Effect of TCM rehabilitation program on activities of daily living in patients with post-stroke limb spasticity: An observational study.

BACKGROUND: Stroke is a neurological disease with many common complications that reduce the activities of daily living and the quality of life of patients. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) rehabilitation techniques, scalp acupuncture, and TCM can relieve spasticity symptoms and recovery from physical obstacles is significant. METHODS: Three hundred twenty-one patients with post-stroke limb spasticity were randomly divided into trial and control groups, with 159 and 162 patients in the trial and control groups, respectively. The control group received basic treatment combined with modern rehabilitation techniques, whereas the trial group received basic treatment combined with TCM, Tuina, and scalp acupuncture with kinesiotherapy. The treatment course in both groups was 4 weeks. The Modified Ashworth Scale, magnetic resonance imaging, and Stroke Specific Quality of Life Scale were used to evaluate limb spasticity, activities of daily living, and quality of life, respectively. PASW 18.0 was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: With a longer treatment period, the improvement in limb spasticity was greater in the trial group than in the control group (P < .05). Similarly, improvements in activities of daily living and quality of life were better in the trial group than in the control group (P < .05). CONCLUSION: The TCM rehabilitation program using Tongjing Tiaoxing combined with scalp acupuncture and kinesiotherapy can effectively treat spasticity symptoms in stroke patients and improve their activities of daily living and quality of life.

Mussel-inspired self-healing hydrogel form pectin and cellulose for hemostasis and diabetic wound repairing.

Diabetic wound is considered as a kind of chronic wound prone to infection and difficult to repair due to high glucose level in the blood of patients. In this research, a biodegradable self-healing hydrogel with mussel inspired bioadhesion and anti-oxidation properties is fabricated based on Schiff-base cross-linking. The hydrogel was designed from dopamine coupled pectin hydrazide (Pec-DH) and oxidized carboxymethyl cellulose (DCMC) for mEGF loading as a diabetic wound repair dressing. The Pectin and CMC as natural feedstock endowed the hydrogel with biodegradability to avoid possible side effects, while the coupled catechol structure could enhance the tissue adhesion of the hydrogel for hemostasis. The results showed the Pec-DH/DCMC hydrogel formed fast and can cover irregular wounds with good sealing effect. The catechol structure also improved the reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging ability of the hydrogel, which can eliminate the negative effect of ROS during wound healing. The in vivo diabetic wound healing experiment revealed the hydrogel as mEGF loading vehicle greatly enhanced the diabetic wound repairing rate in mice model. As a result, the Pec-DH/DCMC hydrogel could show advantages as EGF carrier in wound healing applications.

Panax ginseng against myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury: A review of preclinical evidence and potential mechanisms.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer (P. ginseng) is effective in the prevention and treatment of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. The mechanism by which P. ginseng exerts cardioprotective effects is complex. P. ginseng contains many pharmacologically active ingredients, such as molecular glycosides, polyphenols, and polysaccharides. P. ginseng and each of its active components can potentially act against myocardial I/R injury. Myocardial I/R was originally a treatment for myocardial ischemia, but it also induced irreversible damage, including oxygen-containing free radicals, calcium overload, energy metabolism disorder, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, microvascular injury, autophagy, and apoptosis. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study aimed to clarify the protective effects of P. ginseng and its active ingredients against myocardial I/R injury, so as to provide experimental evidence and new insights for the research and application of P. ginseng in the field of myocardial I/R injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This review was based on a search of PubMed, NCBI, Embase, and Web of Science databases from their inception to February 21, 2022, using terms such as "ginseng," "ginsenosides," and "myocardial reperfusion injury." In this review, we first summarized the active ingredients of P. ginseng, including ginsenosides, ginseng polysaccharides, and phytosterols, as well as the pathophysiological mechanisms of myocardial I/R injury. Importantly, preclinical models with myocardial I/R injury and potential mechanisms of these active ingredients of P. ginseng for the prevention and treatment of myocardial disorders were generally summarized. RESULTS: P. ginseng and its active components can regulate oxidative stress related proteins, inflammatory cytokines, and apoptosis factors, while protecting the myocardium and preventing myocardial I/R injury. Therefore, P. ginseng can play a role in the prevention and treatment of myocardial I/R injury. CONCLUSIONS: P. ginseng has a certain curative effect on myocardial I/R injury. It can prevent and treat myocardial I/R injury in several ways. When ginseng exerts its effects, should be based on the theory of traditional Chinese medicine and with the help of modern medicine; the clinical efficacy of P. ginseng in preventing and treating myocardial I/R injury can be improved.

