Effect and Safety of Herbal Medicine Foot Baths in Patients with Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy: A Multicenter Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect and safety of foot baths with Tangbi Waixi Decoction (TW) in treating patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN). METHODS: It is a multicenter double-blinded randomized controlled trial. Participants with DPN were recruited between November 18, 2016 and May 30, 2018 from 8 hospitals in China. All patients received basic treatments for glycemic management. Patients received foot baths with TW herbal granules either 66.9 g (intervention group) or 6.69 g (control group) for 30 min once a day for 2 weeks and followed by a 2-week rest, as a therapeutic course. If the Toronto Clinical Scoring System total score (TCSS-TS) ⩾6 points, the patients received a total of 3 therapeutic courses (for 12 weeks) and were followed up for 12 weeks. The primary outcome was change in TCSS-TS score at 12 and 24 weeks. Secondary outcomes included changes in bilateral motor nerve conduction velocity (MNCV) and sensory nerve conduction velocity (SNCV) of the median and common peroneal nerve. Safety was also assessed. RESULTS: Totally 632 patients were enrolled, and 317 and 315 were randomized to the intervention and control groups, respectively. After the 12-week intervention, patients in both groups showed significant declines in TCSSTS scores, and significant increases in MNCV and SNCV of the median and common peroneal nerves compared with pre-treatment (P<0.05). The reduction of TCSS-TS score at 12 weeks and the increase of SNCV of median nerve at 24 weeks in the control group were greater than those in the intervention group (P<0.05). The number of adverse events did not differ significantly between groups (P>0.05), and no serious adverse event was related with treatment. CONCLUSION: Treatment of TW foot baths was safe and significantly benefitted patients with DPN. A low dose of TW appeared to be more effective than a high dose. (Registry No. ChiCTR-IOR-16009331).

[Effect of exogenous selenium on accumulation and chemical forms of cadmium in cucumber (Cucumis satiuus L.)].

Pot experiments were carried out to investigate the influence of different selenium (Se) levels (0, 0.5 and 1.0 mg x L(-1)) on the plant growth, concentration of malonaldehyde (MDA), activities of antioxidant enzymes, accumulation and chemical forms of cadmium (Cd) in cucumber when exposed to Cd (20 mg x kg(-1)). The results showed that dry weights of leaf, stem, root, fruit and plant, and concentrations and accumulation of Cd significantly differed between two varieties of cucumber Yanbai and Jinyou 1. With increasing levels of Se, the contents of MDA in the leaves of Yanbai increased, but the contents of MDA in the leaves of Jinyou 1 decreased. The contents of MDA in the roots of Yanbai first increased and then decreased, while the contents of MDA in Jinyou 1 first decreased and then increased. The variation trends of CAT, SOD and POD in the leaves and roots of both varieties were different with increasing levels of Se. The concentrations of different chemical forms of Cd in the fruit decreased after spraying of Se, compared with the control. Cadmium concentrations in the leaves, stem, roots and fruit of both varieties decreased by 3.2%-17.9%, 14.6%-28.2%, 5.1%-18.5% and 60.6%-75.8% in the presence of Se when exposed to Cd. Accumulation of Cd in the plant of both varieties was in order of Jinyou 1 > Yanbai in the presence or absence of Na2SeO3.