBASE, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Wiley, Springer, PEDro, Chinese Science Citation Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Chinese Scientific and Journal Database (VIP), Wanfang Database (Wanfang), Japanese medical database (CiNii), Korean Robotics Institute Summer Scholars and Thailand Thai-Journal Citation Index Centre will be conducted to search literatures of randomised controlled trials of tuina for spasticity of poststroke survivors range from the establishment to 1 January 2020.There is no time of publication limitations. The primary outcome will be measured with the Modified Ashworth Scale, and the second outcome will include Fugl-Meyer Assessment Scale, surface electromyogram RMS value, the Modified Barthel Index, Stroke Specific Quality of Life Scale, quality of life 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey and Visual Analogue Scale. Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions will be used to assess the risk of bias, and GRADE will be used to access the confidence in cumulative evidence. The protocol will be conducted according to approach and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols 2015. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval will not be required, for no primary data of individual patients were collected. We will publish the findings in a peer-reviewed journal. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42020163384.

The efficacy and safety of Lianhua Qingwen (LHQW) for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): A protocol for systematic review and meta analysis.

BACKGROUND: Since the outbreak of Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia (NCP), it has swept the world with rapid development. Up to now, there is no effective drug to treat it. Lianhua Qingwen has been used in the treatment of COVID-19 in China, but there is no systematic review about it. This study will systematically evaluate its efficacy and safety in the treatment of COVID-19. METHODS: We will search electronic database of PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane library, Web of Science (WOS), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), Chinese Scientific and Journal Database (VIP) and Wan Fang database (Wanfang) for the literature of RCTs of Lianhua Qingwen capsule for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We will also search the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR) and ClinicalTrials.gov (www.ClinicalTrials.gov) for ongoing trials with unpublished data, and the Conference abstracts will be searched manually. We will use the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions to assess the risk of bias. The protocol will be conducted according to the approach and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P). RESULTS: The study results will provide evidence of the efficacy and safety of Lianhua Qingwen (LHQW) for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). CONCLUSION: The result of the study will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42020180877.

Efficacy of acupuncture and moxibustion in adjuvant treatment of patients with novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): A protocol for systematic review and meta analysis.

BACKGROUND: Novel coronavirus has infected 4.33 million people in more than 200 countries in the current global outbreak of COVID-19. However, there is still no effective drug to treat the disease, and acupuncture and moxibustion is utilized as adjuvant therapy for the treatment of COVID-19 in China. METHODS: Nine electronic databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane library, Web of Science (WOS), Google Scholar, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), Chinese Scientific and Journal Database (VIP), Wan Fang database (Wanfang) and 2 clinical trials register platforms: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR), ClinicalTrials.gov (www.ClinicalTrials.gov/) will be searched for RCTs of A&M for COVID-19. The screening process will be developed by 2 independent reviewers, and meta-analysis will be performed with RevMan (V5.3.5) software. RESULTS: The study results will be contributed to a scientific journal after peer-reviewed for publication. CONCLUSION: The study will provide up-to-date evidence of the effectiveness and safety of A&M for patients with COVID-19. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42020185776.

The efficacy and safety of Jinhua Qinggan granule (JHQG) in the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): A protocol for systematic review and meta analysis.

BACKGROUND: Currently, the global number of infected novel coronavirus has exceeded 2.6 million and the death toll has exceeded 170,000, but the specific drug for the treatment of COVID-19 has been not appears. In the process of fighting COVID-19 in China, JHQG has been promoted by the Chinese government and widely used in the treatment of COVID-19. The purpose of this study is to systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of JHQG for COVID-19. METHODS: We are going to search the electronic databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane library, Web of Science (WOS), Google scholar, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Biomedical literature Database (CBM), Chinese Scientific and Journal Database (VIP), Wan Fang database (Wanfang) for published clinical trails and search clinical trials register platforms of Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR) and ClinicalTrials.gov (www.ClinicalTrials.gov/) for ongoing trials of Jinhua Qinggan granule for COVID-19. The primary outcomes of the included studies contain Clinical symptom disappearance rate and the secondary outcomes obtain: TCM syndrome scale score, Hamilton anxiety scale score, and adverse events. We will use RevMan V5.3 software to perform the calculations. PRISMA-P checklist was used in writing this report. RESULTS: The study results will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication. CONCLUSION: This study will provide a high-quality evidence of the efficacy and safety of Jinhua Qinggan granule on patients with COVID-19. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42020181919.

Cordyceps sinensis Promotes the Growth of Prostate Cancer Cells.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to test whether Cordyceps sinensis (CS), the most expensive Asian nutrient supplement might stimulate growth of prostate cancer cells. METHODS: Impact of CS on growth of prostate cancer was determined in vivo and in vitro. RESULTS: Firstly, the serum testosterone level was significantly elevated in mice fed CS. Prostate glands were significantly enlarged (weight index 0.53 ± 0.04 mg/g vs. 0.31 ± 0.04 mg/g, P = 0.006). Furthermore, cell viability was increased twofold in the androgen-responsive prostate cancer cell line (VCaP) after CS treatment. This promoting effect disappeared after bicalutamide was added. In addition, serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in mice bearing VCaP xenografts was significantly elevated (0.66 ± 0.04 ng/ml vs. 0.26 ± 0.06 ng/ml, P < 0.001) after treatment with CS. Finally, VCaP tumors in mice treated with CS grew much faster (479.2 ± 78.74 mm3 vs. 283 ± 58.97 mm3, P = 0.074). However, the above promoting effects of CS were not observed in parallel studies using the PC-3 cell line which lacks AR expression. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that CS promotes growth of prostate cancer cells by increasing production of testosterone and stimulating the AR-dependent pathway. Additional studies are required to see whether CS is safely consumed by patients with prostate cancer.