Tuina for shoulder pain after stroke: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Post-stroke shoulder pain is a relatively common complication in stroke patients, with an incidence of 16% to 84% and poor outcomes with anti-inflammatory or sedative medications. This study will evaluate the results of a randomized controlled trial to determine the effectiveness and safety of Tuina in the treatment of post-stroke shoulder pain. METHODS: The Chinese and English search strategies were used to search China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Scientific Journal Database, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PubMed, Wanfang Database, and Web of Science were used to search seven databases. All eligible studies published on or before September 15, 2022, will be selected. To improve the validity of this study, only clinical randomized controlled trials related to the use of Tuina for post-stroke shoulder pain will be included. The screening will be performed by 2 independent reviewers and data synthesis, bias analysis, subgroup analysis, and meta-analysis will be performed using RevMan (V.5.4) software. RESULTS: The study will provide a high-quality evaluation of the effectiveness and safety of Tuina in the treatment of post-stroke shoulder pain. CONCLUSION: This systematic review will provide evidence to determine whether Tuina is an effective and safe intervention for treating patients with post-stroke shoulder pain.PROSPERO registration number: CRD42022360401.

Acupuncture-related techniques for prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus in people with pre-diabetes: Protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: In modern society, the incidence of diabetes is increasing year by year. Most individuals pass through a phase of prediabetes before developing full blown diabetes. Acupuncture-related has been widely used in the treatment of diabetes, but there is no systematic review of acupuncture-related on the control of blood glucose in prediabetes. Therefore, this study aims to conduct a meta-analysis of the clinical efficacy of acupuncutre-related therapy in preventing the development of diabetes in patients with prediabetes. METHODS: We will search Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wan-Fang Database, Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP Database) from their respective inception dates to September 1, 2022 to identify potentially eligible studies. We will use the Review Manager 5.4 software provided by the Cochrane Collaborative Network for statistical analysis. We then assessed the quality and risk of the included studies and observed the outcome measures. RESULTS: This meta-analysis further elucidates the protective effects of acupuncture-related techniques on patients with prediabetes. CONCLUSION: The purpose of this meta-analysis was to investigate the effect of acupuncture- related techniques on blood glucose in patients with prediabetes, and to provide more methods for clinical prevention of conversion from prediabetes to diabetes.

Inflammasome-targeting natural compounds in inflammatory bowel disease: Mechanisms and therapeutic potential.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), mainly including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, seriously affects human health and causes substantial social and economic burden. The pathogenesis of IBD is still not fully elucidated, whereas recent studies have demonstrated that its development is associated with the dysfunction of intestinal immune system. Accumulating evidence have proven that inflammasomes such as NLRP3 and NLRP6 play a prominent role in the pathogenesis of IBD. Thus, regulating the activation of inflammasomes have been considered to be a promising strategy in IBD treatment. A number of recent studies have provided evidence that blocking inflammasome related cytokine IL-1ß can benefit a group of IBD patients with overactivation of NLRP3 inflammasome. However, therapies for targeting inflammasomes with high efficacy and safety are rare. Traditional medical practice provides numerous medical compounds that may have a role in treatment of various human diseases including IBD. Recent studies demonstrated that numerous medicinal herb derived compounds can efficiently prevent colon inflammation in animal models by targeting inflammasomes. Herein, we summarize the main findings of these studies focusing on the effects of traditional medicine derived compounds on colitis treatment and the underlying mechanisms in regulating the inflammasomes. On this basis, we provide a perspective for future studies regarding strategies to improve the efficacy, specificity and safety of available herbal compounds, and to discover new compounds using the emerging new technologies, which will improve our understanding about the roles and mechanisms of herbal compounds in the regulation of inflammasomes and treatment of IBD.

Efficacy and safety evaluation of acupuncture in the treatment of impaired glucose regulation: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Impaired of glucose regulation belongs to the stage of prediabetes, which is a state of glucose metabolism between diabetes and normal blood glucose. The prevalence of prediabetes in people over 20 years old in China is significantly higher than that in diabetic patients. If no measures are taken to prevent the transition from prediabetes to diabetes, the number of diabetic patients in China will further increase. This study conducted a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of impaired glucose regulation by collecting relevant literatures. METHODS: Nine electronic databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane library, Web of Science, Google Scholar, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Chinese Scientific and Journal Database, Wan Fang database, and 2 clinical trials register platforms: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ClinicalTrials.gov (www.ClinicalTrials.gov/) will be searched for randomized clinical trails of acupuncture for impaired glucose regulation. The screening process will be developed by 2 independent reviewers, and meta-analysis will be performed with RevMan (V5.3.5) software. RESULTS: This meta-analysis further confirmed the benefits of acupuncture in the treatment of impaired of glucose regulation. CONCLUSION: This study will provide a high-quality evidence of the efficacy and safety of acupuncture on patients with impaired glucose regulation. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: INPLASY202170058. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This systematics review will evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture in the treatment of impaired of glucose regulation. Since all the data included were published, the systematic review did not require ethical approval.